By Mel Russo

Some of us like to think that we live around the best, or maybe the biggest, or perhaps the deepest, or possibly the longest lake. Sometimes when we think we're in the superlative, it's good to review the statistics and put everything back into perspective.

There are eleven Finger Lakes in all. These ore listed, from west to east, in the table below.  Seneca is the deepest (650') and Cayuga is the longest (40 miles). As we review the data on these two "giant" bodies of water as compared to the rest of the Finger Lakes, we can sense a feeling or pride since we do live near the longest, the deepest and the biggest Finger Lakes.

One should wonder why the most expensive properties are not located on the deepest, largest and least crowded of the Finger Lakes. In contrast, Canandaigua, Skaneateles, and Keuka seem to carry the highest priced properties per unit of front foot. Even though they are merely pint sized lakes compared to Seneca and Cayuga. Moreover, Seneca and Cayuga are the only Finger Lakes that offer navigable access to the barge canal system.

Conversely, when compared to the Great Lakes, even the largest of the Finger Lakes is dwarfed. The Great Lakes are the greatest contiguous mass of fresh water in the world.

* Some of the data here are calculated estimates.

About Senecayuga Properties

The Senecayuga Chronicles:

• Cayuga Lake - Two Lakes in One
• Will Our Lakes Freeze Over Completely?
• The High Level Finger Lakes
• The Cayuga-Seneca Canal
• About Seneca Lake
• Putting it all in Perspective