SENECA, lake of the United States in New York, extending in a direction of nearly north and south, from N. lat. 23' to 42° 54', and nearly on the meridian of Washington City. It is 36 miles long, and from 11 to 21 miles wide, with depth sufficient for the navigation of large vessels. The sources of this lake are some small creeks of Yates, Steuben, and Tioga counties of New York, rising on a com paratively elevated table land and rushing from ledge to ledge soon falls to the level of the lake, 445 feet above that of the ocean. The waters of Seneca are discharged from its north-east angle, and in a course of 12 miles and fall of 124 feet reaches the level and are lost in the northern extremity of Cayuga lake.
The country adjacent to both these lakes, and indeed the whole surface composing the southern part of the Seneca valley, exhibit a series of high, boldly swell ing though seldom precipitous hills, extending from SE. by S. to NW. by N., nearly parallel to the lakes. The intervening valleys are evidently mere continua tions of those of the lakes themselves, giving to that section of New York a very peculiar physiognomy.
From the head of Seneca lake at the mouth of Cathe rine creek, to Newtown on the Chemung branch of Susquehannah, is in a direct line 20 miles, and though the circumjacent hills rise to upwards of one thousand, the summit level between the points is only 885 feet above the oceanic level. A canal of practicable execu tion, has been projected to unite the Seneca lake to the Chemung river by the designated route.
Politically, Seneca lake touches Tioga county south; has Tomkins and the southern part of Seneca county along its eastern, and Steuben, Yates, and the south eastern part of Ontario along the western border. The fine picturesque village of Geneva, traversed by the meridian of Washington City, stands on the north west angle of Seneca lake, and is one of the very few borrowed names of places in the United States which has an appropriate local application.