ABSTRACT
The šve Great Lakes are not characteristic of inland lakes; they are large inland seas, with typical dimensions of over 500 km in length and 150 km in width. Strong and rapidly changing wind šelds produce severe, locally generated seas with signiš- cant wave heights in excess of 7 m during extreme conditions. Many people associate rip currents only with oceanic coasts and are surprised to discover that they do indeed occur with unfortunate regularity along the coastlines of the Great Lakes (Figure 12.1).
