Great Lakes port (4)
I believe the answer is:
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">great lakes port</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(I've seen this in another clue)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is the entire clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for erie that I've seen before include "One of the Great Lakes" , "Buffalo's lake" , "Spooky-sounding" , "North american lake sounds spooky" , "Superior companion" .)