Everything about Cayuga Lake totally explained
Cayuga Lake (pronounced either "kā-'yü-gə" or "kī-'yü-gə") is the longest of western
New York's glacial
Finger Lakes, and is the second largest in surface area (marginally smaller than
Seneca Lake) and volume. It is just under 40 miles (64 km) long. Its average width is 1.7 miles (2.7 km), and it's 3.5 miles (5.6 km) wide at its widest point near Aurora. It is approximately
435 ft (133 m) deep at its deepest point.
Location
The lake has one small island near Union Springs, Frontenac Island, which is one of only two islands in all of the Finger Lakes.
Ithaca, New York, site of
Cornell University and
Ithaca College, sits at the southern end of Cayuga Lake. Cornell's
alma mater or official school song makes reference to its position "
Far Above Cayuga's Waters".
Villages and settlements along the east shore of Cayuga Lake include Myers, King Ferry,
Aurora, Levanna,
Union Springs, and
Cayuga. Settlements along the west shore of the lake include Sheldrake, Poplar Beach, and Canoga.
Geographical characteristics
Cayuga Lake is located at ; 116.4 m above sea level. Its depth, steep east and west sides with shallow north and south ends is typical of the Finger Lakes, as they were carved by glaciers during the last
ice age.
Length: 61.4 km
Average width: 2.8 km
Maximum depth: 132 m
Surface area: 172 km²
Mean depth: 54.5 m
Catchment area: 2,033 km² (37.1% natural forest, 58% active agricultural)
Main islands: 1, Frontenac
Main outflows: 1
The water level is regulated by the Mud Lock at the north end of the lake. It is connected to
Lake Ontario by the
Erie Canal and
Seneca Lake by the
Seneca River. The lake is drawn down as winter approaches to minimize ice damage and to maximize its capacity to store heavy spring runoff.
The north end is dominated by shallow
mudflats and is an important stopover for
migratory birds, where
Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge is located.
The southern end is also shallow and often freezes during the winter.
Human impact
The fish population is managed and substantial sport fishing is practiced, including
smelt,
lake trout and
smallmouth bass fishing.
Cayuga lake is very popular among recreational boaters. A large state marina and boat launch is located at the southern end of the lake in Ithaca (
Allan H. Treman State Marine Park, the largest inland marina in New York). There are two yacht clubs on the western shore: Ithaca Yacht Club a few miles north of Ithaca, and Red Jacket Yacht Club just south of Canoga. There are several other marinas and boat launches scattered along the lake shore.
The lake is used both for drinking water and waste disposal, although this is no longer legal and very uncommon. There are also several
lake source cooling systems that are in operation on the lake, whereby cooler water is pumped from the depths of the lake, warmed, and circulated in a closed system back to the surface. One of these systems, which is operated by Cornell University and began operation in
2000, was controversial during the planning and building states for potential negative environmental impact; however, all the environmental impact reports and scientific studies have shown that the Cornell lake source cooling system hasn't yet and won't likely have any measurably significant environmental impact. Furthermore, Cornell's system pumps significantly less warm water back into the lake than others further north which have been operating for decades.
Folklore
The lake is the subject of local folklore; a tradition at
Wells College in Aurora holds that if the lake completely freezes over, classes are canceled (though for only one day). According to Wells College records, this last happened in
1979. However, other sources suggest that the only time the entire lake froze over in the 20th century was in
1912.
Cayuga Lake, like nearby
Seneca Lake, is also the site of a phenomenon known as the
Guns of the Seneca, mysterious cannon-like booms heard in the surrounding area. Many of these booms are likely attributable to
bird-scarers, automated cannon-like devices used by farmers to scare birds away from the many vineyards, orchards and crops.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Cayuga Lake'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://cayuga_lake.totallyexplained.com">Cayuga Lake Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
