26 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



before entering it. These abnormal courses are doubtless due to 

 either ice erosion or accumulation of glacial debris during the Ice 

 Age. 



Greatest of all the northwestward-flowing streams is the Raquette 

 river. After a devious course of over lOO miles, including passage 

 through several large lakes, the river enters the St Lawrence at 

 the international boundary. The principal source of the Raquette 

 river is Blue Mountain lake in the heart of the Adirondacks. This 

 water flows westward about 8 miles by way of Eagle and Utowana 

 lakes and Marion river into the large irregular Raquette lake. 

 Thence the course changes abruptly northeastward through Forked 

 lake and over cascades into Long lake. After flowing nearly 14 

 miles through this long, narrow body of water, which is only a 

 comparatively recent enlargement of the stream, Raquette river 

 flows sluggishly northward for 5 miles through a wide swampy 

 valley to Raquette falls where the water descends 75 feet in a gorge 

 three-fourths of a mile long. From Raquette falls the general 

 course of the river is north and west, with sluggish current and 

 many loops (oxbows), through a wide, swampy valley into Big 

 Tupper lake. From Tupper lake the river pursues a quite normal 

 course with considerable velocity into the St Lawrence valley. 

 The history of the upper Raquette river drainage basin is discussed 

 in the next chapter. 



Oswegatchie river has its sources in and around Cranberry lake, 

 one of the largest bodies of water in the Adirondacks. The river 

 doubles back on its course in a most remarkable manner a few 

 miles west of Gouverneur. 



Approximately one-sixth of the Adirondack drainage passes west- 

 ward into Black river and thence into Lake Ontario. This drainage 

 is, in most respects, quite normal. The largest stream is Moose 

 river with its several branches, the main or South branch rising in 

 the southern Adirondacks, the Middle branch draining the Fulton 

 chain of lakes, and the North branch draining Big Moose lake. 

 Next most important is Beaver river, which has its sources in and 

 around the Red Horse chain of lakes. 



Lakes 



Including all, from the smallest to the largest, there are probably 

 no less than 2000 lakes and ponds in the Adirondack region. A 

 few only of the more prominent ones are shown on map figure 3. 

 Considering the beautiful setting of the lakes among the wild, 



