Chautauqua Lake

Chautauqua Lake
View from Stow, New York, towards Bemus Point
Chautauqua Lake Show map of New York Chautauqua Lake Show map of the United States
Location	Chautauqua County, New York, United States
Coordinates	42°09′22″N 79°23′44″W / 42.15611°N 79.39556°W / 42.15611; -79.39556
Lake type	Natural
Primary inflows	Big Inlet
Primary outflows	Chadakoin River
Catchment area	180 sq mi (470 km2)
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	17 mi (27 km)
Max. width	2 mi (3.2 km)
Surface area	13,000 acres (5,300 ha)
Max. depth	78 ft (24 m)
Shore length1	41 mi (66 km)
Surface elevation	1,308 ft (399 m)
Settlements	Jamestown
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Chautauqua Lake is located entirely within Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The lake is approximately 17 miles (27 km) long and two miles (3.2 km) wide at its greatest width. The surface area is approximately 13,000 acres (53 km²). The maximum depth is about 78 feet (24 m). The shoreline is about 41.1 miles (66 km) of which all but 2.6 mi (4 km) are privately owned.

The lake's name comes from the now-extinct Erie language. Because the Erie people were defeated in the Beaver Wars before a comprehensive study of their language could be made, its meaning remains unknown and a source of speculation, with two longstanding folk translations being “bag tied in the middle” and “place where fish are taken out,”^[1] the latter having some support based on similar words in other Iroquoian languages.^[2] A Seneca legend, dating at least to the days of Seneca diplomat John Cornplanter Abeel, attests to the Chautauqua having a reputation as a "place of easy death."^[2]