Champlain, Lake

Related Category: U.S. Physical Geography

490 sq mi (1,269 sq km), 125 mi (201 km) long and from 0.5 to 14 mi (0.8–23 km) wide, forming part of the New York–Vermont border and extending into Quebec. Lake Champlain lies in an elongated plain between the Adirondacks and the Green Mts. A link in the Hudson–Saint Lawrence waterway, the lake is connected with the Hudson (at Fort Edward) by the Champlain division of the New York State Canal System; the Richelieu River connects the lake with the St. Lawrence. Lake George drains into it through a narrow channel, and many islands dot its surface, including Grand Isle, Isle La Motte, and Valcour Island. The region is noted for its scenery and has many resorts. Burlington, Vt., and Plattsburgh, N.Y., are the largest cities on the lake's shores. The lake, named for the explorer Samuel de Champlain, was the scene of battles in the French and Indian Wars and the American Revolution at Crown Point and Ticonderoga, of a naval engagement in 1776, and of the American victory of Thomas Macdonough in the War of 1812.