Ampersand Mountain from Oseetah Lake NY Early Fall By Christine Dekkers

Oseetah Lake is an lake with a mean depth of . It is in New York State's

Adirondack Park The Adirondack Park is a part of New York's Forest Preserve in northeastern New York, United States. The park was established in 1892 for “the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure”, and for watershed protection. The park ...

, south of the village of Saranac Lake on the

Saranac River Saranac River ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is an river in the U.S. state of New York. In its upper reaches is a region of mostly flat water and lakes. The river has more than three dozen source lakes and ponds north of Upper Saranac Lake; the highes ...

. It is located mostly in the town of Harrietstown, but its easternmost portion extends into the town of

North Elba North Elba is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 8,957 at the 2010 census. North Elba is on the western edge of the county. It is by road southwest of Plattsburgh, south-southwest of Montreal, and north of ...

Description

The Saranac River departs the lower locks below

Lower Saranac Lake Lower Saranac Lake is one of three connected lakes, part of the Saranac River, near the village of Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks in northern New York. With Middle Saranac Lake and Upper Saranac Lake, a paddle with only one portage is possible. ...

and flows northeast into Oseetah Lake. The river exits Oseetah at the north end of the lake and flows northeast to Lake Flower and Saranac Lake. Oseetah is also fed by

Kiwassa Lake Kiwassa Lake, originally called Lonesome Pond, is a 280-acre lake in the north-central Adirondack Park, south of Dewey Mountain, between Lower Saranac Lake and Oseetah Lake, two miles southwest of the village of Saranac Lake, New York, United Sta ...

. Principal islands in Oseetah Lake are Wayotah, Wapiti, Watch, Haven of Rest, Papoose and Birch. Its shoreline is mostly privately held. It is part of the route of the

Adirondack Canoe Classic __NOTOC__ The Adirondack Canoe Classic, also known as the 90-miler, is a three-day, canoe race from Old Forge to Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks of New York, United States. The race has drawn as many as 500 competitors from California to Fl ...

, also known as the Ninety-miler, along with the

Northern Forest Canoe Trail The Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) is a marked canoeing trail in the northeastern United States and Canada, extending from Old Forge in the Adirondacks of New York to Fort Kent, Maine. Along the way, the trail also passes through the states ...

that runs from

Old Forge, New York Old Forge is a Administrative divisions of New York#Hamlet, hamlet (and census-designated place) on New York State Route 28 in the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town of Webb, New York, Webb in Herkimer County, New York, Herkimer Coun ...

Fort Kent, Maine Fort Kent is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States, situated at the confluence of the Fish River and the Saint John River, on the border with New Brunswick, Canada. The population was 4,067 in the 2020 census. Fort Kent is home to a ...

History

According to legend, Oseetah was an Indian Princess. Upon learning the Indian chief she loved (Wayotah) was betrothed to another, she threw herself off a cliff into a lake and was magically transformed into a water lily. In the Huron language Oseetah means "Water Lily". Originally named Miller Pond, Oseetah Lake was formed when the dam across the Saranac River at Saranac Lake, that also forms

Lake Flower Lake Flower is a lake in Franklin County, New York, Franklin County and Essex County, New York, Essex County in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York in the United States. The lake was created by damming the Saranac River in 1827. It was ...

, was raised to generate electric power by the Saranac Light and Power Company in 1894 (purchased by Paul Smith in 1904). At that time, as shown by maps of the period, a smaller pond, Ray Pond, also became part of the new, larger Oseetah - in what is now the eastern portion of the lake near the Essex County line.USGS.

References

Notes

Sunset From Oseetah Lake, NY by Christine Dekkers

Bibliography

* Colvin, Verplanck. "Topographical Survey, Adirondack Region". Weed Parsons & Company, 1880. * Donaldson, Alfred Lee. "''A History of the Adirondacks, Volumes 1 and 2''". The Century Co., 1921. New York
link, v. 1link, v. 2
* NYSDEC.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources Lake Map Series; Region 5; Oseetah Lake
* USGS
New York Saranac Quadrangle
(15 minute series). 1904.

External links

* {{authority control Reservoirs in New York (state) Protected areas of Essex County, New York Protected areas of Franklin County, New York Reservoirs in Essex County, New York Reservoirs in Franklin County, New York Northern Forest Canoe Trail