Lake Bomoseen

Lake Bomoseen
Lake Bomoseen, a lake in Castleton, Vermont, US.
Location	Rutland County, Vermont
Coordinates	43°38′39″N 073°12′47″W / 43.64417°N 73.21306°W / 43.64417; -73.21306Coordinates: 43°38′39″N 073°12′47″W / 43.64417°N 73.21306°W / 43.64417; -73.21306
Primary outflows	Castleton River
Catchment area	24,770 acres (100.25 km2)
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	2,400 acres (9.6 km2)
Average depth	27 feet (8.2 m)
Max. depth	65 feet (19.8 m)
Surface elevation	410 ft (120 m)
Islands	Neshobe Island

Lake Bomoseen is a freshwater lake in the western part of the U.S. state of Vermont in the towns of Castleton and Hubbardton in Rutland County. It is the largest lake that lies entirely within the state's boundaries, with a surface area of approximately 2,400 acres (9.6 km²). The lake was formed by glaciation and has an average and maximum depth of 27 feet (8.2 m) and 65 feet (19.8 m), respectively. It drains a 24,770-acre (100.25 km²) watershed, has five major inlets, and empties to the Castleton River, a tributary of the Poultney River, which in turn flows west to East Bay at the southern end of Lake Champlain.

Bomoseen State Park occupies a portion of the lake's western shoreline. Most of the remaining area around the lake is privately owned. The lake has such recreational accommodations as a public beach, marinas, and public boat launches, in addition to the state park. There are approximately 1,000 residences around the lake, as well as restaurants and other commercial facilities.

Millions of years ago, clays that accumulated on the ocean floor compressed into shale. When the ocean floor uplifted to form the Taconic Mountains, heat and pressure metamorphosed the shale into much harder slate. Lake Bomoseen nestles in a valley surrounded by some of the lower hills on the western side of the range. The Taconics are the slate-producing region of Vermont, and the area's history parallels the rise and fall of Vermont's slate industry.

Bomoseen State Park has several quarry holes and adjacent colorful slate rubble piles. These quarries provided slate for the West Castleton Railroad and Slate Company, a complex of sixty to seventy buildings that stood between Glen Lake and Lake Bomoseen. Several slate buildings and foundations remain in the park, and a self-guided Slate History Trail brochure is available at the contact station.

In the 1920s, literary critic Alexander Woollcott owned Neshobe Island, which served as a retreat and playground for members of the famed Algonquin Round Table.