Avalanche Lake is a mountain

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

located in the

Adirondack High Peaks The Adirondack High Peaks are a set of 46 mountain peaks in the Adirondack Mountains of New York (state), New York state. They have been popular hiking destinations since the late 1920s, when the list of peaks was published in Russell Carson's book ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Avalanche Lake sits at between

Mount Colden Mount Colden is the eleventh-highest peak in the Adirondack High Peaks, High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains, New York (state), New York, United States. The peak was named after David S. Colden, an investor in the McIntyre Iron Works, in 1836. ...

and Avalanche Mountain. The two mountains rise in vertical cliffs from the surface of the lake. Immediately west of Avalanche Mountain (formerly known as Caribou Mountain) lies the MacIntyre Range:

Algonquin Peak Algonquin Peak is in the MacIntyre Range in the town of North Elba, in Essex County, New York. It is the second highest mountain in New York,Goodwin, Tony, and David Thomas-Train, Editors. ''High Peaks Trails'', 14th Edition. Lake George, NY ...

(the second highest mountain in the state), Boundary Peak,

Iroquois Peak Iroquois Peak is the eighth-highest peak in the Adirondack Mountains in New York State, U.S., and is part of the MacIntyre Range, which also includes Wright Peak, Mount Marshall, and Algonquin Peak Algonquin Peak is in the MacIntyre Range i ...

and Mount Marshall.

Mount Marcy Mount Marcy (Mohawk: ''Tewawe’éstha'') is the highest point in New York, with an elevation of . It is located in the Town of Keene in Essex County. The mountain is in the heart of the Adirondack High Peaks region of the High Peaks Wildern ...

is to the east. Avalanche Lake feeds

Lake Colden Lake Colden is a lake located in the Adirondack High Peaks in New York, United States. Lake Colden sits at 2764 feet (842 meters) at the western base of 4,714-foot (1,437 m) Mount Colden. To the northwest lie the MacIntyre Mountains— 5,115- ...

to the south, in the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

watershed. To the north, the trail to the lake from the

Adirondak Loj The Adirondak Loj (pronounced "Adirondack Lodge") is a historic lodge in North Elba, Essex County, New York. It is near Lake Placid in the Adirondack Mountains. The current facility, located on the shore of Heart Lake, was built in 1927 and i ...

surmounts Avalanche Pass, which is only slightly above lake level but separates it from the

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type = , ...

(

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

) watershed. Following the lake toward

, the trail is choked with large boulders, and a number of wooden ladders have been built to make passage possible. There are also three places where the trail takes to wooden catwalks, first built in the 1920s, that are bolted directly into the cliff face.McMartin, Barbara and Bill Ingersoll. (2004) ''Discover the Adirondack High Peaks''. (3rd ed.) Discover the Adirondack series, 11. Canada Lake, NY: Lake View Press. . This section is known as the "Hitch-Up Matilda;" in 1868 when a mountain guide waded to carry one of his clients past a point with no footing on shore, her husband urged her to sit higher on his shoulders.

History

The European discovery of the lake dates to an 1833 surveying party led by Judge John Richards and Major Reuben Sanford; it was named by William C. Redfield. A large

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...

occurred on August 20, 1869, that created a number of the

landslides Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environments, ...

on Mount Colden, the rubble from which substantially raised the level of the lake. Another avalanche in 1942 caused further slides that raised the lake level by . Avalanche Lake, looking south

References

* {{authority control Lakes of New York (state) Adirondack Park Lakes of Essex County, New York