WATERSHED IMPLEMENTATION PLANS AND OUR KETTLE LAKES
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WATERSHED IMPLEMENTATION PLANS AND OUR KETTLE LAKES 〰️
Tully Lake
Tully Lake strides the divide between Cortland and Onondaga Counties. It was historically, a thriving tourist attraction (1890s to 1940s) with a long history of recreational enjoyment and grand hotels. With its meandering shoreline and quiet coves, it remains an idyllic lake. Looks can be deceiving, as it too is a waterbody at risk from the threat of invasive species, proliferation of Eurasian watermilfoil, invasive chara and over development. Protecting Tully Lake from the entry of unwashed boats is a significant concernWhatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
It is our goal to conduct pre-storm and post-event water quality analysis at the deep-water point and for key tributaries, for each of our participating kettle lakes to examine impact from significant storm water run-off events. See Tully Lake’s deep-water location above.
Please note that Tully Lake is the only kettle lake in Central New York that is divided between two counties.
Crooked Lake
Crooked Lake is 108 acres in size with an maximum depth of of 70 ft./21.3 m. It is one of the Tully Lakes, a group of six lakes (along with Tully, Tracy, Mud,Green, and Song) called kettles because they were formed when large chunks of glacial ice melted and left a depression. The Tully Lakes are at the southern end of the Tully Valley and the northern end of the Tioughnioga Valley. The two valleys are divided by the St. Lawrence Seaway Divide, which causes Tracy and Mud to drain to the north into Lake Ontario and Song, Green, and Tully to drain to the south into the Susquehanna River. Crooked Lake is unique because it is the only lake of the six that drains in both directions as the divide runs right under the lake. This means that the lake is also in both valleys.
Quite often kettles are perfectly round. Tracy Lake is a good example of this. Other times, kettles can be extremely irregular in shape. Crooked Lake is a good example of this as it winds in and out with many coves and several small islands.
Below is the map of Crooked Lake’s deep-water location.
Little York Lake
Little York Lake is a publicly accessible lake in Cortland County. Featuring an expansive park with complete picnic facilities, it also hosts a wide array of events at its main pavilion. The pavilion is also the summer home of the Cortland Repertory Theater.
If you enjoy Little York Lake then join the Little York Lake Preservation Society. Your membership fees help support our volunteer efforts to monitor lake quality and generally help to ensure that Little York Lake will be fun for families in the region for generations to come.
Little York Lake Deep-Water Testing Site
Song Lake
Song Lake is a small lake situated on the western edge of the Finger Lakes Region. Song Lake is one of a number of kettle lakes that were formed at the same time as the finger lakes. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the area was formed by the advancing and retreating of glacial ice during the last glacial period in North America. Kettle lakes are smaller holes that formed when huge chunks of ice broke off the glacier. When these ice chunks melted, the depressions remained.
Song Lake has no outlet or inlet, but is fed by precipitation, surface water runoff and groundwater. This small lake is an oval of approximately 110 acres. Most of the lake is fairly shallow, with depths from five to thirty feet. There are wetlands to the northeast, but the lake is densely populated along the west and north shores, Camp Hoover (The Girl Scouts of America) resides on the east and the smaller south shore is lined by agricultural land.
The Song Lake Property Owners Association was incorporated July 13th, 1956. It consists of approximately 90 homeowners around the lake. The objectives of the association are to safeguard the the quality of the lake and watershed area, to enhance the recreational use of the lake for activities such as swimming, fishing and boating and to promote a sense of community and common responsibility among the residents.
On the Edge of the Rainbow, Photo Credit, Tarki Heath
