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91-480: The geological term finger lake refers to a long, narrow lake in an overdeepened glacial valley, while the proper name Finger Lakes goes back to the late 19th century. Cayuga and Seneca Lakes are among the deepest in the United States, measuring 435 and 618 feet (133 and 188 m), respectively, with bottoms well below sea level. Though none of the lakes' widths exceed 3.5 miles (5.6 km), Seneca Lake

182-434: A glacially overdeepened valley and sometimes impounded by a morainic dam ." Where one end of a finger lake is drowned by the sea, it becomes a fjord or sea-loch . This article about geography terminology is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( / ˌ s ʌ s k w ə ˈ h æ n ə / SUSS -kwə- HAN -ə ; Lenape : Siskëwahane )

273-702: A "Finger Lake" that never formed because of a terminal moraine . The moraine caused the Tioughnioga River to flow south instead of north, the opposite of the Finger Lakes' waters. The next two valleys to the east contain Butternut Creek , which flows north, and the East Branch of the Tioughnioga River, which flows south. The next valley contains Limestone Creek , which flows north. Other lakes have also made

364-640: A feeder reservoir for the Erie Canal . It is maintained by the New York State Canal Corporation . Oneida Lake , to the northeast of Syracuse , is sometimes included as the "thumb", although it is shallow and somewhat different in character from the rest. As with Onondaga and Cazenovia Lakes, it drains into Lake Ontario via the Oswego River and then into the St. Lawrence River ultimately draining into

455-555: A net height of 1,009 feet (308 m) between basins, requiring the use of more than 100 water locks , which were too expensive to be maintained under the new competition. The Susquehanna River figures in the history of the Latter Day Saint movement . It holds that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the priesthood from heavenly beings at a site along the Susquehanna and performed their first baptisms of Latter Day Saints in

546-496: A proper name by R. S. Tarr in a Geological Society of America paper published in 1893. Older usage of Finger Lakes in either maps, papers, reports, or any other documents remains to be verified. The eleven Finger Lakes, from west to east, are: Cazenovia Lake to the east, although smaller, is sometimes called "the 12th Finger Lake", because it is similar in shape and limnology. It is in Appalachian hill terrain, lying mostly in

637-410: A result, the grapes are protected from disastrous spring frost during shoot growth, and early frost before the harvest. Additionally, due to the long, narrow, north-to-south positioning of the Finger Lakes, the slopes on the east and west side provide for variations in sunlight exposure, temperature, soil, and more; this leads to a great diversity of growing environments within the region and ultimately in

728-545: A series of northward-flowing streams. Around two million years ago, the area was glaciated by first of many continental glaciers of the Laurentide Ice Sheet moved southward from the Hudson Bay area. During the glacial maximums, subglacial meltwater and glacial ice widened, deepened, and accentuated the existing river valleys to form subglacial tunnel valleys . Glacial debris, possibly terminal moraine left behind by

819-678: A third major language family, with their peoples occupying much of the middle areas of the interior. Algongquian-speaking peoples predominated in the coastal areas. Iroquoian speakers , such as the Cherokee and Tuscarora peoples , generally occupied areas to the interior near the Piedmont and foothills. In 1615, the river was traversed by the French explorer Étienne Brûlé . In the 1670s the Conestoga, or Susquehannock people, succumbed to Iroquois conquest by

910-406: Is 38.1 miles (61.3 km) long, and at 66.9 square miles (173 km) is the largest in total area. The origin of the name Finger Lakes is uncertain. Currently, the oldest known published use of finger lakes for this group of 11 lakes is in a United States Geological Survey paper by Thomas Chamberlin that was published in 1883. This paper was later cited and Finger Lakes formally used as

1001-406: Is New York's largest wine -producing region. Over 400 wineries and vineyards surround Seneca, Cayuga, Canandaigua, Keuka, Conesus, and Hemlock Lakes. Because of the lakes' great depth, they provide a lake effect to the lush vineyards that flank their shores. Due to the size and concentration of these lakes, the region retains residual summer warmth in the winter and winter's cold in the spring; as

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1092-604: Is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland). At 444 miles (715 km) long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the United States . By watershed area, it is the 16th-largest river in the United States, and also the longest river in the early 21st-century continental United States without commercial boat traffic. The Susquehanna River forms from two main branches:

1183-511: Is a practical ferry for up to four vehicles and 50 passengers, while the Pride of the Susquehanna , based at Harrisburg, provides a passenger-only pleasure cruise. Most of the canals have been filled in or are partially preserved as a part of historical parks. Dams generally are used to generate power or to provide lakes for recreation. The environmental group American Rivers named the Susquehanna " America's Most Endangered River for 2005 " because of

1274-508: Is home to the state's oldest nesting bald eagle site, dating back to the early 1960s. The nesting bald eagles of Hemlock Lake have fostered a resurgence of bald eagles throughout New York State. Hemlock Lake, originally known as "O-Neh-Da" which is Seneca for "Lake of Hemlock Trees", is home to the nation's oldest sacramental winery , founded by Bishop McQuaid in 1872. Today, O-Neh-Da Vineyard continues to make premium natural pure grape wine for churches and foodies alike. The Finger Lakes region

1365-760: Is in the Great Lakes watershed, but Waneta and Lamoka lakes, sometimes called the "fingernail" lakes, are part of the Susquehanna River watershed , draining into a tributary of the Chemung River . East of Oneida and Cazenovia Lakes are the headwaters of the Susquehanna River and Hudson River watersheds (the former in the foothills of the Catskills, the latter through the Mohawk Valley and southern Adirondack Mountains ). These glacial finger lakes originated as

1456-770: Is regarded by many as one of the premier bass fishing rivers in North America. Canoe races are held annually on various sections of the river, such as the amateur race held in Oneonta, New York . Susquehanna rowing and paddling have a long history. Starting in 1874, rowers from Shamokin Dam, Pennsylvania , raced men from Sunbury . The General Clinton Canoe Regatta, a 70-mile (110 km) flat-water race, takes place each year in Bainbridge, New York , on Memorial Day weekend. Binghamton University Crew and Hiawatha Island Boat Club are also located on

1547-589: The Allegheny Plateau region of the Appalachian Mountains , cutting through a succession of water gaps in a broad zigzag course to flow across the rural heartland of southeastern Pennsylvania and northeastern Maryland in the lateral near-parallel array of mountain ridges. The river empties into the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay at Perryville and Havre de Grace, Maryland , providing half of

1638-762: The American Revolutionary War , some Iroquois sided with the British and some with the Americans, resulting in civil war among the Iroquois. In the late 1770s, British-allied Iroquois attacked various American frontier settlements, prompting counter-attacks, culminating in the Sullivan Expedition of 1779, which destroyed most of the Iroquois towns and effectively broke Iroquois power. After the Revolutionary War,

1729-728: The Atlantic Ocean . Chautauqua Lake , Findley Lake and Kinzua Lake to the west are not considered Finger Lakes; all three drain into the Allegheny River and eventually into the Gulf of Mexico , and in the case of Kinzua and Findley, as with DeRuyter to the east, the lakes are the artificial creation of dams . Conesus, Hemlock, Canadice, Honeoye, and Otisco are considered the minor Finger Lakes. Other, smaller lakes, including Silver , Waneta , and Lamoka lakes, dot this region. Silver Lake , west of Conesus Lake, would seem to qualify because it

1820-465: The Chernobyl nuclear accident . The remaining reactor at Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station was shut down in 2019. In 2015, a smallmouth bass with a rare, cancerous tumor was caught from the river, raising renewed concerns about toxic materials and water pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency reported, "we do not have sufficient data at this time to scientifically support listing

1911-563: The Chesapeake Bay . It was well established in the flat tidelands of eastern North America during the Mesozoic era about 252 to 66 million years ago. This is the same period when the Hudson , Delaware and Potomac rivers were established. Both branches and the lower Susquehanna were part of important regional transportation corridors. The river was extensively used for muscle-powered ferries , boats , and canal boat shipping of bulk goods in

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2002-570: The Civil War 's 1863 Gettysburg Campaign , Union Major General Darius N. Couch , commander of the Department of the Susquehanna , resolved that Robert E. Lee 's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia would not cross the Susquehanna. He positioned militia units under Maj. Granville Haller to protect key bridges in Harrisburg and Wrightsville , as well as nearby fords. Confederate forces reached

2093-1200: The Corning Museum of Glass , the Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University , the Strong National Museum of Play , the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum , the Finger Lakes Boating Museum , the Wings of Eagles Discovery Center , the Sciencenter , the Museum of the Earth , the National Soaring Museum , the Rockwell Museum , the Seward House Museum, the William H. Seward and the Samuel Warren Homesteads of

2184-596: The Endless Mountains in the Allegheny Plateau of Pennsylvania. It receives the Lackawanna River southwest of Scranton and turns sharply to the southwest, flowing through the former anthracite industrial heartland in the mountain ridges of northeastern Pennsylvania, past Pittston City ( Greater Pittston ), Wilkes-Barre , Nanticoke , Shickshinny , Berwick , Bloomsburg , and Danville , before receiving

2275-594: The Harriet Tubman Home at Auburn recalls the life and work of the African-American "Moses of her people." On the northern end of the Finger Lakes are also Seneca Falls , the birthplace of the women's suffrage movement; Waterloo , the birthplace of Memorial Day ; and Palmyra , the birthplace of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . An annual outdoor drama, The Hill Cumorah Pageant , produced by

2366-554: The Lenape (Delaware) word siskëwahane meaning "Muddy River". Alternatively, it may come from the Lenape (Delaware) term Sisa'we'hak'hanna , which means "Oyster River". Oyster beds were widespread in the bay near the mouth of the river, which the Lenape farmed. They left oyster shell middens at their villages. A third account translates "Susquehanna" from the Susquehannock language , of

2457-760: The Monongahela , Allegheny Rivers and their confluence into the Ohio River flowing southwest towards the Mississippi River . The 82-mile (132 km) Union Canal was completed in 1828 to connect the Schuylkill River (flowing southeast towards the Delaware River at Philadelphia ) at Reading westwards to the Susquehanna River above the state capital of Harrisburg . Competition from faster transport via

2548-581: The North Branch , which rises in Cooperstown, New York , and is regarded by federal mapmakers as the main branch or headwaters, and the West Branch , which rises in western Pennsylvania and joins the main branch near Northumberland in central Pennsylvania. The river drains 27,500 square miles (71,000 km ), including nearly half of the land area of Pennsylvania. The drainage basin includes portions of

2639-636: The Ohio River . In 1792, the Union Canal was proposed in order to link the Susquehanna and the Delaware rivers in Pennsylvania along Swatara and Tulpehocken creeks. In the 19th century, many industrial centers developed along the Susquehanna, using its water power to drive mills and coal machinery, to cool machines, and as a waterway for the transport of raw and manufactured goods. Based on colonial charters, both Pennsylvania and Connecticut claimed land in

2730-518: The Susquehanna Gap through the Blue Mountain Ridge , just northwest of Harrisburg . Downtown Harrisburg developed on the east side of the river, which is nearly a mile wide here. Harrisburg is the largest city located on the lower river, which flows southeast across South Central Pennsylvania , forming the border between York and Lancaster counties, and receiving Swatara Creek from

2821-522: The Wyoming Valley along the Susquehanna. Connecticut founded Westmoreland County here and defended its claim in the Pennamite Wars . Under federal arbitration, eventually the state ceded this territory to Pennsylvania. In the 1790s English Lake Poets Robert Southey , Samuel Taylor Coleridge , and Robert Lovell formulated the " Pantisocracy Plan" to marry three sisters and move to the banks of

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2912-505: The history of the United States . In the 18th century, William Penn , the founder of the Pennsylvania Colony , negotiated with the Lenape to allow white settlement in the area between the Delaware River and the Susquehanna, which was part of Lenape territory. In late colonial times, the river became an increasingly important transportation corridor, used to ship anthracite coal , discovered by Necho Allen , from its upper reaches in

3003-425: The natural gas is now accessible for extraction. While some large landowners have leased their lands, and a number of small landowners would like to follow suit, many residents of the Finger Lakes oppose the fracking process due to concerns about groundwater contamination and the industrial impact of the extraction-related activities. The first direct actions and local legislative actions against fracking occurred in

3094-822: The railroad industry by the 1850s resulted in reducing the reliance on the river for transport. Two canal systems were constructed on the lower Susquehanna to bypass the rapids. The first was the Susquehanna Canal , also called the Conowingo Canal or the Port Deposit Canal, completed in 1802 by a Maryland company known as the Proprietors of the Susquehanna Canal. The second was the much longer and more successful Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal . The canals required dams to provide canal water and navigation pools. As

3185-615: The Bay's freshwater inflow. The bay lies in the flooded valley, or ria , of the Susquehanna. The Susquehanna River is one of the oldest existing rivers in the world, being dated as 320–340 Myr , older than the mountain ridges through which it flows. These ridges resulted from the Alleghenian orogeny uplift events, when Africa (as part of Gondwana ) slammed into the Northern part of Euramerica . The Susquehanna basin reaches its ultimate outflow in

3276-679: The Civil War era, virtually unchanged from the nineteenth century. Belhurst Castle , Geneva, a stone mansion in the Romanesque Revival style, now serves as an inn. Sonnenberg mansion at Canandaigua is a later nineteenth-century residence in the Queen Anne style, known for its restored period gardens. Geneva on the Lake is a villa (1910–14) that recalls those on Italian lakes. Now an inn, it has European-style gardens. Many buildings and historic districts of

3367-452: The DEC's Rules and Regulations for the Use of State Lands, 6 NYCRR Part 190, as well as any other applicable state statutes, rules and regulations. These are sensitive areas because they protect public drinking water. The 584-mile (940 km) Finger Lakes Trail and its branch trails run through the southern portion of the Finger Lakes region and also constitute a portion of the 4,600 mile North Country National Scenic Trail . Hemlock Lake

3458-430: The Federal Style is the Prouty-Chew House (1829) at Geneva, portions of which were altered at various times in new fashions. Three Greek Revival mansions are situated near three lakes: The Richard DeZeng House, Skaneateles (1839); Rose Hill, Geneva (1839); and Esperanza, Penn Yan (1838). The latter two are open to the public. The Seward House in Auburn, a National Historic Landmark , is a mansion more characteristic of

3549-438: The Federal and Greek Revival periods. The Finger Lakes region, together with the Genesee Country of Western New York, has been referred to as the burned-over district . There, in the 19th century, the Second Great Awakening was a revival of Christianity ; some new religions were also formed. The region was active in reform and utopian movements. Many of its Underground Railroad sites have been documented. For example,

3640-418: The Finger Lakes bioregion . In December 2014, the government of New York banned all fracking in the state, citing pollution risks. Trash from New York City is also sent to landfills in the area. The Finger Lakes region is a central part of the Iroquois homeland. The Iroquois tribes include the Seneca and Cayuga nations, for which the two largest Finger Lakes are named. The Tuscarora tribe lived in

3731-400: The Finger Lakes and beyond. By the late 18th century, with the French governmental influence gone from Canada, Iroquois power had weakened relative to the steady growth in European-Americans' populations, and internal strife eroded the political unity of the Iroquois Confederacy as it faced pressures from colonists itching to move west and a desire to keep them out of Amerindian lands. During

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3822-429: The Finger Lakes is Binghamton University (SUNY), the University of Rochester , Nazareth College , St. John Fisher University , Roberts Wesleyan College , Monroe Community College , and Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester; Elmira College in Elmira; Corning Community College in Corning; and the State University of New York at Geneseo . The Finger Lakes region is home to several museums. These include

3913-409: The Finger Lakes region are notable, in addition to these historic houses. Implemented in August, 2010, the Hemlock-Canadice State Forest covers 6,684 acres (27.05 km) that encompass the two western Finger Lakes, Hemlock and Canadice . These lakes have provided drinking water for the City of Rochester for more than 100 years. To protect water quality, the city acquired much of the property around

4004-517: The Finger Lakes region as well, from ca. 1720. The Onondaga and Oneida tribes lived at the eastern edge of the region, closer to their namesake lakes, Oneida Lake and Onondaga Lake . The easternmost Iroquois tribe was the Mohawk . The Finger Lakes region contains sites of unknown cultural affiliation and age. The Bluff Point Stoneworks is one such site as its age and who may have constructed these enigmatic stone structures has not been determined. During colonial times, many other tribes moved to

4095-414: The Finger Lakes region for nearly two centuries after first contact, often playing the French off against the British interests in savvy demonstrations of political competence. The renowned ingenuity and adaptability of the Iroquois people were key tools of resistance against hostile European powers rapidly spreading throughout North America, eager to dominate and increasingly brutal toward Native Americans in

4186-410: The Finger Lakes region, seeking the protection of the Iroquois. For example, in 1753, remnants of several Virginia Siouan tribes, collectively called the Tutelo - Saponi , moved to the town of Coreorgonel at the south end of Cayuga Lake near present-day Ithaca and lived there until 1779, when their village was destroyed by the Sullivan Expedition . Iroquois towns in the Finger Lakes region included

4277-918: The Finger Lakes' craft beer industry has grown significantly in recent years. In 2018 the region was home to the second-highest number of breweries in New York after the Hudson Valley . The area is also known for higher-education learning. The largest is Ivy League institution Cornell University , in Ithaca. Other notable schools are Ithaca College , also in Ithaca; Syracuse University , SUNY Upstate Medical University , State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry , and Le Moyne College , in Syracuse; SUNY Cortland, in Cortland; Tompkins Cortland Community College in Dryden, Ithaca, and Cortland; Wells College in Aurora; Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva; Keuka College in Keuka Park ; Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua and Geneva; New York Chiropractic College in Seneca Falls and Cayuga Community College in Auburn. Nearby

4368-457: The Finger Lakes, was a major railroad center; locomotives were repaired there for many years and rail passenger cars are built there today (2022). Conesus remains the home of the oldest producer of pure grape sacramental wine in the Western hemisphere. Notable among the historic buildings of the region (most linked below) is the Granger Homestead (1816), a large village house in Federal Style at Canandaigua, New York. Another example of

4459-412: The Finger lakes lie, existed prior to the Last Glacial Maximum and developed over multiple glaciations. Finally, although sub-glacial scour during the Last Glacial Maximum removed the majority of pre-existing sediment down to the bedrock bottoms of the Finger Lakes, patches of interglacial deposits are likely preserved locally within or near hanging valleys on the margins of their valleys. For example,

4550-419: The Great Lakes. The English of Pennsylvania referred to the Eroni people of Conestoga as "Susquehannocks" or "Susquehannock Indians", a name derived from the Lenape term. In addition, John Smith of Jamestown , Virginia, labeled their settlement as "Sasquesahanough" on his 1612 map when he explored the upper Chesapeake Bay area. In Virginia and other southern colonies, Siouan -speaking tribes constituted

4641-761: The Iroquoian family, as "the stream that falls toward the south" or "long-crooked-river". The Lenape are an Algonquian-speaking Native American people who had communities ranging from coastal Connecticut through New York and Long Island, and further south into New Jersey and Delaware in the mid-Atlantic area. Their settlements in Pennsylvania included Con'esto'ga ("Roof-place" or "town", modern Washington Boro, Lancaster County ), also called Ka'ot'sch'ie'ra ("Place-crawfish", modern Chickisalunga, Lancaster County), or Gasch'guch'sa ("Great-fall-in-river", modern Conewago Falls , Lancaster County). They were called Minquas ("quite different"), or Sisa'we'hak'hanna'lenno'wak ("Oyster-river-people") by others. The Lenape also called

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4732-513: The Iroquois and other Indians of the region were assigned reservations. Most of their land, including the Finger Lakes region, was opened up to purchase and settlement. Roughly the western half of the Finger Lakes region comprised the Phelps and Gorham Purchase of 1790. The region was rapidly settled at the turn of the 19th century, largely by a westward migration from New England , and to a lesser degree by northward influx from Pennsylvania. The regional architecture reflects these area traditions of

4823-442: The New York Historical Society, birthplace of New York State's first successful commercial winery. The Women's Rights National Historic Park is in Seneca Falls. The park includes the home of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Wesleyan Chapel, where she held the first convention on women's rights in 1848. Finger lake A finger lake , also known as a fjord lake or trough lake , is "a narrow linear body of water occupying

4914-414: The New York system. Today 200 bridges cross the Susquehanna. The Rockville Bridge , which crosses the river from Harrisburg to Marysville, Pennsylvania , is the longest stone masonry arch bridge in the world. It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1902, replacing an earlier iron bridge. Two seasonal ferries operate across the Susquehanna. The Millersburg Ferry at Millersburg, Pennsylvania ,

5005-407: The North Branch flowing from the northwest at Northumberland. Downstream from the confluence of its branches in Northumberland , the river flows south past Selinsgrove , where it is joined by its Penns Creek tributary, and cuts through a water gap at the western end of Mahantongo Mountain. It receives the Juniata River from the northwest at Duncannon , then passes through its last water gap,

5096-464: The North Branch of the river. Smith and Cowdery said that they were visited on May 15, 1829, by the resurrected John the Baptist and given the Aaronic priesthood . Following his visit, Smith and Cowdery baptized each other in the river. Later that year, they said they were visited near the river by the apostles Peter , James and John . Both events took place in unspecified locations near the river's shore in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania . During

5187-426: The Ontario lowlands after 13,900 BP calendar, The accumulation, at first, of massive gray clays followed by dark gray to black, laminated, organic-rich muds, accumulated without interruption until present within the Finger Lakes. Detailed studies of Marine Isotope Stage 3 and 4 age sediments exposed at a locality called the Great Gully on the eastern flank of the Cayuga Lake, near Union Springs, New York , record

5278-450: The Seneca town of Gen-nis-he-yo (present-day Geneseo), Kanadaseaga (Seneca Castle, near present-day Geneva), Goiogouen (Cayuga Castle, east of Cayuga Lake), Chonodote (Cayuga town, present-day Aurora), Catherine's Town (near present-day Watkins Glen ) and Ganondagan State Historic Site in Victor, New York . As one of the most powerful Indian nations during colonial times, the Iroquois were able to prevent European colonization of

5369-457: The Susquehanna River to start a socialist experiment. They made the marriages but Southey moved to Lisbon, Portugal , to visit an uncle, and they abandoned the plan to move to the United States. In 1833 John B. Jervis began a canal system to extend the Chenango River and connect the waters of the Susquehanna from Chenango Point to the Erie Canal , which ran through the Mohawk Valley of New York , ultimately connecting with Lake Erie through

5460-740: The Three Mile Island accident has not resulted in any harmful radiation effects. The areas in and along a 262-km length of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania were monitored for the presence of radioactive materials. This study began two months after the 1979 Three Mile Island (TMI) partial reactor meltdown; it spanned the next 25 years. Monitoring points included stations at the PPL Susquehanna and TMI nuclear power plants. Monthly gamma measurements documented concentrations of radionuclides from natural and anthropogenic sources. During this study, various series of gamma-emitting radionuclide concentration measurements were made in many general categories of animals, plants, and other inorganic matter, both within and near

5551-419: The United States gaining independence in the Revolutionary War, in 1790 Colonel Timothy Matlack , Samuel Maclay and John Adlum were commissioned by the Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to survey the headwaters of the Susquehanna river. They were to explore a route for a passage to connect the West Branch with the waters of the Allegheny River , which flowed to Pittsburgh and

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5642-493: The West Branch at Northumberland. The origin of the official West Branch is near Elmora, Pennsylvania , in northern Cambria County near the contemporary junction of Mitchel Road and US Route 219 (locally Plank Road). It travels northeasterly through the towns of Northern Cambria , Cherry Tree , Burnside , Mahaffey and Curwensville (where the river is dammed to form a lake), into and through Clearfield , where it receives Clearfield Creek . The West Branch turns to

5733-471: The Wood Canal. In October 1836, water from the Susquehanna was connected to the Erie Canal at Utica, New York . Water travel was the main form of transportation during that era. The Erie Canal dramatically expanded trade between communities around the Great Lakes and markets in New York and Pennsylvania. With the expansion of construction of railroad lines, canal-transport became unprofitable, as it could not compete in speed or flexibility. Boats had to climb

5824-434: The area Sisa'we'hak'hanna'unk ("Oyster-river-place"). Peoples of the mid-Atlantic Coast included coastal peoples who spoke Algonquian languages , such as the Lenape (whose bands spoke three dialects of Lenape), and Iroquoian languages -speaking peoples of the interior, such as the Eroni and the Five Nations of the Iroquois League , or Haudenosaunee , based largely in present-day New York and upper Pennsylvania around

5915-403: The brief decades before the Pennsylvania Canal System was eclipsed by the coming of age of steam -powered railways . While the railroad industry has been less prevalent since the closures and mergers of the 1950s–1960s, a wide-ranging rail transportation infrastructure still operates along the river's shores. Also called the Main Branch Susquehanna , the longer branch of the river rises at

6006-444: The church, draws thousands of visitors each year. Hammondsport was the home of aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss , and favorable air currents make the area a popular spot for glider pilots. Elmira , just to the south, was the home of Mark Twain in his later life, and the site of an infamous Civil War prison. Corning is most noted as the home of Corning Glass Works and the Corning Museum of Glass . Hornell , just southwest of

6097-399: The claim of being the 12th Finger Lake, including Silver and Onondaga lakes, although Onondaga, as a dimictic lake , has some significant limnological differences. DeRuyter Reservoir , sometimes called Tioughnioga Lake or DeRuyter Lake, a man-made Finger Lake southwest of Cazenovia Lake on Limestone Creek, is 8 miles from the northernmost point on the Finger Lakes Trail, but was built as

6188-547: The evacuation of thousands of residents. In September 2011 the Susquehanna River and its communities were hit by Tropical Storm Lee , which caused the worst flooding since Agnes in 1972. The Susquehanna River is important in the transportation history of the United States . Before the Port Deposit Bridge opened in 1818, the river formed a barrier between the northern and southern states, as it could be crossed only by ferry . The earliest dams were constructed to support ferry operations in low water. The presence of many rapids in

6279-399: The excessive pollution it receives. Most of the pollution in the river is caused by excess animal manure from farming , agricultural runoff , urban and suburban stormwater runoff , and raw or inadequately treated sewage . In 2003 the river contributed 50% of the freshwater, 44% of the nitrogen , 21% of the phosphorus , and 21% of the sediment flowing into the Chesapeake Bay . It

6370-433: The hardest-hit communities and the capital Harrisburg was flooded. The Chesapeake Bay received so much fresh water that it altered the ecosystem, killing much of the marine life that depended on saltwater. The Mid-Atlantic Flood of June 2006 , caused by a stalled jet stream-driven storm system, affected portions of the river system. The worst affected area was Binghamton, New York , where record-setting flood levels forced

6461-415: The historic village of Cazenovia , and is linked to other Finger Lakes by US 20 and NY 13 . It may have been formed in the same manner as the Finger Lakes, as satellite photos show three valleys similar in character and spacing to the Finger Lakes east of Otisco Lake. The first is the Tully Valley , which includes a chain of six small lakes called the Tully Lakes at the south end that could collectively be

6552-575: The industrial age progressed, bridges replaced ferries , and railroads replaced canals. The railroads were often constructed on top of the canal right-of-way along the river. Many canal remnants can be seen; for example, in Havre de Grace, Maryland , along US Route 15 in Pennsylvania, and in upstate New York at various locations. These latter remnants are parts of the upstream divisions of the Pennsylvania Canal , of privately funded canals, and of canals in

6643-506: The introduction to his historical novel The Pioneers (1823). At Athens, Pennsylvania , then known as Tioga or "Tioga Point", Clinton met with General John Sullivan and his forces, who had marched from Easton, Pennsylvania . Together on August 29, they defeated the Tories and warriors of allied Iroquois bands at the Battle of Newtown (near present-day Elmira, New York ). This was part of what

6734-610: The lakes. Over the decades, the land reforested, but a few traces of its past, such as stone walls or cottage foundations, remain. Today these two lakes, with their steep, forested, largely-undeveloped shorelines and deep, clear water, provide visitors a glimpse of the Finger Lakes of the past. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) manages this State Forest for compatible public access for recreation, including fishing, hunting , nature study, boating and hiking. Activities in Hemlock-Canadice State Forest are subject

6825-548: The line again through the twin towns of Waverly, New York , and Sayre, Pennsylvania , and their large right bank railyard, once briefly holding the largest structure in the United States devoted to the maintenance and construction of railroad locomotives. A couple of miles south, in Athens Township, Pennsylvania , it receives the Chemung from the northwest. It makes a right-angle curve between Sayre and Towanda to cut through

6916-403: The main stem of the Susquehanna as impaired ." The Susquehanna River has attracted boaters who watch or fish for its migratory species. Many tourists and local residents use the Susquehanna in the summer for recreation purposes such as kayaking, canoeing, and motor-boating. Due to the high volume of smallmouth bass in the river, it is the host of numerous bass fishing tournaments each year and

7007-463: The mountains to the markets downriver. In 1779 during the American Revolutionary War , General James Clinton led an expedition down the Susquehanna from its headwaters. His party had made the upper portion navigable by damming the river's source at Otsego Lake , allowing the lake's level to rise, and then destroying the dam and flooding the river in order for his flotilla to travel for miles downstream. James Fenimore Cooper described this event in

7098-406: The northeast. It crosses into northern Maryland approximately 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Baltimore and is joined by Octoraro Creek from the northeast and Deer Creek from the northwest. The river enters the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay at Havre de Grace . Concord Point Light was built here in 1827 to accommodate the increasing navigational traffic. "Susquehanna" may come from

7189-578: The outlet of Otsego Lake in Cooperstown, New York . From there, the north branch of the river runs west-southwest through rural farmland and dairy country, receiving the Unadilla River at Sidney . It dips south into Pennsylvania briefly to turn sharply 90 degrees west at Susquehanna and again 90 degrees north at Great Bend hooking back into New York . It receives the Chenango in downtown Binghamton . After meandering westwards, it turns south crossing

7280-503: The powerful Five Nations of the Iroquois League based in present-day New York, who wanted to control the fur trade with Europeans. The Susquehannock assimilated with the Iroquois. In the aftermath, the Iroquois resettled some of the semi-tributary Lenape in this area, as it was near the western boundary of the Lenape's former territory, known as Lenapehoking . The Susquehanna River has continued to play an important role throughout

7371-435: The presence of a paleolake that existed prior to Cayuga Lake. This paleolake, which is called Glacial Lake Nanette , was a proglacial lake that filled the bedrock valley currently occupied by Cayuga Lake from about 50,000 BP calibrated until it was overridden by a glacial readvance that occurred prior to 30,000 BP calendar and buried it beneath younger glacial till . This research shows that bedrock valleys, in which

7462-594: The principal site that has been well-studied is the Fembank exposure of interglacial deposits on the west margin of Cayuga. This deposit provides direct evidence that some version of Cayuga Lake and its bedrock valley existed prior to Last Glacial Maximum. Much of the Finger Lakes area lies upon the Marcellus Shale and the Utica Shale , two prominent natural gas reserves. Due to the recent increase in fracking technology,

7553-428: The receding ice, acted as dams, allowing lakes to form. Despite the deep erosion of the valleys, the surrounding uplands show little evidence of glaciation, suggesting the ice was thin, or at least unable to cause much erosion at higher elevations. The deep cutting by glacial erosion left some tributaries hanging high above the lakes—both Seneca and Cayuga have tributaries hanging as much as 120 m (390 ft) above

7644-523: The river at several locations in Cumberland and York counties. In 1972 the remnants of Hurricane Agnes stalled over the New York-Pennsylvania border, dropping as much as 20 inches (510 mm) of rain on the hilly lands. Much of that precipitation was received into the Susquehanna from its western tributaries, and the valley suffered disastrous flooding. Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania , was among

7735-555: The river meant that while commercial traffic could navigate down the river in the high waters of the spring thaws, nothing could move up. The Susquehanna was improved by navigations throughout the 1820s and 1830s as the Pennsylvania Canal . Together with facilities of the Allegheny Portage Railroad , loaded barges were transferred from the canal and hoisted across the mountain ridge into the Pittsburgh area with access to

7826-476: The river. Sampling began in 1979 before the first start-up of the PPL Susquehanna power plant. Although all species were not continuously monitored for the entire period, an extensive database was compiled. In May 1986, ongoing measurements from several monitoring stations along the river near Three Mile Island, Peach Bottom and Calvert Cliffs detected iodine-131 beta particles attributable to fallout from

7917-617: The southeast and passes Karthaus (at Mosquito Creek), Keating (at Sinnemahoning Creek), Renovo and Lock Haven , where it receives Bald Eagle Creek . At Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, Pine Creek, the largest tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River, is received. Pine Creek has the largest watershed of all the West Branch’s tributaries. It passes Williamsport , where both Lycoming Creek and Loyalsock Creek empty into it, then turns south, passing Lewisburg , before joining

8008-490: The valley floors. Based upon sediments cores, seismic stratigraphy, and radiocarbon dates, the finger lakes became ice-free about 14,400 BP calendar . At this time scouring by ice and meltwater ceased and these lakes filled initially with proglacial lake rhythmites . The deposition of proglacial lake rhythmites occurred between 14,400 and 13,900 BP calendar. After the magins of the Laurentide Ice Sheet retreated into

8099-707: The yielded wine. The main grape varieties grown are Chardonnay , Riesling , Gewürztraminer , Pinot noir , Cabernet Franc , Vidal blanc , Seyval blanc and many Vitis labrusca (American native) varieties or cultivars. With the passage of the Farm Winery Act in 1976 , numerous wineries are now open to visitors. Wineries are a growth industry of the region, contributing through their production and by attracting visitors. The Finger Lakes American Viticulture Area (AVA) includes two of America's oldest wineries, O-Neh-Da Vineyard (1872) on Hemlock Lake and The Pleasant Valley Wine Company (1860) on Keuka Lake. Aside from wine,

8190-478: Was designated as one of the American Heritage Rivers in 1997. The designation provides for technical assistance from federal agencies to state and local governments working in the Susquehanna watershed. Another environmental concern is radioactivity released during the 1979 Three Mile Island accident . However, extensive radionuclide studies over a 25-year period from 1979 through 2003, confirm that

8281-498: Was known as the "Sullivan-Clinton Campaign" or the " Sullivan Expedition ". They swept through western New York, dominated by the Seneca people , destroying more than 40 Seneca villages, as well as the stores of crops the people had set aside for winter. Many of the Iroquois left New York and went to Canada as refugees; casualties from exposure and starvation were high that winter. Following

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