The Lake: A Natural History of Lake George from Glaciers to Invasive Species

Every other deep dive in this project treats Lake George as a backdrop — the scenery behind the hotels, the transportation corridor for the steamboats, the attraction that draws seasonal residents. This one treats it as the subject. What is the lake, physically? How did it form? What lives in it? How has it changed? And what did people see when they looked at it before the science existed to explain what they were seeing?

I. Origins: A Mile of Ice

Lake George was carved by glaciers. During the last ice age, an ice cap approximately one mile high covered the lake basin — a thickness estimated by doubling the height of Black Mountain (2,665 feet), the tallest peak on its shores. (W.H. Reid, Lake George and Lake Champlain, 1910; newspapers/books/reid_lake_george_champlain_1910_extraction.json)

The ice scraped out a long, narrow trench in the gneiss bedrock, oriented roughly north-south between parallel mountain ridges. When the ice retreated, the meltwater filled the trench. But the retreat was not orderly. The ice cap “melted from upper St. Lawrence but lower river and gulf still frozen,” causing Great Lakes waters to flow south through the Champlain and Lake George corridors to the Hudson Valley. “Torrential flows and avalanches denuding hillsides and disrupting mountains” accompanied the process. (Reid, 1910)

The post-glacial landscape left its marks everywhere. The flat land near the lake’s outlet shows “rocky surface rounded and striated by glacial action.” (Reid, 1910) The morasses and lowlands between French Mountain and Pilot Knob “mark the course of the lake outlet to Hudson Valley.” (Reid, 1910) Blind Rock — a gneiss boulder near Glens Falls — was “carried by glacial or torrential floods through Van Wormer’s Bay” during the post-glacial period. Within the last century, “over four feet of Blind Rock was exposed to view; erosion and corrasion has reduced visibility.” (Reid, 1910)

The Indian Kettles, a rock formation on the lakeshore north of Hague, show “depressions resembling mortars used by Aborigines.” Reid concluded these were “probably made by water action in ages past rather than by Native Americans.” (Reid, 1910)

II. Dimensions: The Body of Water

The Numbers

Lake George stretches approximately 32 miles in length, varies 1 to 3 miles in width, and covers 28,451 acres. Its surface sits at 346 feet above tide — 247 feet above Lake Champlain, to which it drains northward through a short, rapids-filled outlet. (history_of_hague_ny.md; Reid, 1910)

At Hague, “the lake is two miles wide here” with “hills extending back 3-4 miles.” (Reid, 1910) The Narrows — a nine-mile stretch of island-studded shallows south of Hague — was described by Reid as “a fairyland of tufted islets and quiet waters, under shadows of mountain peaks.” (Reid, 1910)

What Lies Below

The lake bottom was, through the 19th century, poorly understood. In November 1901, the New-York Tribune published the most detailed scientific account of the era:

“There is great need of a good hydrographic survey of the lake, and of detailed pilot charts, with soundings. They would be of great service, not alone to navigation, but to science. So far as could be learned from local fishermen, whose deep trolling for lake trout gives them familiar with the bottom, there appear to be channels whose general trend is parallel with the long dimension of the lake, and which have precipitous sides, precisely like the valleys and gulches now visible. The lake bottom is very low as compared with Lake Champlain; for Lake George the greatest depth is believed to be near Anthony’s Nose, and to reach 190 feet. The deep parts are placed at about half a mile or 600 feet in width. All this, however, requires proper soundings.”

(New-York Tribune, November 24, 1901; Library of Congress, Chronicling America)

This is remarkable for several reasons: the depth estimate of 190 feet came not from scientific instruments but from fishermen’s trolling lines; the underwater channels “with precipitous sides” mirror the mountain valleys visible above water; and the reporter explicitly noted the absence of a proper hydrographic survey — a gap that would not be fully addressed for decades.

Reid’s 1910 guide placed the maximum depth higher: “greatest depth of water on Lake George estimated at eighty fathoms [480 feet] under Anthony’s Nose shadow.” (Reid, 1910) Modern surveys have settled the question at approximately 187–200 feet — closer to the fishermen’s estimate than to Reid’s. (history_of_hague_ny.md)

The discrepancy between Reid’s 80 fathoms and the actual ~190 feet is striking. Either Reid’s source was wrong, or he was measuring something else. The fishermen, pulling trout from the bottom with weighted lines, had a more accurate instrument than the guidebook writer.

The Islands

Popular tradition holds there is “an island for each day of the year in the narrows, with perhaps a few odds and ends for leap year.” (Reid, 1910) Modern counts identify approximately 220 islands. (history_of_hague_ny.md)

The Tribune reported in 1902 that “in its midst are scores of islands, picturesque in the extreme, most of them untouched by human hand.” (New-York Tribune, August 3, 1902; Library of Congress, Chronicling America) By 1894, Stoddard documented that approximately 1,000 people camped on the islands during July and August, with leases available for five-year terms at $50–$150 per year. (Stoddard, Lake George, 1894; newspapers/books/stoddard_lake_george_1894_extraction.json)

III. The Water: “Bright and Pure as Dewdrops”

What They Saw

Every writer who described Lake George before the 20th century commented on the water. Reid called it the fairest of northern New York’s thousand lakes, with “deepest waters as bright and pure as the dew-drops that linger on its lilies.” (Reid, 1910) The Tribune described “blue depths” dancing “for thirty-six miles between twin processions of mountains.” (New-York Tribune, August 3, 1902)

The Mohicans called it “The Lake of the Shining Waters.” (history_of_hague_ny.md) Father Isaac Jogues, the French Jesuit who was the first European to see it, named it Lac du Saint Sacrement on May 28, 1646 — the feast of Corpus Christi — for its sacred beauty. (Reid, 1910) General Sir William Johnson renamed it Lake George in 1755 for the English king, in what amounted to a military rebrand. James Fenimore Cooper later used “Horicon” in his Leatherstocking Tales, and the name persisted in local usage into the 20th century: the Tribune in 1902 described “Lake George, otherwise known as Horicon, the lake of silvery waters.” (New-York Tribune, August 3, 1902)

What Science Found

Modern water quality monitoring has confirmed what the 19th-century writers observed poetically: Lake George holds a Class AA-Special designation — the highest water quality rating in New York State. (wiki/topics/lake_science.md)

But clarity is not permanence. Since 1908, lake watchers have recorded ice-in and ice-out dates. The long-term trend: Lake George has lost roughly 20–30 days of full ice cover since the early 1900s; since 1990, the lake has failed to freeze completely in more than one of every three winters. (Watson et al., “Predicting complete winter ice coverage at Lake George, New York,” International Journal of Climatology, 2021; LGA, “An Historical Look at Ice on Lake George”)

The water chemistry is shifting too. Road salt tripled chloride concentrations between 1980 and 2015. (modern_era.md) Calcium levels are low (~11 mg/L), which has one silver lining: zebra mussels struggle to build shells, making Lake George “a zebra mussel survivor.” (LGA invasive species page) Hague achieved a 70% reduction in road salt application between 2016 and 2021 — from 1,600 tons to just over 500 — using brine at 50 pounds per mile instead of 300–400 pounds of rock salt. (Adirondack Explorer, “Hague is ‘clearly a leader’ in road salt reduction”; Adirondack Almanack, January 2022)

IV. What Lives in It

Fish

The 1901 Tribune provides the most detailed historical fishing report:

“The fishing at Lake George this year has, according to reports from all parts of the lake, been better than ever before. One day this week nine large bass were taken on the Sagamore pier, largest of which weighed six pounds. Takes of landlocked salmon have been reported, trout weighing twelve and fourteen pounds, seven-pound bass and any quantity of pickerel.”

The article identified three distinct fishing seasons:

“The lake has gradually come to have what may be called three seasons: The first, opening May 1, is for early trout fishing; the second, beginning about July 1 is for the summer rush, and the third begins about September 5 for the real delights of this beautiful region. All through September Lake George is at its best. There are warm, pleasant days and cool nights… In September and October the fishing for bass, pickerel, bullheads and fall perch is a good deal better than in the summer.”

(New-York Tribune, September 1, 1901; Library of Congress, Chronicling America)

Documented species (1894–1901): lake trout (the deep-water prize, requiring trolling), black bass (up to seven pounds), landlocked salmon (12–14 pounds), pickerel (“any quantity”), rock bass, perch, bullheads, and brook trout (in tributary streams). (New-York Tribune, September 1, 1901; Stoddard, Lake George, 1894)

Stoddard specified the techniques: “Game fish species include lake trout and black bass; also rock bass, perch, and bullhead. Black bass caught by trolling or still fishing over rocky ground.” Fishing accommodations — shanties with boats — rented at $12–20 per week, with ice deliveries available daily from passing steamers. (Stoddard, 1894)

Reid recorded an earlier, stranger catch: early explorers of Lake Champlain found “a large armored fish called ‘causar’ by natives, 8–10 feet long with flint-hard scales that could turn the edge of a knife.” (Reid, 1910) The species has not been conclusively identified; lake sturgeon and longnose gar are both native to the Champlain basin, though not to Lake George.

Rattlesnakes

Tongue Mountain — the nine-mile peninsula that thrusts into the lake between Hague and Bolton — is one of the most significant timber rattlesnake habitats in New York State. The snakes grow to five feet. (wiki/places/tongue_mountain.md) The Davis family hunted them for three generations: Isaac “Ike” Davis killed 400 rattlesnakes between May and September 1888 alone, collecting a 25-cent-per-snake bounty. (niche_topics.md; wiki/people/davis_family.md)

Reid documented the relationship from the Indigenous perspective: “Indians hunted rattlesnakes fearlessly for sport during encampment; considered cooked rattlesnake flesh a luxury and applied salt mixed with saliva as remedy for snake bites.” (Reid, 1910) On Diamond Island, near the lake’s south end, hogs were observed “leveling entrenchments while rooting for rattlesnakes.” (Reid, 1910)

New York banned all animal bounties statewide in 1971. The rattlesnake population on Tongue Mountain stabilized and the 6,000 acres of virgin forest on the peninsula became protected habitat. (wiki/places/tongue_mountain.md; niche_topics.md)

Invasive Species: The Modern Transformation

The lake’s ecology has been fundamentally altered by four waves of invasion:

(wiki/topics/lake_science.md; wiki/topics/lake_conservation.md)

In 2020, harmful algal blooms (HABs) were detected in Harris Bay — the first confirmed occurrence on the lake. In 2023, HABs appeared in Oneida Bay at Hague — the first in the northern basin, bringing the crisis to the project’s geographic focus. (wiki/topics/lake_science.md)

V. The Ice

When It Froze Solid

On March 10, 1758, Major Robert Rogers and 180 Rangers received orders to scout the French position at Fort Carillon. They traveled the lake at night: “Resting without fires in the daytime, they made their way down the ice of Lake George in two fatiguing night marches.” On the morning of March 13, flankers reported a hundred Indians “advancing up Trout Brook through the four feet of snow that covered its frozen surface.” (WPA Warren County Guide, 1942, pp. 65–67)

Four feet of snow on the frozen lake surface. Ice thick enough to support 180 men in full winter kit marching at night. This was the lake before climate change — reliably frozen for military transport from December through March.

Ice Racing and Ice Harvesting

On February 2, 1883, Joel Rising of Hague raced his horse against A.G. Arthur of Ticonderoga on the frozen lake — and won. Three weeks later, on February 23, a “Grand Sweepstakes” at Hague drew four horses competing for a $150 purse. (niche_topics.md)

The Trout House harvested approximately 1,500 cakes of ice from Lake George annually, storing them in a sawdust-insulated icehouse. (wiki/places/trout_house.md) Ice from the lake was available daily on passing steamers during summer, delivered to island campers and hotel kitchens. (Stoddard, 1894)

The Ice Record (1908–Present)

“Ice-in” is defined as the date the entire 32-mile lake surface is frozen — “such that a person could walk from Million Dollar Beach to the Ticonderoga outlet.” “Ice-out” is the date it completely thaws. Warren County’s Department of Public Works maintained the official ice record from winter 1907–08 through 2003–04; the Darrin Fresh Water Institute took over and continues to the present. (LGA, “An Historical Look at Ice on Lake George”; Lake George Examiner, “When does Lake George freeze?”)

Statistical summary:

Records:

Years the lake did not freeze completely: 1919, 1991, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2013, 2016 (brief/contested), 2018, 2020, 2023, 2024. (LGA; Lake George Examiner; lakegeorge.com; Glens Falls Chronicle)

The pattern is stark: only one no-freeze year in the first 82 years of record-keeping (1919). Then 13+ no-freeze years in the 35 years since 1990. Watson et al. (2021) project that complete ice coverage will be “a phenomenon of the past by the mid-to-late 21st century.” (Watson et al., “Predicting complete winter ice coverage at Lake George, New York,” International Journal of Climatology, 2021)

The Seasonal Cycle: Stratification and Turnover

The lake is not a uniform body of water. In summer, solar heating creates distinct thermal layers: (LGA, “Lake George Thermal Stratification”)

• Surface layer (epilimnion): 21–27°C (70–80°F)
• Thermocline: ~10 meters (32.8 feet) deep — a boundary where temperature drops rapidly
• Deep water (hypolimnion): Cold, stable, where lake trout and landlocked salmon survive

In fall, cooling winds trigger fall turnover: the surface cools, cold water sinks, and the entire column mixes — redistributing oxygen and nutrients from top to bottom. In winter, the lake stabilizes near 4°C (39°F) — the temperature at which water is densest — with ice insulating the surface. In spring, spring turnover mixes the column again before summer stratification resettles.

This cycle matters because it controls everything else. Shorter ice seasons mean longer growing seasons for invasive species. Earlier stratification means warmer surface water for algal blooms. In 2024, Harris Bay’s water temperature at 3 feet hit 68°F nearly a week earlier than prior years. (LGA, “Lake George Thermal Stratification”)

The Water Is Warming

The Darrin Fresh Water Institute has monitored Lake George at seven deepwater sites since 1980. Over 44 years (no 2020 data due to COVID): (Jefferson Project, jeffersonproject.live/water; Swinton et al., “Evidence for water temperature increase in Lake George, NY,” Lake and Reservoir Management, 2015)

Swinton et al. (2015) found that the North Basin — Hague’s basin — is warming faster than the South Basin (0.063°C/year vs. 0.051°C/year), and that the aquatic growing season has lengthened by approximately two weeks. The cause is not simply warmer air: “wind speed and cloud cover decreased; humidity and precipitation increased; no significant change in air temperature.” The warming is driven by a complex of factors, not a single cause. (Swinton et al., Lake and Reservoir Management, 2015)

VI. Storms, Wrecks, and the Drowned

The Comstock Drowning (~1820s)

The oldest documented drowning on Lake George near Hague is recorded in Mrs. Johnson’s memoir. A man named Comstock, who declared “God Almighty could not send a wind strong enough to capsize the boat,” was caught in “a burst of cloud rain and wind” while rounding Holman’s Point near Scotch Bonnet. “Not a splinter remained to tell of their struggle for life.” (Mrs. Hoyt Johnson, “Early Incidents of Hague,” Ticonderoga Sentinel, August 25, 1892)

The John Jay Fire (1856)

The most dramatic wreck in Lake George history occurred near Anthony’s Nose — in the deep water of the northern basin, within sight of Hague. Reid documented it: “Fire broke out in engine-room, vessel ran on rock and burned to water’s edge.” The fire “blinded pilot; vessel ran on rock, rebounded into deep water and burned to water’s edge.” (Reid, 1910)

A detail that captures the era’s character: aboard the burning John Jay was a man named Old Dick with a snake exhibition box — a “moving picture box showing rattlesnakes.” When the ship struck the rock, “Old Dick’s snake box slid into the lake with cover becoming loose or glass breaking, revealing snakes’ heads from one end.” (Reid, 1910)

Six lives were lost. (niche_topics.md, citing maritime history databases) The wreck site — “near Calamity Rock” — has never been formally identified.

Wind and Squall

The lake’s north-south orientation between mountain ridges creates a natural wind tunnel. South winds impeded military operations repeatedly: “South wind initially impedes the boats’ progress” and “causes slow headway” for approaching troops. (Reid, 1910) The mountains amplify sudden squalls — a storm on Prospect Mountain produced “severe storm with lightning, thunder, heavy rain, and wind” that disoriented hikers. (Reid, 1910)

VII. The Mountains That Hold the Water

The lake exists because mountains exist. The parallel ridges — the Tongue Mountain range on the west, the eastern range topped by Black Mountain (2,665 feet) — define its shape and protect its water.

Rogers Rock

At the lake’s northern end, in Hague, Rogers Rock “rises from water’s edge at 45° angle” and “reaches elevation of 300 feet.” (Reid, 1910) Modern measurements place the prominence at 1,100 feet with 400-foot sheer cliffs overlooking the lake. (wiki/places/rogers_rock.md)

It was here that Major Rogers, fleeing the Battle on Snowshoes in March 1758, allegedly slid down the cliff face — or, more likely, backtracked on reversed snowshoes to trick his pursuers into thinking he had jumped. Reid noted that “the superstitious Indians, who saw him jauntily mushing away up the lake, thought he must be a god and feared to follow him.” (WPA Warren County Guide, 1942, p. 107)

Tongue Mountain

The nine-mile peninsula contains six named peaks (1,586–2,256 feet), 6,000 acres of virgin forest, and one of the most significant timber rattlesnake habitats in New York State. (wiki/places/tongue_mountain.md) The Tongue Mountain Highway — completed in the late 1920s at a cost of $2,000,000, with grades sometimes reaching 12 percent — finally connected the northern and southern halves of the lake’s west shore. (WPA Warren County Guide, 1942, pp. 197–198)

Anthony’s Nose

The mountain that holds the lake’s deepest water. Reid described it as “precipitous mountain a mile away from Friendly Point; appears to bar way north.” The “Mount Defiance range springs from it; slopes toward outlet of Lake George; fades away on shore of Lake Champlain.” (Reid, 1910)

VIII. The Lake Before and After

What Father Jogues Saw (1646)

When Isaac Jogues reached the lake on May 28, 1646, he saw a body of water that had existed in roughly its present form since the glaciers retreated. The forests along its shores had never been logged by Europeans. He named it Lac du Saint Sacrement — a name it would hold for 109 years before a British general replaced it with the name of a king. (Reid, 1910)

What the 1901 Tribune Described

Two hundred and fifty-five years later, the Tribune reporter found a lake whose fish populations were still robust — 14-pound landlocked salmon, seven-pound bass, “any quantity of pickerel” (New-York Tribune, September 1, 1901) — but whose shores were changing. The steamboats that touched at 18 landings were bringing 110,000 passengers a year. (mid_century_transition.md) The islands had campers. The hotels lined the shore. The fishermen knew the bottom topography from their trolling lines but no scientist had yet surveyed it.

What the Jefferson Project Monitors (2013–Present)

Today, Lake George is the subject of the Jefferson Project — a collaboration between Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, IBM Research, and the FUND for Lake George. It deploys sensor networks, AI-driven modeling, and real-time monitoring to track water quality, weather, and ecological change. (wiki/topics/lake_science.md)

The data confirms what the historical record implies: the lake is warming, the ice is retreating, the invasive species are advancing, and the water chemistry is shifting. The lake that Jogues named, that Rogers marched across, that Stoddard guided tourists through, and where the 1901 fishermen trolled for 14-pound salmon is becoming something different.

Lake George is still clear. It is still beautiful. It is still the defining physical fact of Hague’s existence. But it is no longer unchanging — and recognizing that is the beginning of taking care of it.

Sources

Primary Newspaper Sources

• New-York Tribune, November 24, 1901: Lake George bathymetry and underwater topography. Library of Congress, Chronicling America.
• New-York Tribune, September 1, 1901: Fishing report — species, sizes, three-season pattern. Library of Congress, Chronicling America.
• New-York Tribune, August 3, 1902: “Silvery waters,” “blue depths,” island descriptions. Library of Congress, Chronicling America.
• New-York Tribune, August 31, 1919: Columbia University geological field class at Lake George. Library of Congress, Chronicling America.

Books

• Reid, W.H. Lake George and Lake Champlain (1910). Extraction in project archive: newspapers/books/reid_lake_george_champlain_1910_extraction.json. Geological history, dimensions, depths (80 fathoms claim), islands, mountains, wildlife, naming history.
• Stoddard, S.R. Lake George (1894). Extraction in project archive: newspapers/books/stoddard_lake_george_1894_extraction.json. Fish species, camping infrastructure, island leases, fishing techniques and pricing.
• Warren County: A History and Guide (1942). WPA Writers’ Program. Ice conditions (1758), Rogers Rock geology, Tongue Mountain Highway, Indian Kettles formation.

Mrs. Hoyt Johnson’s Memoir

• “Early Incidents of Hague,” Ticonderoga Sentinel, August 25, 1892. Comstock drowning account.

Scientific Sources

• Watson, Campbell D. et al., “Predicting complete winter ice coverage at Lake George, New York,” International Journal of Climatology, Vol. 41, S1 (2021). DOI: 10.1002/joc.6764. Ice record analysis 1912–2015; ML classifier; climate projection through 2100.
• Swinton, Mark W. et al., “Evidence for water temperature increase in Lake George, NY: impact on growing season duration and degree days,” Lake and Reservoir Management (2015). 30-year temperature study (1980–2009); North Basin warming at 0.063°C/year; growing season lengthened ~2 weeks.
• Jefferson Project at Lake George: 44-year water quality data dashboard (https://jeffersonproject.live/water). 7 deepwater sites, 1980–2024.
• Lake George Association (https://lakegeorgeassociation.org) — “An Historical Look at Ice on Lake George” (ice record since 1908); “Lake George Thermal Stratification” (seasonal temperature patterns); invasive species data; HAB reports.
• Darrin Fresh Water Institute (RPI) — chloride concentration measurements; ice monitoring (2004–present); long-term water quality sampling.
• Lake George Examiner — “When does Lake George freeze?” Warren County DPW records summary.
• lakegeorge.com — “Is Lake George Frozen? History of Ice on the Lake.” Statistical summaries from Warren County and LGA records.
• Adirondack Explorer — “Hague is ‘clearly a leader’ in road salt reduction”
• Adirondack Almanack — “A salty solution” (January 2022)

Existing Project Documentation

• history_of_hague_ny.md — Dimensions (32 miles, 1–3 miles wide, 28,451 acres, 187–200 feet deep), Mohican naming
• modern_era.md — Road salt data, invasive species timeline, steamboat passenger counts
• wiki/topics/lake_science.md — Water quality (Class AA-Special), invasive species timeline, HABs, road salt, Jefferson Project (with full source chain to LGA, LGPC, Watson et al., and Jefferson Project)
• wiki/topics/lake_conservation.md — Lake George Association (1885), FUND for Lake George, Lake George Park Commission (1961)
• wiki/places/tongue_mountain.md — Rattlesnake habitat, virgin forest, six peaks
• wiki/places/rogers_rock.md — Geological features, cliffs, Battle on Snowshoes
• wiki/places/trout_house.md — Ice harvesting (~1,500 cakes/year)
• niche_topics.md — Ice racing (1883), John Jay wreck (1856, citing maritime history databases), Davis family rattlesnake hunting
• wiki/people/davis_family.md — Rattlesnake bounty hunting (400 killed May–Sept 1888)