Chautauqua Lake

Chautauqua Lake is located entirely within Chautauqua County, New York, USA. The lake is approximately 17 miles (27 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 halfway 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 (470 km2).

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, and Ashville Bay.

The lake is used primarily for tourism and recreation, mostly boating and fishing. Chautauqua Lake is known worldwide 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 (also known as the Chautauqua Lake Bridge) was completed on October 30, 1982 and joins Bemus Point to Stow 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 operates during the summer months and has become more of a tourist attraction.

The lake is the home of the Chautauqua Belle, an authentic Mississippi River-style sternwheel steamboat, one of only a few left in North America. The Chautauqua Belle is the last of the original large fleet of steamboats that once operated on Chautauqua Lake, before the railroads, and later the automobile, replaced them.

Boating, The Summer Wind, The Italian Fishermen, and The Village Casino are also very appealing during the summer months. There are also two very popular boat "hang outs" on the lake, ("Sandy Bottoms"), and located near Maple Springs is Long Point State Park. On busy, warm weekends, it is not uncommon to see nearly 100 boats in this area of the lake. Bemus Point offers The Village Casino mentioned above, a very popular restaurant and bar that is easily navigatable from boat. This establishment also has historical values in the area and offers nightlife on the lake. The Italian Fishermen, also in Bemus Point, offers fine dining and a floating stage during the summer with live bands and events scheduled at various times throughout the warm season of Western New York. Visitors or those who do not have a personal watercraft can schedule a ride or dinner cruise on "The Summer Wind". This floating leisure shuttle departs from Celoron, at the southern end of the lake, and can take anyone looking for a relaxing day or evening on an excellent sightseeing tour.

While the lake has a similar geologic structure (a very long, narrow valley) to the Finger Lakes to the east, it is not considered one of the Finger Lakes; its direction runs perpendicular to the westernmost of those lakes (much like an opposable thumb), lies in a different watershed, and was likely formed by a different process.