Finger Lakes Trivia 2

[dirtysteve]

What's in a name? Why are the central NY State lakes called "Finger Lakes"? Well look at a map- they resemble the phalanges of the human skeleton (fingers for non medical types). The local native American Indians, known as Iroquois, had a theory about the shape of the bodies of water. (PS this is a stolen quote)


The Hand of the Great Spirit



It is said that the Finger Lakes were made by the impression of the hand of the Great Spirit on central New York State. However there are six major Finger Lakes. West to east they are; Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, Cayuga, Owasco and Skaneateles.

As told in Iroquois legend, the Great God Manitou wanted to reward the Iroquois Confederacy for their courage in battle and their devotion to the Great Spirit. He decided to bring part of their happy hunting ground down from the heavens.

According to the legend, there are six Finger Lakes because the hand of Manitou slipped when he was pushing the portion of Indian Paradise down from the heavens, causing six indentations that later became the lakes.


For those of you that follow geography and are aware of glaciers and glacial activity. You guessed it the Finger Lakes are remnants of ancient glacial activity. Here is what wikipedia has to say:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finger_Lakes

The lakes vary in size obviously. The deepest is Seneca at over 600 ft so don't drop you keys! I live close to Cayuga and boat during the summer as much as possible on the lake. Map show 435 feet deep- my fish finder showed 441 feet deep on that area once. Again don't drop any thing important. These lakes all similarly have steep canyon/like walls. For instance if walk out 60 feet from shore the depth may only be 4-6 feet. Swim out 100 feet and you could be in 100 plus feet of water. Treacherous!

An interesting fact. The primary inlets for all Finger lakes is from the South and they drain to the North. Most of which enters the Barge canal system and is carried either West to Buffalo, North to Lake Ontario, or East to the Hudson valley.

Till next time on Finger Lakes trivia,

Steve