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By Tom Slayton
From atop little Mount Philo in Charlotte, the immense scale and beauty of Lake Champlain confront the viewer boldly. Although this rocky eminence is only 980 feet in elevation, it allows a view from its west-facing cliffs that is striking.
Dotted with islands, rimmed by farm fields and forested mountains, the lake has historically been both a human pathway and playground, as well as home to an amazing array of wildlife.
It is undeniably big and deep – roughly 110 miles long and 12 miles wide at its widest, near Burlington – and 400 feet deep at its greatest depth. It comprises an area of approximately 435 square miles, a surface area making it the sixth-largest freshwater lake in or bordering on the United States. Only the five Great Lakes, to which it is linked by the Richelieu and St. Lawrence Rivers, are larger.
Lake Champlain has also played a major role in the great drama of American history. Its waters provided a major thoroughfare directly southward from the St. Lawrence River into the heart of the North American continent.
The first European to use this obvious route was the great French explorer Samuel de Champlain, who entered the lake 400 years ago, and whose visit we are commemorating in 2009.
Lake Champlain was crucial to controlling the North American continent, and has been called “the most historic body of water in North America.”
For more information on the Champlain 400 celebration, read our overview of the event or visit www.celebratechamplain.org. |
