Champlain, Lake

Champlain, Lake
Lake between Vermont and New York, U.S. Located on the states' northern boundaries and extending into Canada about 6 mi (10 km), it is about 125 mi (200 km) long and has an area of 430 sq mi (1,115 sq km).

It was visited in 1609 by Samuel de Champlain. In 1776 it was the scene of the first British-American naval battle and in 1814 of a U.S. naval victory over the British. A link in the waterway between New York City's harbour and the lower St. Lawrence River, it is used extensively for commercial and pleasure-boat navigation.

* * *

lake, Canada-United States
      lake extending 107 miles (172 km) southward from Missisquoi Bay and the Richelieu River in Quebec province, Can., where it empties into the St. Lawrence River, to South Bay, near Whitehall, N.Y., U.S. It forms the boundary between Vermont and New York for most of its length and lies in a broad valley between the Adirondack and Green mountains. The lake has a maximum width of 14 miles (23 km) and a total area of 435 square miles (1,127 square km) of water surface and 55 square miles (142 square km) of islands (including Grand Isle and Isle La Motte, Vermont, and Valcour Island, New York). Lake George partly parallels Champlain along its narrow southwestern shore and drains into it near Ticonderoga, N.Y., via a short channel. On both sides of the lake are several terraced upland features formed by the higher lake levels that occurred during deglaciation.

      A link in the international waterway between New York City's harbour and the lower St. Lawrence, Lake Champlain is extensively used for commercial and pleasure-boat navigation. The most important ports are Burlington, Vt., and Rouses Point, Plattsburgh, and Port Henry, N.Y. Streams emptying into the lake include Otter Creek and the Mettawee, Poultney, Winooski, Lamoille, Missisquoi, Boquet, Ausable, Saranac, and Chazy rivers.

      The lake was visited in 1609 by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain, whence its name. Of considerable historical significance, it was used by early settlers as a gateway between French Canada and the English colonies and was the scene of battles in the French and Indian Wars, the American Revolution, and the War of 1812. In 1731 the French built a fort at Crown Point, N.Y., on a promontory on the western shore and, in 1755, another at Ticonderoga, on the route between Lake Champlain and Lake George; both were strategic points. The first encounter between an American and a British fleet, the Battle of Valcour Island, was fought on the lake on Oct. 11, 1776. During the War of 1812 (1812, War of) a naval battle (Sept. 11, 1814) in Cumberland Bay, near Plattsburgh, resulted in a victory for the American fleet under Commodore Thomas Macdonough, causing the British to abandon the invasion of New York.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Champlain, Lake — lake, betw. New York and Vermont, extending into Canada; 600 sq. mi …   Webster's Gazetteer

  • Champlain Lake —    Discovered by Samuel Champlain, July, 1609. Here took place the first hostile encounter between the French and the Iroquois. The French were the aggressors, and had bitter enough cause to remember the fact throughout the century. In 1666 the… …   The makers of Canada

  • Champlain,Lake — Cham·plain (shăm plānʹ), Lake A lake of northeast New York, northwest Vermont, and southern Quebec, Canada. It was the site of important battles in the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and the War of 1812. The region has many… …   Universalium

  • Champlain, Lake — geographical name lake 125 miles (201 kilometers) long between New York & Vermont extending N into Quebec area 430 square miles (1114 square kilometers) …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Champlain, Lake — …   Useful english dictionary

  • Champlain (town), New York — Champlain, New York   Town   Rouses Point, NY …   Wikipedia

  • Champlain — Champlain, Lake a North American lake between New York and Vermont, that goes up to Quebec in Canada Champlain 2 Champlain, Samuel de (1567 1635) a French ↑explorer and the first ↑governor of French Canada. He ↑explored much of what is now Nova… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Lake Champlain — For ships named after the lake, see USS Lake Champlain. Lake Champlain Lake Champlain near Burlington in early twilight Location New …   Wikipedia

  • Champlain Valley — Landsat photo of the immediate Lake Champlain region  only part of the much longer drainage basin and overall valley which reaches the Atlantic Ocean north of Nova Scotia via the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Champlain Valley (or more technically …   Wikipedia

  • Champlain and Connecticut River Railroad — Logo der Rutland Railroad Die Rutland Railway (bis 1950 Rutland Railroad) (RUT) war eine Eisenbahngesellschaft in Vermont, Massachusetts und New York (Vereinigte Staaten) sowie in Québec (Kanada). Sie bestand einschließlich ihrer direkten… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”