Lake Champlain

For the Canadian steamer, see SS Lake Champlain. For US Naval vessels with this name, see USS Lake Champlain.
Lake Champlain
Lac Champlain

Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed.
Location New York / Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada
Coordinates 44°32′N 73°20′W / 44.533°N 73.333°W / 44.533; -73.333Coordinates: 44°32′N 73°20′W / 44.533°N 73.333°W / 44.533; -73.333
Primary inflows Otter Creek, Winooski River, Missisquoi River, Poultney River, Lamoille River, Ausable River, Chazy River, Boquet River, Saranac River, La Chute River
Primary outflows Richelieu River
Catchment area 21,326 km2 (8,234 sq mi)
Basin countries Canada, United States
Max. length 201 km (125 mi)
Max. width 23 km (14 mi)
Surface area 1,269 km2 (490 sq mi)
Average depth 19.5 m (64 ft)
Max. depth 122 m (400 ft)
Water volume 25.8 km3 (6.2 cu mi)
Residence time 3.3 years
Shore length1 945 km (587 mi)
Surface elevation 29 to 30 m (95 to 100 ft)
Islands 80 (Grand Isle, North Hero, Isle La Motte, see list)
Settlements Burlington, Vermont; Plattsburgh, New York
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Champlain (/ʃæmˈpleɪn/; French: Lac Champlain) is a natural freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States (states of Vermont and New York) but partially situated across the Canada–United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.

The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of Clinton County and Essex County. Most of this area is part of the Adirondack Park. There are recreational opportunities in the park and along the relatively undeveloped coastline of Lake Champlain. The cities of Plattsburgh, New York and Burlington, Vermont are on the west and east shores of the lake, respectively, and the village of Ticonderoga, New York is located in the southern part of the region. The Quebec portion is located in the regional county municipalities of Le Haut-Richelieu and Brome-Missisquoi. There are a number of islands in the lake; the largest include the towns of South Hero, Grand Isle, North Hero, Alburgh, and Isle La Motte, all belonging to Grand Isle County in the state of Vermont.

Geology

Landsat photo

The Champlain Valley is the northernmost unit of a landform system known as the Great Appalachian Valley, which stretches from Quebec to Alabama. The Champlain Valley is a physiographic section of the larger Saint Lawrence Valley, which in turn is part of the larger Appalachian physiographic division.[1]

It is one of numerous large lakes located in an arc from Labrador through the northern United States and into the Northwest Territories of Canada. Although it is smaller than each of the Great Lakes: Ontario, Erie, Huron, Superior, or Michigan, Lake Champlain is a large body of fresh water. Approximately 1,269 km2 (490 sq mi) in area, the lake is roughly 201 km (125 mi) long, and 23 km (14 mi) across at its widest point.[2][3] The maximum depth is approximately 400 feet (120 m). The lake varies seasonally from about 95 to 100 ft (29 to 30 m) above mean sea level.[4]

Hydrology

Lake Champlain in Burlington Harbor during late-May 2012 sunset.

Lake Champlain is situated in the Lake Champlain Valley between the Green Mountains of Vermont and the Adirondack Mountains of New York, drained northward by the 106-mile (171 km)-long Richelieu River into the St. Lawrence River at Sorel-Tracy, Quebec northeast and downstream of Montreal. It also receives the waters from the 32-mile (51 km)-long Lake George, so its basin collects waters from the northwestern slopes of the Green Mountains of Vermont and the northernmost eastern peaks of the Adirondack Mountains of New York.

The lake drains nearly half of Vermont. About 250,000 people get their drinking water from the lake.[5]

The lake is fed by Otter Creek, the Winooski, Poultney, Missisquoi, and Lamoille Rivers in Vermont, and the Ausable, Chazy, Boquet, Saranac and La Chute rivers in New York.

It is connected to the Hudson River by the Champlain Canal.

Portions of the lake freeze each winter, and in some winters the entire lake surface freezes, referred to as "closing".[6] The lake temperature reaches an average of 70 °F (21 °C) in July and August.[7]

Chazy Reef

The Chazy Reef is an extensive Ordovician carbonate rock formation which extends from Tennessee to Quebec and Newfoundland. It occurs in prominent outcropping at Goodsell Ridge, Isle La Motte, the northernmost island in Lake Champlain.

The oldest reefs are around "The Head" of the south end of the island; slightly younger reefs are found at the Fisk Quarry; and the youngest (the famous coral reefs) are located in fields to the north.[8] Together, these three sites provide a unique narrative of events which took place over 450 million years ago in the ocean in the Southern Hemisphere, long before the emergence of Lake Champlain twenty thousand years ago.

History

Brooklyn Museum – Green Mountains, Lake Champlain – Winckworth Allan Gay – overall

The lake was named after the French explorer Samuel de Champlain, who encountered it in 1609. While the ports of Burlington, Vermont; Port Henry, New York; and Plattsburgh, New York today are primarily used by small craft, ferries and lake cruise ships, they were of substantial commercial and military importance in the 18th and 19th centuries.

A variety of Native American names for the lake were recorded by historians. Many historical works give Caniaderi Guarunte as the Iroquois name for the lake (meaning: mouth or door of the country); the lake was an important northern gateway to their lands.[9] A number of other sources give Petonbowk (meaning the lake in between) as the Abenaki name in their Algonquian language for the lake.[10] The St. Francis/Sokoki Abenaki Band, who make their home along the Masipskiwibi River (in Missisquoi language, "Crooked River") in northwestern Vermont, call the lake Bitawbagok, which has the same meaning as Petonbowk.[11] Some early 21st-century articles appeared during the Champlain Quadricentennial (2009) claiming Ondakina as the “local” native name for the lake, but none cites a verifiable source.[12][13]

Colonial America and the Revolutionary War

Map of Lac Champlain, from Fort de Chambly up to Fort St-Fréderic in Nouvelle France. Cadastral map showing concessions and seigneuries on the coasts of the lake according to 1739 surveying.

New France allocated concessions all along lake Champlain to French settlers, and built forts to defend the waterways. In colonial times, Lake Champlain was used as a water passage (or, in winter, ice) between the Saint Lawrence and the Hudson valleys. Travelers found it easier to journey by boats and sledges on the lake rather than to go overland on the unpaved and frequently mud-bound roads of the time. The northern tip of the lake at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec (known as St. John in colonial times under British rule) is a short distance from Montreal. The southern tip at Whitehall (Skenesborough in revolutionary times) is a short distance from Saratoga, Glens Falls, and Albany, New York.

Forts were built at Ticonderoga and Crown Point (Fort St. Frederic) to control passage on the lake in colonial times. Important battles were fought at Ticonderoga in 1758 and 1775. During the Revolutionary War, the British and Americans conducted a frenetic shipbuilding race through the Spring and Summer of 1776 at opposite ends of the lake, fighting a significant naval engagement on October 11 at the Battle of Valcour Island. While it was a tactical defeat for the Americans and the small fleet led by Benedict Arnold was almost entirely destroyed, the Americans gained a strategic victory. The British invasion was delayed long enough so that the approach of winter prevented the fall of these forts until the following year. In this period, the Continental Army gained strength and was victorious at Saratoga.

The Beginning of the Revolutionary War

At the start of the Revolutionary War, British forces occupied the Champlain Valley.[14] However, it did not take long for rebel leaders to realize the importance of controlling Lake Champlain. Early in the war, the colonial militias were attempting to expel the British from Boston, however this undertaking could not be achieved without heavy artillery.[15] The British forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point on Lake Champlain were known to have ample supplies of artillery and were weakly manned by the British. Thus, the colonial militias quickly devised a plan to take control of the two forts and bring the guns back to the fight in Boston.[15]

Charlotte Ferry, Lake Champlain

The necessity of controlling the two forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point placed Lake Champlain as a strategic arena during the Revolutionary War. By taking control of these forts, Americans not only gained heavy artillery, but also control of a vast water highway. Lake Champlain provided a direct invasion route to British Canada. However, if the British controlled the lake, then they would have had the ability to divide the colonies of New England and further deplete the Continental Army.

The first offensive action conducted by the Continental Army occurred in May 1775, three weeks after the battle at Lexington and Concord.[16] Ethan Allen, accompanied by two hundred Green Mountain Boys, was issued to capture Fort Ticonderoga and retrieve supplies for the fight in Boston. Benedict Arnold shared the command with Allen, and in early May 1775, they captured Fort Ticonderoga, Crown Point, and the southern Loyalist settlement of Skenesborough.[16] As a result of Allen’s offensive attack on the Champlain Valley in 1775, The American forces controlled the Lake Champlain waterway.

The Siege of Quebec: 1775-1776

The Continental Army realized the strategic advantage of controlling Lake Champlain, as it leads directly to the heart of Quebec.[17] Immediately after taking Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point, the Americans began planning an attack on British Canada. The American siege of Quebec was a two-pronged assault and occurred throughout the winter of 1775-1776.[18] Brigadier General Richard Montgomery led the first assault up the Champlain Valley into Canada, while Benedict Arnold led a second army to Quebec via the Maine wilderness.[18] Despite the strategic advantage of controlling a direct route to Quebec by way of the Champlain Valley, the American siege of British Canada during the winter of 1775 failed. The Continental Army mistakenly assumed that they would receive support from the Canadians upon their arrival at Quebec. This was not the case, as the rebel army struggled to take Quebec with diminishing supplies, support, and harsh northern winter weather.[19] The Continental Army was forced to camp outside Quebec’s walls for the duration of the winter, with reinforcements from New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut allowing the soldiers to maintain siege of the city throughout.[20] The reinforcements travelled hundreds of miles up the frozen Lake Champlain and St. Lawrence River, however were too late and too few to influence a successful siege of Quebec. In May 1776, with the arrival of a British convoy carrying 10,000 British and Hessian troops to Canada, the Continental forces retreated back down the Champlain Valley to reevaluate their strategy.[21]

Camel's Hump, Champlain Valley

“I know of no better method than to secure the important posts of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and by building a number of armed vessels to command the lakes, otherwise the forces now in Canada will be brought down upon us as quick as possible, having nothing to oppose them… They will doubtless try to construct some armed vessels and then endeavor to penetrate the country toward New York.” (Brigadier General John Sullivan to George Washington, June 24, 1776).[16]

Both British and American forces spent the summer of 1776 building their naval fleets at opposite ends of Lake Champlain.[20] By the October 1776, The Continental Army had 16 operating naval vessels on Lake Champlain, a great increase to the four small ships they had at the beginning of the summer.[16] General Benedict Arnold commanded the American naval fleet on Lake Champlain, which was composed of volunteers and soldiers drafted from the Northern Army. With great contrast to the Continental navy, experienced Royal Navy officers, British seamen, and Hessian artillerymen manned the British fleet on Lake Champlain.[16] By the end of the summer of 1776, the two opposing armies were prepared to battle over the strategic advantage of controlling Lake Champlain.

The Battle of Valcour Island

On October 11, 1776, the British and American naval fleets met on the western side of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain.[15] American General Benedict Arnold established the location, as it provided the Continental fleet with a natural defensive position. The British and American vessels engaged in naval combat for much of the day, only stopping due to the impending darkness of nightfall.[16] After a long day of combat, the American fleet was in worse shape than the experienced British navy. Upon ceasefire, Arnold called a council of war with his fellow officers, proposing a plan to escape the British fleet via rowboats under the cover of night. As the British burned the Royal Savage to the east, the Americans successfully rowed past the British lines.[22] However, upon realization of the Americans escape the following morning, the British set out after the fleeing continental vessels. On October 13, the British fleet caught up to the struggling American ships near Split Rock Mountain.[22] With no hope of fighting off the powerful British navy, Arnold ordered his men to run their five vessels aground in Ferris Bay, Panton. The depleted Continental army successfully escaped on land back to Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Independence, however they no longer controlled the Lake Champlain waterway.[22]

The approaching winter of 1776-1777 restricted British movement along the recently controlled Lake Champlain. As the British abandoned Crown Point and returned to Canada for the winter, the Americans reduced their garrisons in the Champlain Valley from 13,000 to 2,500 soldiers.[16] However, this vacancy of Lake Champlain was only temporary, as the spring of 1777 brought with it bad news for the Continental Army.

General Burgoyne’s Campaign

Lake Champlain, Charlotte, Vermont

In the spring of 1777, British General John Burgoyne led 8,000 troops from Canada down Lake Champlain and into the Champlain Valley.[21] The goal of this invasion was to divide the New England colonies, thus forcing the Continental Army into a separated fight on multiple fronts.[23] Lake Champlain provided Burgoyne with protected passage deep into the American colonies. Burgoyne’s army reached Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Independence in late June of 1777. During the night of July 5, the American forces fled Fort Ticonderoga as the British took control of the fort. However, Burgoyne’s southern campaign did not go unattested. On October 7, 1777, American General Gates, who at the time occupied Bemis Heights, met Burgoyne’s army at the Second Battle of Freeman’s Farm.[23] At Freeman’s Farm, Burgoyne’s army suffered its final defeat and ended their invasion south into the colonies. Ten days later, on October 17, 1777, British General Burgoyne surrendered his army at Saratoga.[23] This defeat was instrumental to the momentum of the Revolutionary War, as the defeat of the British army along the Champlain-Hudson waterway convinced France to ally with the American army.[16]

Aftermath of 1777

Following the failed British campaign led by General Burgoyne, the British still maintained control over Lake Champlain for the duration of the Revolutionary War.[16] The British used the Champlain waterway for to supply raids across the Champlain Valley from 1778 to 1780. Furthermore, Lake Champlain provided direct transportation of supplies from the British posts at the Northern end of the lake. With the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783, the British naval fleet on Lake Champlain retreated up to St. John’s.[16] Americans were eager to take back control of Lake Champlain to use the water highway as a trade route.

Post-Revolutionary War Period

Dutton House, Shelburne Museum

As British forces retreated from the Champlain Valley following the end of the Revolutionary War, American citizens flocked to settle the banks of Lake Champlain. Many individuals emigrated from Massachusetts and other New England colonies, such as Salmon Dutton, a settler of Cavendish, Vermont.[24] Dutton emigrated in 1782, and worked as a surveyor, town official, and toll road owner. Dutton’s home had a dooryard garden, typical of mid-nineteenth century New England village homes.[24] His experience settling in the Champlain Valley depicts the industries and lifestyles surrounding Lake Champlain following the Revolutionary War.

Stagecoach Inn, Shelburne Museum
Sawmill, Shelburne Museum

Similar to the experience of Salmon Dutton, former colonial militia captain Hezekiah Barnes settled in Charlotte, Vermont, in 1787.[25] Following the war, Barnes also worked as a road surveyor and established an inn and trading post in Charlotte, along the main trade route from Montreal down Lake Champlain. Barnes’s stagecoach inn was built in traditional Georgian style, with ten fireplaces and a ballroom on the interior, and a wraparound porch on the outside.[25] In 1800, Continental Army Capitan Benjamin Harrington established a distillery business in Shelburne, Vermont, which supplied his nearby inn.[26] Furthermore, Captain Stevens and Jeremiah Trescott constructed a water-powered sawmill in South Royalton, Vermont, in the late 1700s.[27] All of these individual accounts shed light on the significance of Lake Champlain during the post-Revolutionary War period.

War of 1812

During the War of 1812, British and American forces faced each other in the Battle of Lake Champlain, also known as the Battle of Plattsburgh, fought on September 11, 1814. This ended the final British invasion of the northern states during the War of 1812. It was fought just prior to the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, and the American victory denied the British any leverage to demand exclusive control over the Great Lakes or territorial gains against the New England states.

Three US Naval ships have been named after this battle, including USS Lake Champlain (CV-39), USS Lake Champlain (CG-57), and a cargo ship used during World War I.

Following the War of 1812, the US Army began construction on "Fort Blunder", an unnamed fortification built at the northernmost end of Lake Champlain to protect against attacks from British Canada. Its nickname came from a surveying error: the initial phase of construction on the fort turned out to be taking place on a point .75 miles (1.21 km) north of the Canadian border. Once this error was spotted, construction was abandoned. Locals scavenged materials used in the abandoned fort for use in their own homes and public buildings.

By the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842, the US-Canadian border was adjusted northward to include the strategically important site of "Fort Blunder" on the US side. In 1844, work was begun to replace the remains of the 1812-era fort with a massive new Third System masonry fortification known as Fort Montgomery. Portions of this fort are still standing.

Modern history

A 1902 photograph of Fort Henry at Lake Champlain.

In the early 19th century, the construction of the Champlain Canal connected Lake Champlain to the Hudson River system, allowing north-south commerce by water from New York City to Montreal and Atlantic Canada.

In 1909, 65,000 people celebrated the 300th anniversary of the French discovery of the lake. Attending dignitaries included President William Howard Taft, along with representatives from France, Canada and the United Kingdom.[28][29]

In 1929, then-New York Governor Franklin Roosevelt and Vermont Governor John Weeks, dedicated the first bridge to span the lake, built from Crown Point to Chimney Point.[30] This bridge lasted until December 2009. Severe deterioration was found, and the bridge was demolished and replaced with the Lake Champlain Bridge, which opened in November 2011.

On February 19, 1932, boats were able to sail on Lake Champlain. It was the first time that the lake was known to be free of ice during the winter at that time.[31]

Lake Champlain briefly became the nation's sixth Great Lake on March 6, 1998, when President Clinton signed Senate Bill 927. This bill, which was led by U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont and reauthorized the National Sea Grant Program, contained a line declaring Lake Champlain to be a Great Lake. This status enabled its neighboring states to apply for additional federal research and education funds allocated to these national resources. Following a small uproar, the Great Lake status was rescinded on March 24 (although New York and Vermont universities continue to receive funds to monitor and study the lake).[32]

"Champ", Lake Champlain monster

In 1609 Samuel de Champlain wrote that he saw a lake monster five feet (1.5 m) long, as thick as a man's thigh, with silver-gray scales a dagger could not penetrate. The alleged monster had 2.5 foot (0.76 m) jaws with sharp and dangerous teeth. Native Americans claimed to have seen similar monsters 8 to 10 feet (2.4 to 3.0 m). This mysterious creature is likely the original Lake Champlain monster.[33]:20 The monster has been memorialized in sports teams names and mascots: the Vermont Lake Monsters and mascot (Champ) of the state's minor league baseball team.[34] A Vermont Historical Society publication recounts the story and offers possible explanations for accounts of the so-called monster: "floating logs, schools of large sturgeons diving in a row, or flocks of black birds flying close to the water."[35]

Ecology

A pollution prevention, control, and restoration plan for Lake Champlain[36] was first endorsed in October 1996 by the governors of New York and Vermont, and the regional administrators of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In April 2003, the plan was updated and Quebec signed onto it. The plan is being implemented by the Lake Champlain Basin Program and its partners at the state, provincial, federal and local level. It is renowned as a model for interstate and international cooperation. Its primary goals are to reduce phosphorus inputs to Lake Champlain; reduce toxic contamination; minimize the risks to humans from water-related health hazards; and control the introduction, spread, and impact of non-native nuisance species to preserve the integrity of the Lake Champlain ecosystem.

Agricultural and urban runoff from the watershed or drainage basin is the primary source of excess phosphorus, which exacerbates algae blooms in Lake Champlain. The most problematic blooms have been cyanobacteria, commonly called blue-green algae, in the northeastern part of the Lake, primarily Missisquoi Bay.[37]

To reduce phosphorus runoff to this part of the lake, Vermont and Quebec agreed to reduce their inputs by 60% and 40%, respectively, by an agreement signed in 2002.[38] While agricultural sources (manure and fertilizers) are the primary sources of phosphorus (about 70%) in the Missisquoi basin, runoff from developed land and suburbs is estimated to contribute about 46% of the phosphorus runoff basin-wide to Lake Champlain, and agricultural lands contributed about 38%.[39]

In 2002, the cleanup plan noted that the lake had the capacity to absorb 110 metric tons (110 long tons; 120 short tons) of phosphorus each year. In 2009, a judge noted that 218 metric tons (215 long tons; 240 short tons) were still flowing in annually, more than twice what the lake could handle. Sixty municipal and industrial sewage plants discharge processed waste from the Vermont side.[40]

In 2008, the EPA expressed concerns to the State of Vermont that the Lake's cleanup was not progressing fast enough to meet the original cleanup goal of 2016.[41] The State, however, cites its Clean and Clear Action Plan[42] as a model that will produce positive results for Lake Champlain.

In 2007, Vermont banned phosphates for dishwasher use starting in 2010. This will prevent an estimated 2–3 short tons (1.8–2.7 t) from flowing into the lake. While this represents 0.6% of the phosphate pollution, it took US$1.9 million to remove the pollutant from treated wastewater, an EPA requirement.[43]

Despite concerns about pollution, Lake Champlain is safe for swimming, fishing, and boating. It is considered a world-class fishery for salmonid species (Lake trout and Atlantic salmon) and bass. About 81 fish species live in the Lake, and more than 300 bird species rely on it for habitat and as a resource during migrations.[44]

By 2008 at least six institutions were monitoring lake water health:

  1. in 2002 the Conservation Law Foundation appointed a "lakekeeper," who reviews the state's pollution controls,
  2. Friends of Missisquoi Bay was formed in 2003,
  3. the Lake Champlain Committee,
  4. Vermont Water Resources Board hired a water quality expert in 2008 to write water quality standards and create wetland protection rules,
  5. in 2007 the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources appoints a "lake czar" to oversee pollution control. Clean and Clear, an agency of the Vermont state government established in 2004; and
  6. the Nature Conservancy, a non-profit group, focuses on biodiversity and ecosystem health.[45]

In 2001, scientists estimated that farming contributed 38% of the phosphorus runoff. By 2010, results of environmentally conscious farming practices, enforced by law, had made any positive contribution to lake cleanliness. A federally funded study was started to analyze this problem and to arrive at a solution.[46]

Biologists have been trying to control lampreys in the lake since 1985 or earlier. Lampreys are native to the area, but have expanded in population to such an extent that they wounded nearly all lake trout in 2006 and 70-80% of salmon. The use of pesticides against the lamprey has reduced their casualties of other fish to 35% of salmon and 31% of lake trout. The goal was 15% of salmon and 25% of lake trout.[47]

The federal and state governments originally budgeted US$18 million for lake programs for 2010. This was later supplemented by an additional US$6.5 million from the federal government.[48]

The causeway connecting Colchester and South Hero.

Railroad

Historically, four significant railroad crossings were built over the lake. As of 2016, only one remains.

The Swanton-Alburgh trestle spans Lake Champlain between the two Vermont towns, a distance of about .8 miles (1.3 km)

Now called Colchester Park, the main three-mile (5 km) causeway has been adapted and preserved as a recreation area for cyclists, runners, and anglers. Two smaller marble rock-landfill causeways were also erected as part of this line that connected Grand Isle to North Hero and from North Hero to Alburgh.[33]:257[49]

Natural history

In 2010, the estimate of cormorant population, now classified as a nuisance species because they take so much of the lake fish, ranged from 14,000 to 16,000. A Fish and Wildlife commissioner said that the ideal population would be 3,300 or about 3 per 1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi). Cormorants had disappeared from the lake (and all northern lakes) due to the use of DDT in the 1940s and 1950s, which made their eggs more fragile and reduced breeding populations.[51]

Ring-billed gulls are also considered a nuisance. Measures have been taken to reduce their population. Authorities are trying to encourage the return of black crowned night herons, cattle egrets, and great blue herons, which disappeared during the time DDT was being widely used.[51]

Infrastructure

Lake crossings

The Alburgh Peninsula (also known as the Alburgh Tongue), extending south from the Quebec shore of the lake into Vermont, is accessible from the rest of the state only via Canada. This is a distinction shared with Point Roberts, Washington, and the Northwest Angle in Minnesota as well as Province Point (see below). Unlike the other three cases, this is no longer of practical significance because highway bridges across the lake provide access to the peninsula from within the United States (from three directions).

Province Point, Vermont

A few kilometres to the northeast of the town of East Alburgh, Vermont, Province Point is the southernmost tip of a small promontory approximately 2 acres (1 ha) in size 45°00′48″N 73°11′36″W / 45.013351°N 73.193257°W / 45.013351; -73.193257.[52] The promontory is cut through by the US-Canadian border; as such the area is a practical exclave of the United States contiguous with Canada.

The Champlain Bridge between New York and Vermont, demolished in December of 2009.
The LCTC ferry slip at Grand Isle, Vermont.

Mainland

Two roadways cross over the lake, connecting Vermont and New York.

Since November 2011, the Lake Champlain Bridge has crossed the southern part of the lake, connecting Chimney Point in Vermont with Crown Point, New York. It replaced Champlain Bridge, which was closed in 2009 because of severe structural problems found that could have resulted in a collapse.[53] In 2009, the bridge had been used by 3,400 drivers per day,[54] and driving around the southern end of the lake added two hours to the trip. Ferry service was re-established to take some of the traffic burden. On December 28, 2009, the bridge was destroyed in a controlled demolition. A new bridge was rapidly constructed by a joint state commitment, opening on November 7, 2011.[55]

To the north, US 2 runs from Rouses Point, New York to Grand Isle County, Vermont in the town of Alburgh, before continuing south along a chain of islands towards Burlington. To the east, Vermont Route 78 runs from an intersection with US 2 in Alburgh through East Alburgh to Swanton. The US 2-VT 78 route technically runs from the New York mainland to an extension of the mainland between two arms of the lake and then to the Vermont mainland, but it provides a direct route across the two main arms of the northern part of the lake.

Ferry

North of Ticonderoga, New York, the lake widens appreciably; ferry service is operated by the Lake Champlain Transportation Company at:

While the old bridge was being demolished and the new one constructed, Lake Champlain Transportation Company operated a free, 24-hour ferry from just south of the bridge to Chimney Point in Vermont at the expense of the states of New York and Vermont at a cost to the states of about $10 per car.[56][57]

The most southerly crossing is the Fort Ticonderoga Ferry, connecting Ticonderoga, New York with Shoreham, Vermont just north of the historic fort.

Railroad

The Swanton, VT, to East Alburg, Vermont, rail trestle.

Waterways

Lake Champlain has been connected to the Erie Canal via the Champlain Canal since the canal's official opening September 9, 1823, the same day as the opening of the Erie Canal from Rochester on Lake Ontario to Albany. It connects to the St. Lawrence River via the Richelieu River, with the Chambly Canal bypassing rapids on the river since 1843. Together with these waterways the lake is part of the Lakes to Locks Passage. The Lake Champlain Seaway, a project to use the lake to bring ocean-going ships from New York City to Montreal, was proposed in the late 19th century and considered as late as the 1960s, but rejected for various reasons. The lake is also part of the 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail, which begins in Old Forge, NY and ends in Fort Kent, ME.

Surroundings

Major cities

Burlington, Vermont (pop. 42,217, 2010 Census) is the largest city on the lake. The 2nd and 3rd most populated cities/towns are Plattsburgh, New York, and Colchester, Vermont, respectively. The fourth-largest community is the city of South Burlington.

Islands

At sunset, looking west from Grand Isle to Plattsburgh and Crab Island

Lake Champlain contains roughly 80 islands, three of which comprise four entire Vermont towns (most of Grand Isle County). The largest islands:

Lighthouses

The light house in Lake Champlain at dusk as seen from Burlington VT

Aids to navigation

USCG, Burlington, Vermont – main installation.

All active navigational aids on the American portion of the lake are maintained by USCG Burlington station, along with those on international Lake Memphremagog to the east.[64] Aids to navigation on the Canadian portion of the lake are maintained by the Canadian Coast Guard.[65]

Parks

Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife boat docked near ECHO Aquarium.

There are a number of parks in the Lake Champlain region of both Vermont and New York.

Two on the New York side of the lake include Point Au Roche State Park, which have hiking and cross country skiing trails. A public beach is located on park grounds, and the Ausable Point State Park. The Cumberland Bay State Park is located on Cumberland Head, with a campground, city beach, and sports fields.

There are various parks along the lake on the Vermont side, including Sand Bar State Park in Milton, featuring a 2,000 feet (610 m) natural sand beach, swimming,canoe and kayak rentals, food concession, picnic grounds and a play area. At 226 acres (91 ha), Grand Isle State Park contains camping facilities, a sand volleyball court, a nature walk trail, a horseshoe pit and a play area. Burlington's Waterfront Park is a revitalized industrial area.

Public safety

Coast Guard Station Burlington provides "Search and Rescue, Law Enforcement and Ice Rescue services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year."[64] Services are also provided by local, and state, and federal governments bordering on the lake, including the US Border Patrol, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Vermont State Police,[66] New York State Police Marine Detail,[67] and Vermont Fish and Wildlife wardens.[68]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Physiographic divisions of the conterminous U. S.". U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved December 6, 2007.
  2. ↑ "Champlain, Lake". The Canadian encyclopedia. February 12, 2011.
  3. ↑ Veyron, Michel (1989). Dictionnaire canadien des noms propres (in French). Éditions Larousse. p. 142. ISBN 2-920318-06-3.
  4. ↑ "Lake Champlain Lake Level – King St. Ferry Dock (1977-2006)". 2012-05-03.
  5. ↑ Curran, John (August 11, 2010). "State seeks dismissal of phosphorus lawsuit". Burlington, Vermont: Burlington Free Press. pp. 1B.
  6. ↑ Sutkoski, Matt. "Lack of ice cover might be affecting the ecology of Lake Champlain".
  7. ↑ "NWS Burlington Lake Champlain Forecast Page".
  8. ↑ University of Vermont Professor of Geology, Charlotte Mehrtens
  9. ↑ Hyde, Bruce (1976). A topographical description of the dominions of the United States of America. Ayer Publishing. A topographical description of the dominions of the United States of America by Thomas Pownall
  10. ↑ Hyde, Bruce & Huden, John Charles (1962). Indian place names of New England. Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. Indian place names of New England by John Charles Huden
  11. ↑ "Abenaki". Abenakination.org. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Indian Summer | Seven Days". 7dvt.com. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Champlain's journal: Entering 'The Lake Between'". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. July 14, 2009. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  14. ↑ Countryman, Edward (2003). The American Revolution. Macmillan. p. 4.
  15. 1 2 3 Countryman, Edward (2003). The American Revolution. Macmillan. p. 103.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "History of Lake Champlain: Revolutionary War". www.lcmm.org. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  17. ↑ Graymont, Barbara (1975). The Iroquois in the American Revolution. Syracuse University Press. p. 66.
  18. 1 2 Weigley, Russell (1977). The American Way of War: A History of United States Military Strategy and Policy. Indiana University Press. p. 47.
  19. ↑ Graymont, Barbara (1975). The Iroquois in the American Revolution. Syracuse University Press. p. 74.
  20. 1 2 Hatch, Robert (1979). Thrust for Canada: The American Attempt on Quebec in 1775-1776. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
  21. 1 2 Weigley, Russell (1977). The American Way of War: A History of United States Military Strategy and Policy. Indiana University Press. p. 23.
  22. 1 2 3 Nelson, James (2006). Benedict Arnold's Navy: The Ragtag Fleet that Lost the Battle of Lake Champlain But Won the American Revolution. McGraw Hill Professional.
  23. 1 2 3 Ketchum, Richard (1997). Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War. Macmillan.
  24. 1 2 Shelburne Museum's Dutton House
  25. 1 2 Shelburne Museum's Stagecoach Inn
  26. ↑ Shelburne Museum's Hat and Fragrance Textile Gallery
  27. ↑ Shelburne Museum's Sawmill
  28. ↑ Hyde, Bruce (January 3, 2008). My Turn:Get ready to celebrate the 400th. The Burlington Free Press.
  29. ↑ "1909 Champlain Tercentenary Celebration of the Discovery of Lake Champlain". Hrmm.org. Archived from the original on April 3, 2009. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  30. ↑ "Vermont History Timeline". historicvermont.org. August 26, 2010. Archived from the original on September 11, 2011.
  31. ↑ Barton Chronicle, retrieved August 21, 2009
  32. ↑ Lake Champlain, The Sixth Great Lake? – Geography – 03/02/98. Geography.about.com (1998-03-06). Retrieved on 2013-07-12.
  33. 1 2 3 Hill, Ralph Nading (1976). Lake Champlain: Key to Liberty. Woodstock, Vermont: Countryman Press.
  34. ↑ "Vermont Lake Monsters Home Page". The Official Site of Minor League Baseball. 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  35. ↑ "Vermont's Very Own Monster" (PDF). Vermont Historical Society. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  36. ↑ "Lake Champlain Management Plan".
  37. ↑ Watzin, M.C. (2007). Monitoring and Evaluation of Cyanobacteria in Lake Champlain: Summer 2006. Lake Champlain Basin Program. Abstract online Archived January 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  38. ↑ "Missisquoi Bay Phosphorus Reduction Agreement, August 2002" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2012.
  39. ↑ Troy A., Wang D. and Capen D. (2007). Updating the Lake Champlain Basin Land Use Data to Improve Prediction of Phosphorus Loading. Lake Champlain Basin Program. Archived from the original on March 13, 2009.
  40. ↑ Page, Candace (July 9, 2009). "Sewage:Judge sides with CLF, throws out Montpelier permit". Burlington, Vermont: Burlington Free Press. pp. 4A.
  41. ↑ Page, Candace (June 3, 2008). EPA scolds state on efforts to clean up Lake Champlain. The Burlington Free Press.
  42. ↑ "Vermont Clean and Clear Action Plan". Archived from the original on March 6, 2013.
  43. ↑ Baird, Joel Banner (June 26, 2010). "Detergents must soon be phosphate free". Burlington, Vermont: Burlington Free Press. pp. 1A.
  44. ↑ ""Lake Champlain Basin Atlas: Plants and Animals", 2004". Lcbp.org. Archived from the original on September 26, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  45. ↑ Page, Candace (December 14, 2008). Lake Champlain gets another watchdog. Burlington Free Press.
  46. ↑ Page, Candace (July 6, 2010). "Lake Champlain cleanup effort focuses on Rock Rive6". Burlington Free Press (Burlington, Vermont). pp. 1B.
  47. ↑ Page, Candace (January 22, 2009). Lamprey wounds decrease. Burlington Free Press.
  48. ↑ Page, Candace (July 24, 2010). "Lake scores $6.5 million". Burlington, Vermont: Burlington Free Press. pp. 1A.
  49. ↑ Lake Champlain New York – Vermont: Cumberland Head to Four Brothers Island (Map) (23rd ed.). 1:40,000. Washington DC: National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration. 1992.
  50. ↑ "State Rail & Policy Plan, 2006" (PDF). Vermont Agency of Transportation. 2006. p. 20.
  51. 1 2 Page, Candace (July 11, 2010). "Cutting the cormorant population". Burlington, Vermont: Burlington Free Press. pp. 1C, 8C.
  52. ↑ "Wikimapia - Let's describe the whole world!".
  53. ↑ McKinstry, Lohr (October 17, 2009). "Vital bridge at Crown Point closed". The Press Republican. Retrieved October 31, 2009.
  54. ↑ NYT article of December 12, 2009 (page A12)
  55. ↑ "Controlled explosions bring down Lake Champlain Bridge, unsafe NY-VT span was closed in Oct.". LA Times. Associated Press. December 28, 2009. Archived from the original on December 31, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  56. ↑ Bridge is costly, but ferry is more by Nick Reisman, Poststar.com, May 18, 2010.
  57. ↑ "Ferry At Champlain Bridge Set To Start Running". WPTZ. January 31, 2010.
  58. ↑ Meyers, Jeff (August 10, 2008). "Four Brothers Islands a haven for a variety of birds » Local News". Press-Republican. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  59. ↑ "Cormorants on Lake Champlain". Nasw.org. July 3, 1996. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  60. ↑ Archived June 19, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  61. ↑ "A Tour of the Historic Lake Champlain Islands by Jim Millard". Historiclakes.org. December 5, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  62. ↑ "Isle La Motte, VT". Lighthousefriends.com. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  63. ↑ "Watchtowers on the Water – NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation". Dec.ny.gov. March 19, 2003. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  64. 1 2 United States Coast Guard (March 5, 2009). "USCG: Station Burlington, Vermont".
  65. ↑ Canadian Coast Guard (December 9, 2009). "Canadian Coast Guard – Marinfo". Archived from the original on May 13, 2011.
  66. ↑ "Marine and Snowmobile". Vermont State Police. Vermont State Police. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  67. ↑ New York State, Division of State Police. "Marine Detail". Retrieved December 11, 2009.
  68. ↑ "Vermont Fish and Wildlife". Retrieved January 4, 2010.

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