Owasco Lake
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox body of water Template:Finger Lakes map Owasco Lake Template:IPAc-en is a Finger Lake in Cayuga County in central New York state, USA. It is the third easternmost and sixth largest of the chain.
History
Owasco Lake's name may have been derived from the Iroquois word dwas-co, meaning bridge on the water.<ref name=Beauchamp_1893>Template:Cite book</ref> The name may also have been derived from the word was-co, meaning floating bridge.<ref name=Beauchamp_1907>Template:Cite book</ref> Cayuga territory was found between the territory of the Onondaga and Seneca. Jesuits founded missions among the Cayuga in the mid-17th century. In 1660, there were approximately 1,500 Cayuga.<ref name=p412>Pritzker 412</ref>
In the nineteenth century, Owasco Lake was a popular vacation spot for the well-to-do. A casino located just north of Cascade hosted guests traveling by rail along the western length of the lake. It burned down in the early years of the twentieth century, but vestiges of the railway remain in the swampy waters. The "iIndianist" composer Arthur Farwell camped on the east shore in 1899, before assuming his teaching duties at Cornell University, and wrote a set of piano pieces depicting his experience, entitled "Owasco Memories." He included a representation of "The Casino Across the Lake."
Description
Owasco Lake is Template:Convert long, with a maximum width of Template:Convert. The lake reaches a maximum depth of Template:Convert and has a surface elevation of Template:Convert above sea level, controlled by a dam on the lake's outlet.<ref name=DEC>Template:Cite web</ref> The lake has a volume of Template:Convert, and drains a watershed of Template:Convert.
The city of Auburn is located at the northern end and takes its drinking water from the lake. The lake lies entirely within the boundaries of Cayuga County, and the watershed boundary includes portions of Onondaga County and Tompkins County. Located at the south end of the lake is the hamlet of Cascade, which consists of a community of cottages, a marina, and a restaurant.
Owasco has the largest catchment area, or watershed, of all the Finger Lakes. This means that the land use has a large impact on water quality, and the lake especially vulnerable to nutrient loading from stormwater run-off. It is also downstream from the villages of Moravia and Groton. Sewage treatment effluent from two communities flows into the lake, which is regulated and permitted by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.
The Owasco Lake Watershed Inspection and Protection Division (OLWIPD) enforces the 1984 Owasco Lake Watershed Rules and Regulations and inspects various types of land use to determine compliance. OLWIPD is in the process of updating its rules and regulations,Template:As of when which will provide protections comparable to Skaneateles Lake if passed.Template:Cn
Recreation
Owasco Lake is smaller and shallower than many other Finger Lakes, allowing its waters to warm up much more quickly, and making swimming, water-skiing, and boating popular. Emerson Park is a county park with a beach and boat launch on the lake's north end. The private Owasco Yacht Club, founded in 1889, sits on its northeastern corner.
Fishing
Fish species present in the lake include lake trout, brown trout, rainbow trout, landlocked salmon, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, yellow perch, bluegill, pumpkinseed sunfish, rock bass, black bullhead, pickerel, and walleye. Access is via a fee-for-use county owned hard surface boat launch in the park.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
References
- Dave Tobin. "A Watertight Watershed." Post-Standard, December 24, 2006Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore
- Pritzker, Barry M. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. Template:ISBN.