Chautauqua Lake

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Chautauqua Lake
Location	Chautauqua County, New York
Coordinates	42°09′22″N, 79°23′44″WCoordinates: 42°09′22″N, 79°23′44″W
Lake type	Natural
Primary inflows	Big Inlet
Catchment area	180 square miles (468 km²)
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	17 miles (28 km)
Max. width	2 miles (3 km)
Surface area	13,000 acres (53 km²)
Max. depth	78 feet (23 m)
Shore length¹	41 miles (66 km)
Surface elevation	1,308 feet (399 m)
Settlements	Jamestown, New York
¹ Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

View across Chautauqua Lake from Stow, NY towards Bemus Point

Chautauqua Lake is located entirely within Chautauqua County, New York, USA. The lake is approximately 17 miles (28 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.

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, Cheney's 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 occasionally operates and traverses the lake in the shadow of the bridge.