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Place Name
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Onondaga Lake
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Place Status (Type)
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lake
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Location
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New York, United States, North America
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Latitude
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43°05'N
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Longitude
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76°12'W
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Onondaga Lake
, brackish lake, central N.Y., NW of Syracuse;
5 mi/8 km long and
1 mi/1.6 km wide; 43°05'N 76°12'W. In
1654, Father LeMoyne, a missionary, was taken to salt springs along the
lakeshore by the Onondagas. He showed them how to obtain salt from the
water by boiling it. In 1795 the lake was purchased from the Native
Americans by N.Y. state for its salt resources. The Salt Mus. on the
lakeshore near Liverpool contains relics of the early salt industry,
which thrived in the mid-19th cent. Due to industry pollution
(including chemical mfg.), all normal lake recreational activities are
precluded (with the exception of boating). Ranks as one of the
nation's major Superfund sites.
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