It's the last in the Great Lakes chain and it serves as the outlet to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. The lake's average depth is 283 feet (86 m), with a maximum depth of 802 feet (244 m).
The Moses-Saunders Power Dam regulates the water level of the lake, but as with all the Great Lakes, the water level changes owing to seasonal changes in the yearly water input longer-term trends in precipitation.
The lake is an important freshwater fishery, but it has been negatively affected by factors including over fishing, water pollution and invasive species.
Because of its depth, the lake does not completely freeze in winter, but an ice sheet covering between 10 and 90 percent of the lake area typically develops, depending on the severity of the winter. Ice sheets typically form along the shoreline and in slack water bays, where the lake is not as deep.
During the War of 1812, the ice cover was stable enough the American naval commander stationed at Sackets Harbor feared a British attack from Kingston, over the ice. The lake has completely frozen over on only five recorded occasions: in 1830, 1874, 1893, 1912, and 1934.
When the cold winds of winter pass over the warmer water of the lake, they pick up moisture and drop it as lake-effect snow. Since the prevailing winter winds are from the northwest, the southern and southeastern shoreline of the lake is referred to as the snowbelt.
In some winters one area may receive twenty or more feet of snow. Also impacted by lake-effect snow is the Tug Hill Plateau, an area of elevated land about 20 miles to the east of the lake. The Hill, as it is often referred to, typically receives more snow than any other region in the eastern United States.
Lake-effect snow often extends inland as far as Syracuse, New York, over 40 miles to the SE, with the city often recording the most winter snow accumulation of any large city in the United States.
The lake has an effect on the climate. Foggy conditions (particularly in fall) can be created by thermal contrasts and can be a problem for recreational boaters.
Lake breezes in spring tend to retard fruit bloom until the frost danger is past, and in the fall delay the onset of fall frost, particularly on the south shore. Cool onshore winds also retard the early bloom of plants and flowers until later in the spring season, protecting them from possible frost damage. This microclimate effects has enabled the growing of apples, cherries, pears, plums, and peaches as well as fostering a wine-growing region.
There are estimated 200 sunken ships in Lake Ontario. The oldest recorded shipwreck and the only fully intact British warship ever found in the Great Lakes is the 80-foot sloop of wa, the British HMS Ontario. It sank during a storm on October 31, 1780 and was discovered in June, 2008 in more than 500 feet of water.
The largest ship to sink in Lake Ontario was the 253-foot Nisbet Grammer; Itwas what is known as a canaller, a ship designed to slip through the Welland Canal with loads of grain and coal that larger ships couldn't carry.
It was first launched in 1923 and on May 31, 1926, it was just setting out from Buffalo to Montreal when, in a deep fog, it was rammed by another steamer, the Dalwarnic. A large hole was opened in the Nisbet Grammer and it sank in 15 minutes; luckily, its entire crew escaped safely onto the Dalwarnic.
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