Frequently Asked Questions FAQ

Cayuga Lake Facts

Length 38.2 miles
Mean Width 1.75 miles
Maximum Depth 435 feet
Shoreline 95.3 miles
Area of lake 66.4 sq. miles (approximately 42495.83 acres or 17197.52 hectares)
Volume of water is 2.5 trillion gallons
Time for water to cycle through 10 years

The area of the watershed including the lake is 864 square miles (approximately 553,000 acres or 22379.15 hectares)

What is a Watershed?

A watershed (or basin) is an area of land that drains water, sediment, and dissolved materials to a common receiving body or outlet. We use the term to refer to both to surface and groundwater. Surface water includes rivers, creeks, wetlands. Groundwater is the water underground below the water table.

Where is the Outlet for Cayuga Lake and to where does it Drain?

On the left are 6 gates that control the water level in Cayuga Lake. On the right is lock CS1 or "Mud Lock". Photo courtesy of Bill Hecht.

Cayuga Lake's outlet is at the north end where it drains into the Seneca River, which is part of a larger system known as the Oswego River Basin. This basin carries water from seven of the Finger Lakes, plus other streams and lakes as they drain north into Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes. Together the Great Lakes contain 1/5 of all the world's available fresh water. The health of our watershed is part of what determines the health of this vast and precious fresh water resource.

Map of the Cayuga Lake Watershed

This is a thumbnail image, click on it.