Canandaigua Lake is the fourth largest of the
Finger Lakes
The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York, in the United States. This region straddles the northern and transitional ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
New York.
The
City of Canandaigua is located at the northern end of the lake and the village of
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
is several miles south of the southern end. It is the westernmost of the major Finger Lakes.
The name Canandaigua is derived from the
Seneca
Seneca may refer to:
People and language
* Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America
** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people
Places Extrat ...
name spelled variously Kanandarque,
Ganondagan
Ganondagan State Historic Site, (pronounced ga·NON·da·gan) also known as Boughton Hill, is a Native American historic site in Ontario County, New York in the United States. Location of the largest Seneca village of the 17th century, the site ...
, Ga-nun-da-gwa, or in a modern transcription, ''tganǫdæ:gwęh'', which means "the chosen spot", or "at the chosen town".
Description
Canandaigua Lake is long, wide, and has a shoreline of . Near the northern end is
Skenoh Island
Skenoh Island is located at the north end of Canandaigua Lake, near the city of Canandaigua, New York, United States. It is one of two islands in the 11 Finger Lakes.The other is Frontenac Island, in Cayuga Lake near the town of Union Springs. Fr ...
. About fifty percent of the surrounding land is in forest, but most of the remainder is under cultivation. Of of shoreline, (97%) are private and (3%) are public.
Canandaigua Lake is known for its water quality. The lake is the sole source of drinking water for the town and city of Canandaigua, located on the northern end of the lake, in addition to serving the communities of Rushville, Newark, Canandaigua, Palmyra, and Gorham township as their main public supplier of water.
In April 2013 and 2017, the drinking water was entered into a competition held by the New York section of American Water Works Association, in which it was voted the best drinking water in New York State.
The lake's water is well-oxygenated, allowing fish to live in both shallow and deep areas. The water is also very clear, allowing visibility of the bottom up to below the surface.
[
]
Skenoh Island
Skenoh Island
Skenoh Island is located at the north end of Canandaigua Lake, near the city of Canandaigua, New York, United States. It is one of two islands in the 11 Finger Lakes.The other is Frontenac Island, in Cayuga Lake near the town of Union Springs. Fr ...
, formerly known as Squaw Island, is located at the north end of the lake. It is the smallest Fish and Wildlife Management Area in New York State and one of only two islands in the eleven Finger Lakes. The Seneca
Seneca may refer to:
People and language
* Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America
** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people
Places Extrat ...
recall that the island was used to hide the Seneca women and children during the Sullivan Expedition
The 1779 Sullivan Expedition (also known as the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition, the Sullivan Campaign, and the Sullivan-Clinton Genocide) was a United States military campaign during the American Revolutionary War, lasting from June to October 1779 ...
against the Six Nations of the Iroquois in 1779. The island exhibits an extremely rare form of carbonate of lime
Lime commonly refers to:
* Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit
* Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide
* Lime (color), a color between yellow and green
Lime may also refer to:
Botany ...
forms deposits on pebbles ( conglomerate). It is a feathery light rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
which is calcified from algae filter
Filter, filtering or filters may refer to:
Science and technology
Computing
* Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming
* Filter (software), a computer program to process a data stream
* Filter (video), a software component tha ...
ed by sand and pond scum. The rock, locally called "water biscuits", is hard in the water but crumbles if allowed to dry out. In recent years the island has been eroding rapidly from the forces of ice, wind, water current
A current in a fluid is the magnitude and direction of flow within that fluid, such as a liquid or a gas.
Types of fluid currents include:
* Air current
* Boundary current
* Current (stream), a current in a river or stream
* Longshore current
* ...
s and development changing the wave patterns.
In 1977, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation installed a cedar log buffer around the island to help preserve it. Its size, approximately in 1853, shrank by 75% in 162 years, to about in 1971. Today only by of the island remains. A newly formed group called the Squaw Island Preservation Society has raised citizen support to protect the island and its unique place in science and local history, after state officials said they would no longer maintain it. Work on the preservation was completed in Summer 2001.
As with other places with "squaw
The English word ''squaw'' is an ethnic and sexual slur, historically used for Indigenous North American women. Contemporary use of the term, especially by non-Natives, is considered derogatory, misogynist, and racist.King, C. Richard,De/Sc ...
" in the name, efforts began in the 21st century to have the name changed, since the use of the term is seen as insensitive. These efforts became successful with the announcement in October 2021 that the U.S. Board on Geographic Names
The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal govern ...
had approved the name "Skenoh Island", effective immediately, based on recommendations from the New York State Geographic Names Committee, the New York State Museum
The New York State Museum is a research-backed institution in Albany, New York, United States. It is located on Madison Avenue, attached to the south side of the Empire State Plaza, facing onto the plaza and towards the New York State Capitol ...
and the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The word "skenoh" translates to "health" or "peace" in the Seneca language.
History
The first steamboat in the Finger Lakes region was the ''Enterprise'', which was launched in 1825. Canandaigua Lake's steamboat era ran from 1827 with the launching of the ''Lady of the Lake'' and ended in 1935 when the ''Idler'' discontinued passenger service. There were fourteen major boats that provided commercial service on Canandaigua Lake. Today, the ''Canandaigua Lady'', a 19th-century replica of a double-decked paddleboat, continues this tradition.
The Native Americans and white settlers signed the Treaty of Canandaigua
The Treaty of Canandaigua (or Konondaigua, as spelled in the treaty itself) also known as the Pickering Treaty and the Calico Treaty, is a treaty signed after the American Revolutionary War between the Iroquois#Government, Grand Council of the Si ...
just north of the lake. This parchment, which is in the Memorial Museum, has the names of a number of famous Indian chiefs including Red Jacket
Red Jacket (known as ''Otetiani'' in his youth and ''Sagoyewatha'' eeper Awake''Sa-go-ye-wa-tha'' as an adult because of his oratorical skills) (c. 1750–January 20, 1830) was a Seneca orator and chief of the Wolf clan, based in Western New York ...
, Cornplanter
John Abeel III (born between 1732 and 1746–February 18, 1836), known as Gaiänt'wakê (''Gyantwachia'' – "the planter") or Kaiiontwa'kon (''Kaintwakon'' – "By What One Plants") in the Seneca language and thus generally known as Cornplant ...
, Handsome Lake
Handsome Lake ( Cayuga language: Sganyadái:yo, Seneca language: Sganyodaiyo) (Θkanyatararí•yau• in Tuscarora) (1735 – 10 August 1815) was a Seneca religious leader of the Iroquois people. He was a half-brother to Cornplanter, a Seneca ...
, Farmer's Brother, and Fish Carrier.
The lake is a popular second home destination for families from nearby Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...
, as well as other parts of the Northeast.
Points of interest
* Canandaigua Lake State Marine Park is located in the City of Canandaigua on the lake's north end. It offers a boat launch for powerboats and fishing access from May to mid-October.
*Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park
Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park is a state park located at 151 Charlotte Street in Canandaigua (city), New York, Canandaigua, New York (state), New York, at the north end of Canandaigua Lake, in the Finger Lakes region of Upst ...
is located near the north end of the lake.
*County Road 12 into Naples (town), New York at the south end of the lake, which is known for its views of the lake and is a favorite of fall travelers. Also along the road is the new South Bristol Overlook.
*The Canandaigua Wine Trail, which is a collection of wineries, breweries, bed & breakfasts, hotels, attractions, shops, and restaurants around Canandaigua Lake.
*The ''Canandaigua Lady'', a double-decker paddle wheel boat and steamboat replica that offers public cruises on Canandaigua Lake from May through October.
*Fishing is widely popular. The lake is home to a few species of salmonids
Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish that constitutes the only currently extant family in the order Salmoniformes . It includes salmon (both Atlantic and Pacific species), trout (both ocean-going and landlocked), chars, freshwater whit ...
(lake trout, brown trout, rainbow trout), largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, chain pickerel, and panfish, including yellow perch, blue gills, pumpkinseed, rock bass, black crappie and bullheads.[ Carp can be found near public access points and close to stream beds filtering into the lake. Bowfishing and spearfishing is strictly prohibited on the lake. Fisherman can sometimes be seen hooking ]mudpuppies
''Necturus'' is a genus of aquatic salamanders native to the eastern United States and Canada. They are commonly known as waterdogs and mudpuppies. The common mudpuppy ''(N. maculosus)'' is probably the best-known species – as an amphibian wi ...
, a large member of the salamander family that live their lives entirely underwater and feed on crayfish, small fish, and snails. They can grow to up to in length and have gills that protrude from outside of their bodies.
*Four public access points are located on Canandaigua Lake.[
*Six marinas are located on Canandaigua Lake and offer boat storage, sales, rentals, and provide boat access. Sutter's Marina and Seager Marine are located at the north end, German Brothers Marina on the west side of the lake, Pelican Point Marina on the east side, and Smith Boys at the south end. Canandaigua Sailboard at the north end offers non-motorized boating options.
]
Pop-culture references
* Humphrey Bogart spent several summers at his parents' Canandaigua Lake cottage when he was a boy.
* On the television series ''Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
'', Hattie Lemaster, former slave and mother of main cast character Sara Freeman, mentions that she'd like to visit Canandaigua Lake in an episode from the 2012-2013 season.
References
External links
Canandaigua Lake Watershed Council
Photos of historic boathouses on the Canandaigua Lake pier
{{Authority control
Finger Lakes
Lakes of Ontario County, New York
Tourist attractions in Yates County, New York
Lakes of Yates County, New York
Lakes of New York (state)
Canandaigua, New York