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83-551: Plattsburgh Bay , also known as Cumberland Bay , is an inlet on the western shore of Lake Champlain in Clinton County, New York . The bay is the location of the town and city of Plattsburgh , and was the site of the Battle of Plattsburgh , a naval and land engagement fought on September 11, 1814, late in the War of 1812 . The bay and two land sites related to the battle were designated as

166-421: A National Historic Landmark in 1960. Plattsburgh Bay is located in the northern third of Lake Champlain, on its western shore opposite Grand Isle . It is bounded on the north and east by Cumberland Head , a peninsula extending east and then south, and on the west by the mainland city of Plattsburgh. The southern tip of Cumberland Head is about 2.8 miles (4.5 km) east of the city's shoreline. Southeast of

249-970: A continuous ridge (heading south) and known as the Shawangunk Ridge in New York, Kittatinny Mountain in New Jersey , and Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania . This long ridge is broken by several narrow and dramatic gaps, known as wind and water gaps , including Culver's Gap in New Jersey, the Delaware Water Gap , where the Delaware River passes into the Lehigh Valley along the border between New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and many gaps in Pennsylvania, including

332-517: A decisive sea battle for control of the lake. American ships were arrayed across the mouth of the bay between Cumberland Head and Crab Island, and won a decisive victory over the British fleet. At the same time, the British land forces were repulsed by Americans in repeated attempts to cross the Saranac River . One of the principal American land defenses was Fort Brown , which is included in landmark as

415-643: A direct invasion route to British Canada. However, had the British controlled the lake, they could have divided the colonies of New England and further depleted the Continental Army . The Continental Army's first offensive action took place in May 1775, three weeks after the Battles of Lexington and Concord . Ethan Allen , accompanied by 200 Green Mountain Boys , was ordered to capture Fort Ticonderoga and retrieve supplies for

498-475: A discharge of pollution into Lake Champlain. Agricultural and urban runoff from the watershed or drainage basin is the primary source of excess phosphorus, which exacerbates algae blooms in Lake Champlain. The most problematic blooms have been cyanobacteria , commonly called blue-green algae, in the northeastern part of the lake: primarily Missisquoi Bay . To reduce phosphorus runoff to this part of

581-575: A dooryard garden, typical of mid-19th century New England village homes, and his experience settling in the Champlain Valley depicts the industries and lifestyles surrounding Lake Champlain following the Revolutionary War. Similar to the experience of Salmon Dutton, former colonial militia Major General Hezekiah Barnes settled in Charlotte, Vermont , in 1787. Following the war, Barnes worked as

664-796: A flood. At the time, the Carolina Piedmont region offered some of the best land at the lowest prices. A string of towns appeared, including Salisbury , Salem , and Charlotte in North Carolina. In the decades before the American Revolution , the Piedmont "upcountry" of the Carolinas was quickly settled, mostly by recent immigrants who migrated from the north to the south via the Great Valley. Many of these immigrants were Scots-Irish , Germans from

747-451: A natural defensive position. The British and American vessels engaged in combat for much of the day, only stopping due to impending nightfall. After a long day of combat, the American fleet was in worse shape than the experienced British Navy. Upon ceasefire, Arnold called a council of war with his fellow officers, proposing to escape the British fleet via rowboats under the cover of night. As

830-639: A road surveyor; he also established an inn and trading post in Charlotte, along the main trade route from Montreal down Lake Champlain. Barnes' stagecoach inn was built in traditional Georgian style, with 10 fireplaces, a ballroom on the interior and a wraparound porch on the outside. In 1800, Continental Army Captain Benjamin Harrington established a distillery business in Shelburne, Vermont , which supplied his nearby inn. These individual accounts shed light on

913-521: A row, or flocks of blackbirds flying close to the water". In 2022, it was reported that a feature dramatic film, Lucy and the Lake Monster , was in the works about a young orphan girl and her grandfather looking for Champ. A pollution prevention, control and restoration plan for Lake Champlain was first endorsed in October 1996 by the governors of New York and Vermont and the regional administrators of

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996-590: A separate area. The third segment of the landmark is the Macdonough Memorial, placed in front of Plattsburgh City Hall and dedicated in 1926. A limestone obelisk 135 feet (41 m) in height, it honors Captain Thomas Macdonough , leader of the American naval forces in the battle. Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( / ʃ æ m ˈ p l eɪ n / sham- PLAYN ; French : Lac Champlain )

1079-606: A small uproar, the Great Lake status was rescinded on March 24 (although New York and Vermont universities continue to receive funds to monitor and study the lake). In 1609, Samuel de Champlain wrote that he saw a lake monster 5 ft (1.5 m) long, as thick as a man's thigh, with silver-gray scales a dagger could not penetrate. The alleged monster had 2.5 ft (0.76 m) jaws with sharp and dangerous teeth. Native Americans claimed to have seen similar monsters 8 to 10 ft (2.4 to 3.0 m) long. This mysterious creature

1162-455: A successful siege of Quebec. In May 1776, with the arrival of a British convoy carrying 10,000 British and Hessian troops to Canada, the Continental forces retreated back down the Champlain Valley to reevaluate their strategy. "I know of no better method than to secure the important posts of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and by building a number of armed vessels to command the lakes, otherwise

1245-523: Is Kaniatarakwà:ronte , meaning "a bulged lake" or "lake with a bulge in it". An alternate name is Kaniá:tare tsi kahnhokà:ronte (phonetic English spelling Caniaderi Guarunte ), meaning "door of the country" or "lake to the country". The lake is an important eastern gateway to Iroquois Confederacy lands. The lake was named after the French explorer Samuel de Champlain , who encountered it in July 1609. While

1328-470: Is 23 miles (37 km) north of Glens Falls on the Hudson River and 70 miles (110 km) north of Albany, New York . Forts were built at Ticonderoga and Crown Point ( Fort St. Frederic ) to control passage on the lake in colonial times. Important battles were fought at Ticonderoga in 1758 and 1775. During the Revolutionary War, the British and Americans conducted a frenetic shipbuilding race through

1411-614: Is a natural freshwater lake in North America . It mostly lies between the US states of New York and Vermont , but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec . The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern parts of Clinton County and Essex County . Most of this area is part of the Adirondack Park . There are recreational facilities in the park and along

1494-465: Is an extensive Ordovician carbonate rock formation that extends from Tennessee to Quebec and Newfoundland . The oldest reefs are around "The Head" of the south end of Isle La Motte ; slightly younger reefs are found at the Fisk Quarry, and the youngest (the famous coral reefs) are in fields to the north. The lake has long acted as a border between indigenous nations, much as it is today between

1577-695: Is fed by the Ausable , Boquet , Great Chazy , La Chute , Little Ausable, Little Chazy , Salmon and Saranac rivers, along with Putnam Creek. In Quebec, it is fed by the Pike River . It is connected to the Hudson River by the Champlain Canal . Parts of the lake freeze each winter, and in some winters the entire lake surface freezes, referred to as "closing". In July and August, the lake temperature reaches an average of 70 °F (21 °C). The Chazy Reef

1660-474: Is from the temperate portion and the second subtropical portion of the valley. Routes through the valley were first used by Native Americans . In pre-colonial and the early colonial era , a major Indian pathway through the Great Valley was known as the Great Indian Warpath , Seneca Trail, and various other names. For European colonists, the Great Valley was a major route for settlement and commerce in

1743-691: Is in the Lake Champlain Valley between the Green Mountains of Vermont and the Adirondack Mountains of New York , drained northward by the 106 mi-long (171 km) Richelieu River into the St. Lawrence River at Sorel-Tracy, Quebec , northeast and downstream of Montreal . The Champlain basin collects waters from the northwestern slopes of the Green Mountains and the eastern portion of

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1826-467: Is likely the original Lake Champlain monster. The monster has been memorialized in sports teams' names and mascots, e.g., the Vermont Lake Monsters and Champ, the mascot of the state's minor league baseball team. A Vermont Historical Society publication recounts the story and offers possible explanations for accounts of the so-called monster: "floating logs, schools of large sturgeon diving in

1909-472: Is often considered the dividing point between the northern and southern sections of the Great Valley. To the west or continental side, a series of more impenetrable mountain regions border the northern Great Valley. The northernmost is the Adirondack Mountains , a southern extension of the Canadian Shield , which reach the valley along the shores of Lake Champlain and Lake George . To their south, beyond

1992-516: Is traversed at length (and at oblique angles) by both I-80 and I-84 , as well as by the Delaware River between Easton, Pennsylvania , and the Delaware Water Gap . In New Jersey and New York, the valley gradually bends from the northeast to the north, and starting near Newburgh just beyond the Hudson Highlands , I-87 runs much of the valley's length into Canada, passing Poughkeepsie , Albany , and Glens Falls . In an east–west section of

2075-593: The Carolina Road , led into the Piedmont regions of North Carolina , South Carolina , and Georgia . The various gaps connecting the Great Valley to lands to the east and west have played important roles in American history. On the east side, the wide gap in southeast Pennsylvania became the main route for colonization of the Great Valley. By the 1730s, the Pennsylvanian Great Valley west of South Mountain

2158-658: The Champlain Canal connected Lake Champlain to the Hudson River system, allowing north–south commerce by water from New York City to Montreal and Atlantic Canada . In 1909, 65,000 people celebrated the 300th anniversary of the French discovery of the lake. Attending dignitaries included President William Howard Taft , along with representatives from France, Canada and the United Kingdom. In 1929, then-New York Governor Franklin Roosevelt and Vermont Governor John Weeks dedicated

2241-579: The Great Appalachian Valley , which stretches between Quebec , Canada, to the north, and Alabama , US, to the south. The Champlain Valley is a physiographic section of the larger Saint Lawrence Valley , which in turn is part of the larger Appalachian physiographic division. Lake Champlain is one of numerous large lakes scattered in an arc through Labrador , in Canada, the northern United States, and

2324-696: The Mohawk Valley and Albany, New York , the Catskill Mountains , which form the northeastern terminus of the Allegheny Plateau , border the valley in the form of the dramatic Catskill Escarpment , which overlooks the middle reaches of the Hudson River and Hudson Valley . Just south of the Catskills, the first folds of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians border the valley, in the form of

2407-546: The Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the thirteenth-largest lake by area in the US. Approximately 490 sq mi (1,269 km ) in area, the lake is 107 mi (172 km) long and 14 mi (23 km) across at its widest point, and has a maximum depth of approximately 400 ft (120 m). The lake varies seasonally from about 95 to 100 ft (29 to 30 m) above mean sea level . Lake Champlain

2490-960: The Pennsylvania Wind Gap , the Lehigh River Gap north of Allentown , the Schuylkill River Gap, the Swatara Gap , the Susquehanna River Gap, and others. In its southern section, the Great Valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains , which extend north into Maryland and Pennsylvania as South Mountain . Regional names of the southern Great Valley include Hagerstown Valley in Maryland , Winchester Valley, and Shenandoah Valley in Virginia and West Virginia ,

2573-675: The Reading Prong , which includes the New York–New Jersey Highlands , also known as the Hudson Highlands , Schunemunk Mountain , and Ramapo Mountains , and South Mountain in Pennsylvania beyond Harrisburg . There is a wide gap between the Reading Prong and South Mountain at Harrisburg, through which the Susquehanna River passes, connecting the Great Valley with the Piedmont region of southeast Pennsylvania. This gap

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2656-594: The Rhineland-Palatinate area, and Moravians . This upcountry population soon surpassed the older and more established lowcountry population near the Atlantic coast, causing serious geopolitical tensions in the Carolinas during the late 18th century (Meinig, 1986: 291–293). On the west side, the Cumberland Gap became the main route for migration west from the southern Great Valley to Kentucky and Tennessee . In

2739-699: The Saint Lawrence , the Hudson River Valley , Newburgh Valley , and Wallkill Valley , and the Kittatinny Valley , Upper Delaware River Valley , Lebanon Valley , and Cumberland Valley . A series of mountains bounds the northern half of the Great Valley on both sides. To the east or coastward side, these include, from north to south, the Green Mountains of Vermont , the Taconic Mountains of Vermont, New York , Massachusetts , and Connecticut ,

2822-591: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In April 2003, the plan was updated, and Quebec signed on to it. The plan is being implemented by the Lake Champlain Basin Program and its partners at the state, provincial, federal and local levels. Renowned as a model for interstate and international cooperation, its primary goals are to reduce phosphorus inputs to Lake Champlain, reduce toxic contamination, minimize

2905-710: The Valley Campaign of Northern Virginia ; the Valley Campaigns of 1864 , also in Virginia; the Battles of Chattanooga in Tennessee; and the Gettysburg Battlefield and Gettysburg National Cemetery in Pennsylvania. Today, the main thoroughfares occupying the southern Great Valley are: In the northern valley, the thoroughfares vary. Heading northeast from Harrisburg, I-81 traces the valley to Swatara Gap , then swings north across Blue Mountain and leaves

2988-408: The Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842, the Canada–U.S. border was adjusted northward to include the strategically important site of "Fort Blunder" on the US side. In 1844, work was begun to replace the remains of the 1812-era fort with a massive new Third System masonry fortification, known as Fort Montgomery . Portions of this fort are still standing. In the early 19th century, the construction of

3071-409: The 1796 Jay Treaty . Eager to take back control of Lake Champlain following the end of the Revolutionary War, Americans flocked to settle the Champlain Valley . Many individuals emigrated from Massachusetts and other New England colonies, such as Salmon Dutton , a settler of Cavendish, Vermont . Dutton emigrated in 1782 and worked as a surveyor, town official and toll-road owner. His home had

3154-417: The Adirondack Mountains, reaching as far south as the 32 mi-long (51 km) Lake George in New York. Lake Champlain drains nearly half of Vermont, and approximately 250,000 people get their drinking water from the lake. The lake is fed in Vermont by the LaPlatte, Lamoille , Missisquoi , Poultney and Winooski rivers, along with Lewis Creek, Little Otter Creek and Otter Creek . In New York, it

3237-462: The American victory denied the British any leverage to demand exclusive control over the Great Lakes or territorial gains against the New England states. Three US Naval ships have been named after this battle: USS  Lake Champlain  (CV-39) , USS  Lake Champlain  (CG-57) and a cargo ship used during World War I . Following the War of 1812, the U.S. Army began construction on " Fort Blunder ": an unnamed fortification built at

3320-419: The Blue Ridge of Virginia, connecting the Piedmont region with the Great Valley, include Thornton Gap , Swift Run Gap , and Rockfish Gap . Another series of mountains bounds the southern Great Valley to the west, including North Mountain and Great North Mountain , the Allegheny Front , Powell Mountain , the Cumberland Mountains , Walden Ridge , and the Cumberland Plateau . The Cumberland Gap connects

3403-622: The British burned Arnold's flagship, the Royal Savage , to the east, the Americans rowed past the British lines. The following morning, the British learned of the Americans' escape and set out after the fleeing Continental vessels. On October 13, the British fleet caught up to the struggling American ships near Split Rock Mountain . With no hope of fighting off the powerful British navy, Arnold ordered his men to run their five vessels aground in Ferris Bay, Panton, Vermont . The depleted Continental army escaped on land back to Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Independence ; however, they no longer controlled

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3486-402: The British fleet on Lake Champlain. By the end of the summer of 1776, the opposing armies were prepared to battle over the strategic advantage of controlling Lake Champlain. On October 11, 1776, the British and American naval fleets met on the western side of Valcour Island , on Lake Champlain. American General Benedict Arnold established the location, as it provided the Continental fleet with

3569-478: The British took control of the fort. However, Burgoyne's southern campaign did not go uncontested. On October 7, 1777, American General Horatio Gates , who occupied Bemis Heights , met Burgoyne's army at the Second Battle of Freeman's Farm . At Freeman's Farm, Burgoyne's army suffered its final defeat and ended its invasion south into the colonies. Ten days later, on October 17, 1777, British General Burgoyne surrendered his army at Saratoga . This defeat

3652-432: The British. Thus, the colonial militias devised a plan to take control of the two forts and bring the guns back to the fight in Boston. The necessity of controlling the two forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point placed Lake Champlain as a strategic arena during the Revolutionary War. By taking control of these forts, Americans not only gained heavy artillery, but control of a vast water highway as well: Lake Champlain provided

3735-444: The Champlain Valley from 1778 to 1780, and Lake Champlain permitted direct transportation of supplies from the British posts at the northern end of the lake. With the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783, the British naval fleet on Lake Champlain retreated up to St. John's. However, British troops garrisoned at Fort Dutchman's Point ( North Hero, Vermont ) and Fort au Fer ( Champlain, New York ), on Lake Champlain, did not leave until

3818-411: The Champlain Valley. The goal of this invasion was to divide the New England colonies, thus forcing the Continental Army into a separated fight on multiple fronts. Lake Champlain provided Burgoyne with protected passage deep into the American colonies . Burgoyne's army reached Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Independence in late June, 1777. During the night of July 5, the American forces fled Ticonderoga as

3901-434: The Great Valley region with Kentucky and Tennessee lands to the west. Massanutten Mountain lies in the middle of the Valley of Virginia portion of the Great Valley. The Valley of Virginia is a region of karst , with sinkholes and caverns . The climate of the Great Valley is generally Warm- or Hot-summer Humid continental in the northern third and Humid subtropical from Pennsylvania southward. The first weather box

3984-440: The Great Valley. The Conestoga wagon became the main vehicle for transportation through the Great Valley until the railroad era. Culver Gap near Culver's Lake in Sussex County, New Jersey , was an important route through the Kittatinny Mountain from about 10,000 years ago to present. The gap is more than 400 feet (120 m) below the top of the mountain. Lenape Native Americans used the gap to hunt and trade on both sides of

4067-421: The Lake Champlain waterway. The approaching winter of 1776–1777 restricted British movement along the recently controlled Lake Champlain. As the British abandoned Crown Point and returned to Canada for the winter, the Americans reduced their garrisons in the Champlain Valley from 13,000 to 2,500 soldiers. In early 1777, British General John Burgoyne led 8,000 troops from Canada, down Lake Champlain and into

4150-456: The October 1776, the Continental Army had 16 operating naval vessels on Lake Champlain: a great increase to the four small ships they had at the beginning of the summer. General Benedict Arnold commanded the American naval fleet on Lake Champlain, which was composed of volunteers and soldiers drafted from the Northern Army. With great contrast to the Continental navy, experienced Royal Navy officers, British seamen and Hessian artillerymen manned

4233-429: The Shenandoah Valley soon became famous as a breadbasket, the most productive mixed farming region in America (Meinig, 1986:134). The road from Philadelphia west to the valley and then south through it became very heavily used and known variously as the Great Wagon Road, the Philadelphia Wagon Road, and the Valley Road. The Conestoga wagon was developed around 1725 in the area of the wide opening between Philadelphia and

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4316-404: The United States along the Great Wagon Road , which began in Philadelphia . In the Shenandoah Valley, the road was known as the Valley Pike . The Wilderness Road branched off from Great Wagon Road in present-day Roanoke, Virginia , crossed the Cumberland Gap and led to Kentucky and Tennessee , including the fertile Bluegrass region and Nashville Basin . Another branch at Roanoke, called

4399-455: The Valley of Virginia and the Tennessee Valley . The southern Great Valley is bounded on the east by the Blue Ridge physiographic province, which includes, from north to south, South Mountain in Pennsylvania and Maryland, the Blue Ridge of Virginia, Holston Mountain in Tennessee, and the Unaka Range and the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina . A gap in these mountains exists near Roanoke, Virginia . Other gaps of note in

4482-421: The agriculturally rich Champlain Valley running north to Burlington, Vermont . Heading north from Burlington, however, along the east side of Lake Champlain , I-89 runs through the valley's northernmost stretches to the Canada–US border, where it becomes Quebec Route 133 and Autoroute 35 , which trace the route of the Richelieu River in its southern section, where the Great Valley finally dissipates into

4565-498: The bloodiest and most influential Civil War battle was fought in the Battle of Gettysburg from July 1 to July 3, 1863. The Battle of Gettysburg resulted in over 50,000 casualties, but the Union Army victory under the command of Major General George Meade over General Robert E. Lee 's Confederate Army forces turned the war in the Union 's favor. Civil War-era sites and events in this region include Harpers Ferry, West Virginia ; Antietam, Maryland ; Chambersburg, Pennsylvania ;

4648-440: The city, several miles south of the bay, lies Crab Island , which also played a significant role in the 1814 Battle of Plattsburgh, and is included in the landmarked area of the bay. In September 1814, Plattsburgh came under attack by British forces from Canada seeking to gain territory for advantage in peace talks which were then ongoing. The city was occupied by British land forces on September 6, and preparations were made for

4731-407: The eastern edge of the Ridge and Valley physiographic province . There are many regional names of the Great Valley, such as the Shenandoah Valley. From a large perspective the Great Valley can be divided into a northern section and a southern section. In its northern section, the Great Valley includes the Champlain Valley around Lake Champlain and the upper Richelieu River that drains it into

4814-443: The fight in Boston. Benedict Arnold shared the command with Allen, and, in early May 1775, they captured Fort Ticonderoga, Crown Point and the southern Loyalist settlement of Skenesborough . As a result of Allen's offensive attack on the Champlain Valley in 1775, the American forces controlled the Lake Champlain waterway. The Continental Army realized the strategic advantage of controlling Lake Champlain, as it leads directly to

4897-454: The first bridge to span the lake, built from Crown Point to Chimney Point . This bridge lasted until December 2009. Severe deterioration was found, and the bridge was demolished and replaced with the Lake Champlain Bridge , which opened in November 2011. On February 19, 1932, boats were able to sail on Lake Champlain. It was the first time that the lake was known to be free of ice during the winter at that time. Lake Champlain briefly became

4980-611: The following year. In this period, the Continental Army gained strength and was victorious at Saratoga . At the start of the Revolutionary War , British forces occupied the Champlain Valley . However, it did not take long for rebel leaders to realize the importance of controlling Lake Champlain. Early in the war, the colonial militias attempted to expel the British from Boston ; however, this undertaking could not be achieved without heavy artillery. The British forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point , on Lake Champlain, were known to have ample supplies of artillery and were weakly-manned by

5063-429: The forces now in Canada will be brought down upon us as quick as possible, having nothing to oppose them...They will doubtless try to construct some armed vessels and then endeavor to penetrate the country toward New York." (Brigadier General John Sullivan to George Washington , June 24, 1776). Both British and American forces spent the summer of 1776 building their naval fleets, at opposite ends of Lake Champlain. By

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5146-431: The heart of Quebec. Immediately after taking Forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point, the Americans began planning an attack on British Canada. The American siege of Quebec was a two-pronged assault and occurred throughout the winter of 1775–1776. Brigadier General Richard Montgomery led the first assault up the Champlain Valley into Canada, while Benedict Arnold led a second army to Quebec via the Maine wilderness. Despite

5229-485: The lake, Vermont and Quebec agreed to reduce their inputs by 60% and 40%, respectively, by an agreement signed in 2002. While agricultural sources (manure and fertilizers) are the primary sources of phosphorus (about 70%) in the Missisquoi basin, runoff from developed land and suburbs is estimated to contribute about 46% of the phosphorus runoff basin-wide to Lake Champlain, and agricultural lands contributed about 38%. Great Appalachian Valley The Great Valley marks

5312-411: The largest include Grand Isle , Isle La Motte and North Hero : all part of Grand Isle County, Vermont . Because of Lake Champlain's connections both to the St. Lawrence Seaway via the Richelieu River , and to the Hudson River via the Champlain Canal , Lake Champlain is sometimes referred to as "The Sixth Great Lake". The Champlain Valley is the northernmost unit of a landform system known as

5395-403: The mountain. Early settlers from Pennsylvania used the water drop from Culvers Lake to Branchville for a wide assortment of mills. Turnpikes followed the route of Lenape trails through the gap. By the 1750s, the Great Valley was well-settled to the southern end of the Shenandoah Valley. Immigrants continued to travel from the Philadelphia area south through the Great Valley beyond Shenandoah, to

5478-441: The nation's sixth Great Lake on March 6, 1998, when President Clinton signed Senate Bill 927. This bill, which was led by U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont and reauthorized the National Sea Grant Program , contained a line declaring Lake Champlain to be a Great Lake. This status enabled its neighboring states to apply for additional federal research and education funds allocated to these national resources. However, following

5561-514: The north, the Mohawk Valley became a major route for westward expansion, especially after the construction of the Erie Canal , which linked New York City in the east to the Great Lakes region in the Midwest via the Hudson River of the Great Valley and the Mohawk Valley gap. The Great Valley, especially Shenandoah Valley, played an important role during the American Civil War , including its Blue Ridge gaps and nearby Piedmont area and its northward extension to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania , where

5644-447: The northernmost end of Lake Champlain to protect against attacks from British Canada. Its nickname came from a surveying error: the initial phase of construction on the fort turned out to be taking place on a point 3 ⁄ 4  mi (1.2 km) north of the Canada–U.S. border. Once this error was spotted, construction was abandoned. Locals scavenged materials used in the abandoned fort for use in their homes and public buildings. By

5727-414: The ports of Burlington, Vermont , Port Henry, New York , and Plattsburgh, New York , today are primarily used by small craft, ferries and lake cruise ships, they were of substantial commercial and military importance in the 18th and 19th centuries. New France allocated concessions all along Lake Champlain to French settlers and built forts to defend the waterways. In colonial times, Lake Champlain

5810-407: The relatively undeveloped coastline of the lake. The cities of Plattsburgh, New York , and Burlington, Vermont , are on the lake's western and eastern shores, respectively, and the town of Ticonderoga, New York , is in the southern part of the region. The Quebec portion is in the regional county municipalities of Le Haut-Richelieu and Brome-Missisquoi . There are a number of islands in the lake;

5893-448: The risks to humans from water-related health hazards and control the introduction, spread, and impact of non-native nuisance species to preserve the integrity of the Lake Champlain ecosystem. Senior staff who helped organize the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 recall that International Paper was one of the first companies to call upon the brand-new agency, because it was being pressured by both New York and Vermont with regard to

5976-558: The significance of Lake Champlain during the post-Revolutionary War period. During the War of 1812 , British and American forces faced each other in the Battle of Lake Champlain, also known as the Battle of Plattsburgh , fought on September 11, 1814. This ended the final British invasion of the northern states during the War of 1812. It was fought just prior to the signing of the Treaty of Ghent , and

6059-473: The spring and summer of 1776, at opposite ends of the lake, and fought a significant naval engagement on October 11 at the Battle of Valcour Island . While it was a tactical defeat for the Americans, and the small fleet led by Benedict Arnold was almost destroyed, the Americans gained a strategic victory; the British invasion was delayed long enough so the approach of winter prevented the fall of these forts until

6142-537: The states of New York and Vermont . The lake is located at the frontier between Abenaki and Mohawk ( Iroquois Confederacy ) traditional territories. The official toponym for the lake, according to the orthography established by the Grand Council of Wanab-aki Nation, is Pitawbagok (alternative orthographies include Petonbowk and Bitawbagok), meaning "middle lake", "lake in between" or "double lake". The Mohawk name in modern orthography, as standardized in 1993,

6225-499: The strategic advantage of controlling a direct route to Quebec by way of the Champlain Valley, the American siege of British Canada during the winter of 1775 failed. The Continental Army mistakenly assumed that it would receive support from the Canadians upon their arrival at Quebec. This was not the case, and the rebel army struggled to take Quebec with diminishing supplies, support, and harsh northern winter weather. The Continental Army

6308-636: The upper valley of the James River , Roanoke Valley , and New River Valley in Virginia, the Holston River Valley in Virginia and Tennessee , and the East Tennessee Valley extending from Virginia through Tennessee to Alabama . The Coosa River Valley is often considered the southernmost part of the Great Valley. These southern portions of the Great Valley are sometimes grouped into two parts,

6391-426: The valley en route to Scranton . I-78 then continues the route through the valley parallel to the southern slopes of Blue Mountain, connecting Harrisburg with Lebanon , Kutztown , and Allentown . At Allentown, I-78 then swings away south into the hills of the Reading Prong en route to New York City . From Allentown into New Jersey and southern New York, the valley is not traced by an interstate highway, though it

6474-456: The valley, I-90 traverses the Mohawk Valley towards Utica . North of Glens Falls, I-87 runs west of the valley through the Adirondack Mountains , though it descends back into the valley near Plattsburgh . At the Canada–US border, I-87 becomes Autoroute 15 and continues north to Montreal . No interstate highway crosses the rugged section of the valley east of Lake George or passes through

6557-573: The vicinity of present-day Roanoke, Virginia . There is a wide gap in the Blue Ridge near Roanoke. A branch of the Great Wagon Road began there, crossing through the gap east into the Piedmont region of North Carolina and South Carolina . This road became known as the Carolina Road. During the 1750s, the stream of migrants traveling south through the valley and into the Carolina Piedmont grew into

6640-473: Was forced to camp outside Quebec's walls for the winter, with reinforcements from New York, Pennsylvania , Massachusetts , New Hampshire and Connecticut allowing the soldiers to maintain their siege of the city. However, smallpox descended on both the sieging forces and their reinforcements and savaged the American force. The reinforcements traveled hundreds of miles up the frozen Lake Champlain and St. Lawrence River, but were too late and too few to influence

6723-528: Was instrumental to the momentum of the Revolutionary War, as the defeat of the British army along the Champlain-Hudson waterway convinced France to ally with the American army. Following the failed British campaign led by General Burgoyne, the British still maintained control over the Champlain waterway for the duration of the Revolutionary War. The British used the Champlain waterway to supply raids across

6806-524: Was open to settlement after treaty cessions and purchases from the Indians. The region drew a steady and growing stream of immigrants and became known as "the best poor man's country". European immigrants ultimately thoroughly settled the Great Valley in Pennsylvania and were rapidly migrating and settling southwards into the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia . The entire region between southeast Pennsylvania and

6889-481: Was used as a water (or, in winter, ice) passage between the Saint Lawrence and Hudson valleys. Travelers found it easier to journey by boats and sledges on the lake rather than go overland on unpaved and frequently mud-bound roads. The lake's northern tip at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu , Quebec (known as St. John in colonial times under British rule) is just 25 miles (40 km) from Montreal , Quebec. The southern tip at Whitehall (Skenesborough in revolutionary times)

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