Seneca Lake (New York)

Seneca Lake
Aerial view from the southern part of Seneca Lake.
Location	Schuyler, Seneca, Yates, and Ontario counties, New York, United States
Group	Finger Lakes
Coordinates	42°39′20″N 76°53′51″W / 42.65556°N 76.89750°W / 42.65556; -76.89750Coordinates: 42°39′20″N 76°53′51″W / 42.65556°N 76.89750°W / 42.65556; -76.89750
Type	Ground Moraine
Primary inflows	Catharine Creek, Keuka Lake Outlet; underwater sources
Primary outflows	Cayuga-Seneca Canal
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	38 mi (61 km)
Surface area	66.9 sq mi (173 km2)
Average depth	291 ft (89 m)
Max. depth	618 ft (188 m)
Water volume	16 km3 (3.8 cu mi)
Surface elevation	445 ft (136 m)
Settlements	Watkins Glen, Geneva

Seneca Lake is the largest of the glacial Finger Lakes of the U.S. state of New York, and the deepest lake entirely within the state. It is promoted as being the lake trout capital of the world, and is host of the National Lake Trout Derby. Because of its depth and relative ease of access, the US Navy uses Seneca Lake to perform test and evaluation of equipment ranging from single element transducers to complex sonar arrays and systems. The lake takes its name from the Seneca nation of Native Americans. At the north end of Seneca Lake is the city of Geneva, New York, home of Hobart and William Smith Colleges and the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, a division of Cornell University. At the south end of the lake is the village of Watkins Glen, New York, famed for auto racing and waterfalls.

Due to Seneca Lake's unique macroclimate it is home to over 50 wineries, many of them farm wineries and is the location of the Seneca Lake AVA. (See Seneca Lake wine trail).

At 38 miles (61 km) long, it is the second longest of the Finger Lakes and has the largest volume, estimated at 3.81 cubic miles (15.9 km³), roughly half of the water in all the Finger Lakes. It has an average depth of 291 feet (89 m), a maximum depth of 618 feet (188 m), and a surface area of 66.9 square miles (173 km²).