Lake Champlain is long, cold and full of islands, and for a lake so many people swim in every summer, it is surprisingly deep. Here are the numbers, from the Lake Champlain Basin Program.
The numbers
| Lake Champlain | |
|---|---|
| Length | 120 miles |
| Widest point | 12 miles |
| Deepest point | 400 feet, between Charlotte, Vermont and Essex, New York |
| Average depth | 64 feet |
| Islands | More than 70 |
| Shoreline | 587 miles |
| Touches | New York, Vermont and southern Quebec |
The islands
More than 70 islands sit in the lake, and the biggest are home to whole towns. On the map, South Hero and Grand Isle sit in the northern lake with the deep water stepping away from their shores, and the depth soundings engraved right into the birch.
The deep middle
The lake reaches its greatest depth, 400 feet, in the stretch between Charlotte, Vermont and Essex, New York. That is more than six times the lake’s average depth of 64 feet, which tells you how much of Champlain is shelf and how sharply the middle drops away.
The whole lake on one wall
A lake this long and narrow makes a striking tall map: the whole lake from end to end, with its islands, bays and drop-offs cut in layers of birch. It suits the narrow wall by a door or the space between two windows.
Lake Champlain 3D wood map $299
Keep reading: The 4 Deepest Lakes in the United States · What Is a Bathymetric Map? · Where to Hang a Lake Map: 6 Spots That Work
Source: Lake Champlain Basin Program, “Lake and Basin Facts.”