Friday, 17 October 2014 - 01:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: North America / Nordamerika Category/Kategorie: GeneralReading Time: 4minutes
Lake George, nicknamed the Queen of American Lakes, is a long, narrow lake located at the southeast base of the Adirondack Mountains, in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York. It lies within the upper region of the Great Appalachian Valley and drains northward into Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River drainage basin. The lake is situated along the historical natural (Amerindian) path between the valley of the Hudson River and that of the St. Lawrence, so lies on the direct land route between Albany, New York and Montreal, Canada. The lake extends about 32.2 mi (51.8 km) on a north-south axis, is quite deep, and varies from 1 to 3 miles (1.7 to 5 km) in width, presenting a significant barrier to east-west travel. Although the year-round population of the Lake George region is relatively small, the summertime population can swell to over 50,000 residents, many in the Village of Lake George region at the southern end of the lake.
Lake George drains into Lake Champlain to its north through a short stream, the La Chute River, with many falls and rapids, dropping about 230 feet (70 m) in its 3½-mile (6 km) course—virtually all of which is within the lands of Ticonderoga, New York and near the site of the famous Fort Ticonderoga. Ultimately the waters flowing via the 106-mile-long (171 km) Richelieu River empty into the St. Lawrence River downstream and northeast of Montreal and then into the North Atlantic Ocean above Nova Scotia.
Situated on the rail line halfway between New York City and Montreal, Lake George attracted the era’s rich and famous by the late 19th and early 20th century. Members of the Roosevelt, van Rensselaer, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller and Whitney families visited its shores. The Fort William Henry Hotel, in what is now Lake George Village, and The Sagamore in Bolton Landing, opened at this time to serve tourists. The wealthiest visitors were more likely to stay with their peers at their private country estates.
The Silver Bay YMCA on Lake George was constructed in 1900. It has since evolved into a summer family camp, serving several hundred organizations and tourists every summer. Since 1913, on the East Shore of Lake George, YMCA Camp Chingachgook has hosted thousands of guests every summer. Today, Lake George remains a tourist destination, resort center, and summer colony. A popular activity in the Lake George area is hot air ballooning. One of the nation’s oldest gathering of hot air balloons occurs every September in nearby Glens Falls, NY.
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