| Chautauqua Lake | |
|---|---|
| View from Stow, NY towards Bemus Point | |
| Location | Chautauqua County, New York |
| Lake type | Natural |
| Primary inflows | Big Inlet |
| Catchment area | 180 sq mi (470 km2) |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Max. length | 17 mi (27 km) |
| Max. width | 2 mi (3.2 km) |
| Surface area | 13,000 acres (5,300 ha) |
| Max. depth | 78 ft (24 m) |
| Shore length1 | 41 mi (66 km) |
| Surface elevation | 1,308 ft (399 m) |
| Settlements | Jamestown |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Chautauqua Lake is located entirely within Chautauqua County, New York, USA. The lake is approximately 17 miles (27 km) long and 2 miles (3.2 km) wide at its greatest width. The surface area is approximately 13,000 acres (53 km2). The maximum depth is about 78 feet (23 m). The shoreline is about 41.1 miles (66 km) of which all but 2.6 mi (4 km) are privately owned.
The lake's name has various meanings, based on a variety of translations of the original native words. One translation means Bag tied in the middle, referring to the narrow portion between shore lines half-way down the lake. Other translations include: Place Where Fish are Taken as well as Place of Easy Death.
The water from the lake drains to the south, emptying first into the Chadakoin River in Jamestown, New York before traveling east into the Conewango Creek. The creek goes south, entering the Allegheny River in Warren, Pennsylvania and the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, instead of flowing north into the Great Lakes. The drainage area is about 180 square miles (470 km2).
At the southern end is the City of Jamestown. The Village of Mayville is at the northern end. Other villages located on the Lake are Bemus Point, Lakewood, Celoron, and Chautauqua, the site of the Chautauqua Institution founded in 1874. There are many other settlements located on the Lake, including: Fluvanna, Greenhurst, Maple Springs, Dewittville, Stow, Bemus Point, and Ashville Bay.
The lake is used primarily for tourism and recreation, mostly boating and fishing. Chautauqua Lake is world known for its excellent muskellunge fishing and sailing as well as for being the home of the world famous Chautauqua Institution.
There is one bridge that connects the opposite sides of the lake. The Veterans Memorial Bridge (aka the Chautauqua Lake Bridge) was completed on October 30, 1982 and joins Bemus Point, New York to Stow, NY on I-86 (at the time known as Route 17). Prior to the construction of the bridge the only means for cars to cross the lake was facilitated by a ferry, which still operates during the summer months and has become more of a tourist attraction.
The lake is the home of the Chautauqua Belle an authentic Mississippi River-style sternwheel steamboat, one of only a few left in North America. The Chautauqua Belle is the last of the original large fleet of steamboats that once operated on Chautauqua Lake, before the railroads, and later the automobile replaced them. [1]
Boating, The Summer Wind, The Italian Fishermen, and The Village Casino are also very appealing during the summer months. There are also two very popular boat "hang outs" on the lake, ("Sandy Bottoms"), and located directly across near the Maple Springs area of the lake is Long Point State Park. On busy, warm weekends, it is not un-common to see nearly 100 boats in this area of the lake. Bemus Point offers, The Village Casino mentioned above. A very popular restaurant and bar that is easily navigatable from boat. This establishment also has historical values in the area and offers night life on the lake. The Italian Fishermen, also in Bemus Point. Offers fine dining, and a floating stage during the summer with live bands and events scheduled at various times through out the warm season of Western New York. If you are just visiting, or do not have a personal water craft. Schedule a ride or dinner cruise on, "The Summer Wind". This floating leasure shuttle departs from Celeron, (Near the Jamestown end of the lake) and can take anyone looking for a relaxing day/evening on an excellent sight seeing tour.
While the lake has a similar geologic structure (a very long, narrow valley) to the Finger Lakes to the east, it is not considered one of the Finger Lakes; its direction runs perpendicular to the westernmost of those lakes and was likely formed by a different process.
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Chautauqua Lake is mentioned in at least one episode of I Love Lucy, in which Lucille Ball (a native of nearby Jamestown, New York), playing the role of Lucy Ricardo, finds a small fish, stuffed and mounted, in a trunk in her attic and recalls that Ricky caught it at Chautauqua Lake, and was so thrilled that he mounted it.[2]
Chautauqua Lake is of major significance in the novel Wish You Were Here by Stewart O'Nan (Grove Press, 2002). The German translation of the title was Abschied von Chautauqua, which means "A Farewell from Chautauqua".