Conneaut Lake is the largest natural
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 ...
in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
by surface area. It is located in western
Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States:
* Crawford County, Arkansas
* Crawford County, Georgia
* Crawford County, Illinois
* Crawford County, Indiana
* Crawford County, Iowa
* Crawford County, Kansas
* Crawford County, ...
near a
town with the same name. Its has a surface area of approximately 925 acres. The site of the lake is actually in adjacent
Sadsbury Township and nearby
Summit Township. During the summer season, it is heavily populated with people vacationing to the lake area, some from the area spending time in their houses on the lake, and many others from the surrounding area that like to spend the summer away from home, many of these people being residents of the
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
area. Other than the lake itself, the largest draw to the area has long been a popular resort known as
Conneaut Lake Park
Conneaut Lake Park is a summer resort and event venue located in Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, United States. It has long served as a regional tourist destination, and was noted by roller coaster enthusiasts for its classic Blue Streak coaster, ...
, long known for its amusement park.
Geography
Conneaut Lake was formed as a
kettle lake
A kettle (also known as a kettle lake, kettle hole, or pothole) is a depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating gla ...
at the end of the
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
. A large block of ice broke off the receding ice front and was surrounded by accumulating sediment. After the ice melted, the resulting depression was filled with water forming the lake. Water flows into Conneaut Lake through Inlet Run, a small stream on the north end of the lake. Water exits through the Conneaut Outlet, a larger creek which flows to the south through the Conneaut Marsh. The Conneaut outlet flows into
French Creek, making it part of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
drainage.
Depth
For the size of the lake, it has an oddly shallow depth. In most areas the lake is around 20 to 25 feet deep, however in some places it is over 50 feet deep. Its greatest depth is about 75 feet.
History
Before the early 19th century, Conneaut Lake was conspicuously absent from maps of the region, while much smaller nearby lakes were shown. The first recorded account of the lake was on May 5, 1791. A settler named Cornelius Van Horn was captured by
Wyandot
Wyandot may refer to:
Native American ethnography
* Wyandot people, also known as the Huron
* Wyandot language
* Wyandot religion
Places
* Wyandot, Ohio, an unincorporated community
* Wyandot County, Ohio
* Camp Wyandot, a Camp Fire Boys and ...
s or their allies near what is today
Meadville, Pennsylvania
Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania. The city is within of Erie and within of Pittsburgh. It was the first permanent settlement in Northwestern Pennsylvania. The population was 13,388 at the 2010 censu ...
. He was taken on a path through the forest and bound to a tree near the lake's outlet. Van Horn managed to free himself using a small knife.
The Lake level was raised about in the 1820s to permit the construction of the
Beaver and Erie Canal
The Beaver and Erie Canal, also known as the Erie Extension Canal, was part of the Pennsylvania Canal system and consisted of three sections: the Beaver Division, the Shenango Division, and the Conneaut Division. The canal ran north–south near ...
. In the 1870s, canals were made obsolete by
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
s, and the lake was returned to its natural elevation, though a dam remains for flood control. Before the construction of large
reservoirs
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...
, Conneaut was the largest lake in Pennsylvania other than
Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...
. The advent of rail travel made it a popular place for recreation. An amusement park,
Conneaut Lake Park
Conneaut Lake Park is a summer resort and event venue located in Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, United States. It has long served as a regional tourist destination, and was noted by roller coaster enthusiasts for its classic Blue Streak coaster, ...
, was built on its western shore. The lake is notable as a site of early motorboat racing. The deep, cold waters of the lake allow it to stay frozen relatively late into the spring. This made Conneaut Lake a vital source of ice, prior to mechanical
refrigeration
The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...
.
During the second half of the 20th century, Conneaut Lake's prominence as a tourist mecca evaporated. Automobile travel allowed people to travel further from the cities for their weekend leisure. Streams were dammed, forming reservoirs larger than Conneaut Lake throughout the area. However, the scenic, natural lake still draws many locals, and its lack of power restrictions continues to draw powerboats.
According to the 2000 Census, roughly 3,000 people live around Conneaut Lake.
See also
*
Harveys Lake (Pennsylvania)
Harveys Lake (also known as Harvey Lake or Harvey's Lake) is a natural lake in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. It has a surface area of approximately 621.5 acres, or nearly a square mile. The lake is situated entirely within the borough of Harvey ...
, the largest natural lake in Pennsylvania by volume
*
List of lakes in Pennsylvania
This is a list of lakes and reservoirs in the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. Swimming, fishing, and/or boating are permitted in some of these lakes, but not all.
Lakes
* Allegheny Reservoir (also known as Kinzua Lake)
* Antietam La ...
References
External links
Conneaut Lake Resort Area (Conneaut Lake Business Association)Conneaut Lake Community Development CommitteeConneaut Lake ParkConneaut Lake InstituteConneaut Lake Borough
{{authority control
Lakes of Pennsylvania
Bodies of water of Crawford County, Pennsylvania