The Finger Lakes: Everything You Want To Know (2024)

Home » The Finger Lakes: Everything You Want To Know

The Finger Lakes Region is a beautiful and popular tourist destination in upstate New York. The lakes, which are 11 in total, range in surface area from 1 to 69 square miles and offer plenty of opportunities for fishing, boating, swimming, and camping. The lakes are also home to some of the most picturesque scenery in New York State, including waterfalls, cliffs, and vineyards. In this article, we will provide an overview of the Finger Lakes themselves, including their size, depth, and volume.

Finger Lakes Ranked By Surface Area

1. Seneca Lake: 68.90 mi²
2. Cayuga Lake: 66.41 mi²
3. Keuka Lake: 18.10 mi²
4. Canandaigua Lake: 16.50 mi²
5. Skaneateles Lake: 13.75 mi²
6. Owasco Lake: 10.41 mi²
7. Conesus Lake: 5.34 mi²
8. Otisco Lake: 2.93 mi²
9. Hemlock Lake: 2.81 mi²
10. Honeoye Lake: 2.77 mi²
11. Canadice Lake: 1.01 mi²

The Finger Lakes range in size from Canadice Lake, which is just over one square mile in surface area, to the largest of the eleven lakes, Seneca Lake coming in just shy of 69 square miles. Cayuga Lake is the second largest, just a little smaller than Seneca Lake; both of these lakes are much larger than any of the other Finger Lakes. Otisco Lake, Hemlock Lake, and Honeoye Lake are all nearly identical in size.

Finger Lakes Ranked By Watershed Area

1. Cayuga Lake: 1,573.37 mi²
2. Seneca Lake: 712.75 mi²
3. Owasco Lake: 202.01 mi²
4. Canandaigua Lake: 186.10 mi²
5. Keuka Lake: 176.45 mi²
6. Skaneateles Lake: 72.83 mi²
7. Conesus Lake: 70.27 mi²
8. Hemlock Lake: 43.24 mi²
9. Otisco Lake: 42.38 mi²
10. Honeoye Lake: 40.15 mi²
11. Canadice Lake: 12.74 mi²

Even though Cayuga Lake is the second largest based on the surface area, it has by far the largest watershed because both Keuka Lake and Seneca Lake drain into Cayuga Lake. Cayuga Lake also has the largest watershed area to surface area ratio for any of the Finger Lakes, 24:1. Keuka Lake, on the other hand, has the smallest ratio at just 5:1.

See Also

What Are the Finger LakesHet Beste Van De Finger Lakes: De Beste Dingen Om Te Doen In De Finger LakesBezienswaardigheden Finger Lakes - Tioga ToursThe Finger Lakes - Finger Lakes of New York

Finger Lakes Ranked By Maximum Depth

1. Seneca Lake: 618 ft
2. Cayuga Lake: 435 ft
3. Skaneateles Lake: 315 ft
4. Canandaigua Lake: 276 ft
5. Keuka Lake: 187 ft
6. Owasco Lake: 177 ft
7. Canadice Lake: 95 ft
8. Hemlock Lake: 91 ft
9. Otisco Lake: 76 ft
10. Conesus Lake: 66 ft
11. Honeoye Lake: 30 ft

Most of the Finger Lakes are deep; six reach depths over 100 feet. Seneca Lake is the deepest, reaching a maximum depth of 618 feet. Honeoye Lake is the shallowest reaching a maximum depth of 30 feet. The great depths of Seneca Lake are one reason the Navy uses it as a testing ground for sonar systems.

Skaneateles Lake is the third deepest of the Finger Lakes, even though it is the fifth largest based on surface area. This is a great reminder that lake surface area isn’t always a good predictor of lake depth.

Finger Lakes Ranked By Mean Depth

1. Seneca Lake: 291 ft
2. Cayuga Lake: 179 ft
3. Skaneateles Lake: 148 ft
4. Canandaigua Lake: 127 ft
5. Keuka Lake: 101 ft
6. Owasco Lake: 96 ft
7. Canadice Lake: 55 ft
8. Hemlock Lake: 45 ft
9. Conesus Lake: 38 ft
10. Otisco Lake: 34 ft
11. Honeoye Lake: 16 ft

The maximum depth of the largest Finger Lakes is impressive, but so are the mean depths. Mean depth is the average depth of a lake, and five of the eleven Finger Lakes reach a mean depth of greater than 100 feet. The shallowest of the Finger Lakes, both in terms of maximum depth and mean depth, is Honeoye Lake.

Finger Lakes Ranked By Volume

1. Seneca Lake: 558,952,800,000 ft³
2. Cayuga Lake: 331,400,600,000 ft³
3. Canandaigua Lake: 58,418,730,000 ft³
4. Skaneateles Lake: 56,732,544,000 ft³
5. Keuka Lake: 50,964,600,000 ft³
6. Owasco Lake: 27,860,544,000 ft³
7. Conesus Lake: 5,657,060,000 ft³
8. Hemlock Lake: 3,525,210,00 ft³
9. Otisco Lake: 2,777,256,000 ft³
10. Canadice Lake: 1,548,635,000 ft³
11. Honeoye Lake: 1,235,568,000 ft³

Just as the Finger Lakes vary greatly in size and depth, so do they in volume. Seneca Lake has the largest volume at just about 560 billion cubic feet. The lake is so large that it accounts for just over 50% of the total volume of water stored in the eleven Finger Lakes. In other words, if you were to completely drain Seneca Lake, it would take all of the water in the remaining lakes, and then some, to fill it back up. Seneca Lake also contains enough water to supply the entire United States for almost two weeks.

This is a big jump down in volume from Owasco Lake to Conesus Lake. This is partly due to Conesus being half the surface area of Owasco but also because the smaller Finger Lakes tend to be much shallower than their larger counterparts.

Finger Lakes Ranked By Shoreline Length

1. Cayuga Lake: 95.3 mi
2. Seneca Lake: 75.4 mi
3. Keuka Lake: 60.0 mi
4. Canandaigua Lake: 36.0 mi
5. Skaneateles Lake:34.0 mi
6. Owasco Lake: 24.7 mi
7. Conesus Lake: 18.5 mi
8. Hemlock Lake: 17.1 mi
9. Otisco Lake: 15.5 mi
10. Honeoye Lake: 9.6 mi
11. Canadice Lake: 6.5 mi

Despite their great size, the shorelines of the Finger Lakes are not particularly long because the lake shapes are simple elongated rectangles. Keuka Lake is the one exception because of its y-shape; its shoreline length is 80% that of Seneca Lake despite its surface area being 26% that of Seneca Lake’s surface area. Canadice Lake has the shortest shoreline; at 6.5 miles, it would be a moderate afternoon walk if there were a trail its entire length.

Finger Lakes Ranked By Watershed Development

1. Canandaigua Lake: 8.91%
2. Cayuga Lake: 8.82%
3. Seneca Lake: 8.67%
4. Conesus Lake: 8.39%
5. Keuka Lake: 7.97%
6. Skaneateles Lake: 7.50%
7. Otisco Lake: 6.98%
8. Owasco Lake: 6.82%
9. Canadice Lake: 6.43%
10. Hemlock Lake: 6.33%
11. Honeoye Lake: 6.10%

As the portion of a lake’s watershed that is developed increases, so does the threat of nutrient pollution, road salt, and stormwater runoff. Canandaigua Lake has the most development in its watershed, primarily because portions of the City of Canandaigua are within the lake’s watershed and the City of Naples also drains into the lake. Honeoye Lake has the lowest amount of development in its watershed, despite being close to Rochester, NY. Most of the development exists in the form of camps along the lake shore.

Finger Lakes Ranked By Agricultural Use

1. Cayuga Lake: 44.87%
2. Owasco Lake: 44.41%
3. Otisco Lake: 40.15%
4. Seneca Lake: 38.69%
5. Conesus Lake: 35.53%
6. Skaneateles Lake: 35.05%
7. Canandaigua Lake: 32.31%
8. Keuka Lake: 30.14%
9. Hemlock Lake: 19.76%
10. Honeoye Lake: 9.41%
11. Canadice Lake: 6.81%

Higher portions of agricultural use in a lake’s watershed can also pose challenges to protecting water quality. If agricultural lands are not managed using best practices, they can lead to a large amount of sediment, fertilizers, and pesticides entering streams that feed into a lake. Cayuga Lake has the largest amount of agriculture in its watershed, which isn’t surprising given that it is in the middle of the Finger Lakes wine country. Canadice Lake has the lowest portion of agriculture in its watershed, partly because the lake and portions of its watershed are protected because it is used as a source of drinking water for Rochester, NY.

Finger Lakes Ranked By Invasive Species

1. Canandaigua Lake: 14
2. Cayuga Lake: 11
3. Otisco Lake: 8
4. Seneca Lake: 8
5. Keuka Lake: 6
6. Owasco Lake: 6
7. Conesus Lake: 5
8. Hemlock Lake: 5
9. Skaneateles Lake: 4
10. Honeoye Lake: 3
11. Canadice Lake: 2

Canandaigua Lake has the most invasive species and is the only Finger Lake to contain Hydrilla, a highly invasive plant. Boaters visiting the lake, including when leaving, should follow the Clean, Drain, Dry principles to prevent the introduction and spread of invasive species. Canadice Lake has the fewest, partly because it is undeveloped and has restrictions on boating.

Finger Lakes Trophic State

1. Hemlock Lake: Oligotrophic
2. Skaneateles Lake: Oligotrophic
3. Canadice Lake: Mesotrophic
4. Canandaigua Lake: Mesotrophic
5. Cayuga Lake: Mesotrophic
6. Keuka Lake: Mesotrophic
7. Otisco Lake: Mesotrophic
8. Owasco Lake: Mesotrophic
9. Seneca Lake: Mesotrophic
10. Conesus Lake: Eutrophic
11. Honeoye Lake: Eutrophic

The Finger Lakes range in trophic state, though most a mesotrophic. Hemlock Lake and Skaneateles Lake are both oligotrophic. Hemlock Lake has low amounts of development and agriculture in its watershed, which may be one reason it is oligotrophic with lower primary production.

Finger Lakes Harmful Algal Bloom Status

1. Canadice Lake: Not Reported
2. Canandaigua Lake: Reported
3. Cayuga Lake: Reported
4. Conesus Lake: Reported
5. Hemlock Lake: Reported
6. Honeoye Lake: Reported
7. Keuka Lake: Reported
8. Otisco Lake: Reported
9. Owasco Lake: Reported
10. Seneca Lake: Reported
11. Skaneateles Lake: Reported

Almost all of the Finger Lakes have had or regularly have harmful algal blooms (HABs) occur in them; the notable exception is Canadice Lake which has not had a HAB reported. Low development and agricultural use in Canadice Lake’s watershed, along with shoreline protections, help reduce the chance of a HAB forming on the lake.