440 Eighth Annual Eeport of the 



It may be remarked, as Ooflfin has already noted, that the tem- 

 perature of the upper Mohawk valley is very near the average 

 for the State as a whole throughout the jem\ 



The Central Lake Region. 



From a climatic standpoint this region may be taken to include 

 Oanandaigua, Keuka, Seneca and Cayuga Lakes; the lesser 

 dimensions and greater elevation of Owasco and Skaneateles 

 Lakes classifying them more properly with the plateau region. 

 The basins of Keuka and Seneca Lakes are prolonged in nearly 

 open channels, extending through the central highlands from the 

 plain of the Great Lakes on the north to the valley of the Sus- 

 quehanna on the south; the valleys of Cayuga and Cauandaigua, 

 on the other hand, being closed by high hills toward the south. 

 The winds folio-w quite closely the direction of the valleys, es- 

 pecially in their southern portions, and hence must traverse a 

 large extent of the lake surfaces. 



The average annual temperature of the Central Lake region 

 does not differ materially from that of the section bordering the 

 southern shore of Lake Ontario, the annual range also being 

 nearly identical in both regions. 



The temperature conditions of Seneca and adjacent lakes were 

 closely studied several years ago Tby W. D. Wilson, D. D,, of 

 Hobart College, Geneva, whose conclusions are as follows: In 

 comparing the influence oi the lakes upop Ithaca and Geneva, 

 respectively, " Ithaca has the advantage of about half a degree 

 of latitude and fifty feet of elevation, which, combined, make 

 scarcely so much as one degree of temperature in its favor. 

 * * * The lakes are much the same in si/e, about fortv-five 

 miles long, with an average width of two or three miles. Cayuga 

 Lake, however, is much the shallowest and freezes over more 

 extensively than Seneca." 



"The point of contrast, however, is chiefly this: The one 

 (Ithaca) is at the south end and the other (Geneva) at the north 

 end of a long body of standing water. * * * In winter, while 

 the water is warmer than the air and is also giving out heat by 



