Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain is a large freshwater lake shared between the U.S. states of Vermont and New York and the Canadian province of Quebec, occupying a rift valley between the Green Mountains and the Adirondacks. The lake is roughly 190 kilometres (about 118 miles) long and has played an important role in regional transportation and history.

Formed by glacial and post-glacial processes, the lake has been a transportation corridor and contested frontier through colonial and early American periods; it saw naval engagements during the American Revolution and military activity during the War of 1812. Settlement and agriculture around the lake developed through the 18th and 19th centuries.

The lake stretches north-south between northern New York and western Vermont and extends into southern Quebec via the Richelieu River; major nearby cities include Burlington, Vermont, and Plattsburgh, New York.

• Boating and recreation: The lake is navigable for hundreds of kilometres of shoreline and is served by multiple state and provincial parks; boating is popular from late spring through early autumn.
• Hydrology and border: The lake forms part of the border between New York and Vermont and drains northward via the Richelieu River into the Saint Lawrence in Quebec.

What to See #

• Champlain Islands: Grand Isle and the Champlain Islands - A chain of islands in the lake's northern reaches, forming a distinct agricultural and residential area within Vermont and linked by Route 2.
• Isle La Motte: Isle La Motte - An island at the northern end of the lake notable for Ordovician fossil deposits and small historic communities.
• Valcour Island: Valcour Island - Site of a Revolutionary War naval engagement in 1776, located near the New York shore south of Plattsburgh.