Otsego Lake (New York)

Otsego Lake
Southwest end of Otsego Lake
Otsego Lake Location within New York Show map of New York Adirondack Park Otsego Lake Otsego Lake (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	Otsego County, New York, United States
Coordinates	42°45′23″N 74°53′46″W / 42.7564°N 74.8961°W / 42.7564; -74.8961[1]
Type	Lake
Primary inflows	Hayden Creek, Shadow Brook, Trout Brook, Cripple Creek, Leatherstocking Creek, Willow Brook, Mohican Brook, Brookwood Creek, Glimmer Glen Creek
Primary outflows	Susquehanna River
Catchment area	74 sq mi (190 km2)[2]
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	7.8 mi (12.6 km)[3]
Surface area	4,046 acres (16.37 km2)[3]
Average depth	82 ft (25 m)[3]
Max. depth	167 ft (51 m)[3]
Water volume	117,000,000,000 US gal (440,000,000 m3)[4]
Residence time	3 years[5]: 1
Shore length1	20.3 mi (32.7 km)[3]
Surface elevation	1,194 feet (364 m)[1]
Islands	Sunken Island (sunken), Eel Island (sunken)
Settlements	Cooperstown
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Otsego Lake is a 4,046-acre (16.37 km²) lake located in Otsego County in the U.S. state of New York. It is the source of the Susquehanna River and largest lake in Otsego County.^[1][2] The Village of Cooperstown is located at the lake's southern end. Glimmerglass State Park is located on the lake's northeastern shore, and includes Hyde Hall, a large mansion constructed in 1817, that overlooks the lake. The Glimmerglass Opera, opened in June 1987, is located on the western shore.^[6][7][8]

Between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago, glaciers of the Wisconsin glaciation filled the valley. Otsego Lake was formed when an ice tongue from a glacier carved out the Susquehanna River Valley. As the glaciers melted slowly, they filled in the valley they carved out. The lake takes its name from the Iroquois Indians, who inhabited the area around the lake in and before the 17th century. The name Otsego is from a Mohawk or Oneida word meaning "place of the rock", referring to the large boulder near the lake's outlet, today known as Council Rock.

The lake's role in the state and local economy has led to a concentrated effort to protect and manage it. In 1935, the New York State Conservation Department performed the first biological survey of Otsego Lake. In 1968, the State University of New York at Oneonta (SUNY Oneonta) gained access to the lake, a location to build a field station and a biological research facility. Also at this time, the Otsego County Conservation Association (OCCA) was formed by a group of local landowners and sportsmen concerned about the water quality. SUNY Oneonta and OCCA collaborate on water quality improvement projects. The Otsego Lake Association, a not for profit group, makes sure that the Otsego Lake Watershed Management Plan is enforced. Today the lake is used for pleasure as well as sporting activities such as fishing.