Finger Lakes Headline News (2024)

FAQs

What is the deepest Finger Lake in NY? ›

Seneca Lake is the deepest of the Finger Lakes (618 ft. depth).

Located in the southwestern part of Ontario County, the lake is nicknamed the “long lake,” but Canadice is actually the smallest of the Finger Lakes at three miles long and a maximum depth of 95 feet.

History of the Finger Lakes

As the last ice age ended, the final glaciers covering what is now the northern reaches of the United States receded. The incredible grinding pressures of the receding glaciers gouged enormous holes in what is now the Finger Lakes region.

History. The Finger Lakes region is a central part of the Iroquois homeland. The Iroquois tribes include the Seneca and Cayuga nations, for which the two largest Finger Lakes are named.

Keuka is the third largest of the Finger Lakes and 11th largest lake in New York State. But Keuka's shallower depths keeps the water warmer than its deeper sister lakes.

Onondaga Lake has been described as one of the most polluted lakes in the United States, primarily due to industrial dumping and sewage contamination.

But even though it may be the largest freshwater fish species in the state's inland waters, its conservation status is threatened. Lake sturgeon can be considered an inshore warmwater species, making it relatively easy to catch.

With lakefront homes selling for upwards of a million dollars, Canandaigua Lake is arguably the most popular of the Finger Lakes. The City of Canandaigua to the north offers picturesque parks, plenty of shopping and dining options and Roseland Waterpark.

And in 1845, the lake had been an excellent accomplice to murder. What lay at the bottom almost 175 years ago thrust Edward Howard Rulloff into the annals of history as quite possibly one of the most intelligent known killers in America.

CANANDAIGUA — In 1896, a steel-hulled, screw-driven steamboat called the Seneca Chief sank in Canandaigua Lake. That shipwreck was discovered by lake resident Scott Hill, the former commander of the Rochester Police Department's scuba squad and executive of the aerial imaging company Pictometry, on April 20, 2014.

What are the secret tunnels in the Finger Lakes? ›

The Finger Lakes area was the last stop on the way to freedom. Christian Churches were the most common places of refuge for enslaved people and often had extensive tunnels constructed in the cellars. Supposedly, many of these tunnels ran under the lakes, but the entrance locations are difficult to ascertain.

Seneca Lake

The deepest of the Finger Lakes, bottoming out at over 600 feet, and the largest by volume. Seneca Lake is known as the Lake Trout Capital of the World and is home to the Seneca Lake Wine Trail.

Seneca Lake Map

It's the second longest, at 37.9 miles, and the deepest. The maximum depth is 618 feet and the average depth is 291 feet. The average width is 3 miles. Another source for a chart of Seneca lake, with some depth contours is the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Watershed includes that of Keuka Lake, which discharges into Seneca Lake at Dresden. High impact invasive species include quagga and zebra mussels, alewives, sea lamprey eels, and Eurasian watermilfoil. Lake Trout, Brown Trout and Atlantic Salmon are stocked annually.

Seneca Lake is the largest of the glacial Finger Lakes of the U.S. state of New York, and the deepest lake entirely within the state.

618′

Seneca Lake / Max depth

435′

Cayuga Lake / Max depth

The lake is nestled between the glacially-carved rolling hills that are iconic to the region, stretching approximately 15.5 miles south from the City of Canandaigua, averages 1.1 miles wide and has a maximum depth of 276 feet.