Lake Ontario, the 14th largest lake in the world, is bordered to the north by Ontario, Canada, and to the south by New York State. Among the Great Lakes it is the smallest in surface area, fourth in maximum depth, but second only to Lake Superior in average depth.
Five of the eight miles of Cayuga County shoreline along Lake Ontario is publicly owned. Sterling Nature Center, owned by the County, has 2 miles of shoreline; West Barrier Bar Park, owned by the Village of Fair Haven has 0.3 miles of shoreline; and the Fair Haven State Park has 2.7 miles.
Lake Ontario Physical Features
Elevation: 243 feet
Area: 7,340 square miles
Length: 193 miles
Maximum Width: 53 miles
Maximum Depth: 802 feet
Mean Depth: 283 feet
Shoreline Length in Cayuga County: 8 miles
Towns adjacent to the Lake in Cayuga County: Town of Sterling
Village adjacent to the Lake in Cayuga County: Village of Fair Haven
Lake Ontario Watershed Features
Towns within the watershed in Cayuga County: Town of Sterling
Villages within the watershed in Cayuga County: Fair Haven
Lake Ontario Watershed Plans and Guidance Documents
2018-2022 Lake Ontario Lakewide Action and Management Plan (LAMP)
As indicated in the 2022 State of the Great Lakes report, the overall health of Lake Ontario is fair and unchanging to improving. Priority threats to Lake Ontario identified are nutrient and bacterial related impacts; loss of habitat and native species; invasive species and critical and emerging contaminants.
NY’s Great Lakes Action Agenda
NYSDEC’s strategic, ecosystem-based action plan to guide restoration and conservation, and foster sustainable, resilient communities in New York’s Great Lakes region.
Sterling & Wolcott Creek Integrated Watershed Action Plan (IWAP)
The IWAP will identify actions, including management strategies and projects, that maintain, protect and restore key ecosystem services and the benefits they provide, such as clean drinking water, fish and wildlife habitat, natural flood storage and mitigation capacity, viable agricultural lands, sustainable recreational opportunities, and more in the Sterling and Wolcott Creek Watersheds.
Research and Data on Lake Ontario
Data and information can be found on the NYSDEC’s Division of Water Monitoring Data Portal. Go to the portal and search for Cayuga Lake.
Additional Resources
For information on the Great Lakes, visit the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Great Lakes.