The Finger Lakes 



65 



lake. They bring in constantly, however, a supply 

 of food materials, dissolved from the soils of the 

 hills. 



Bordering the Finger Lakes there are no extensive 

 marshes, save at the ends 

 of Cayuga, and the chief 

 irregularities of outline 

 are formed by the deltas 

 o f inflowing streams. 

 The two large central 

 lakes, Cayuga and Sen- 

 eca, have their basins 

 extending below the sea 

 level. Their sides are 

 bordered by two steeply - 

 rising, smoothly eroded 

 hills of uniform height, 

 between which they lie 

 extended like wide placid 

 rivers. The areas, eleva- 

 tions and depths of the 

 five are as follows: 



Fig. 15. The Finger Lakes of Central 

 New York. 



A. Canandaigua; B, Keuka; C, Seneca; D, 

 Cayuga; E, Owasco; F, Skaneateles; G. Otisco; 

 H, the Seneca River; I, The arrow indicates the 

 location of the Cornell University Biological 

 Field Station at Ithaca. The stippled area at 

 the opposite end of Cayuga Lake marks the 

 location of the Montezuma Marshes. 



Area 



sq. mi. 



Lake Skaneateles 13.9 



" Owaseo 10.3 



" Cayuga 66.4 



" Seneca 67.7 



" Keuka 18. 1 



" Canandaigua 16.3 



Birge and Juday found the transparency of four of 

 these lakes as measured by Secchi's disc in August, 19 10, 

 to be as follows: 



12.0 ft. Seneca 27.0 ft. 



Canandaigua 

 Cayuga .... 



:6.6 ft. 



Skaneateles 33.5 ft. 



