Bomoseen Lake

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Bomoseen Lake

Lake Bomoseen is a freshwater lake

Lake

A lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all....
in the western part of the state

State

A state is a political Social contract with effective sovereignty over a geographic area and representing a population. These may be nation states, State or multinational states....
of Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a U.S. state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area....
in the towns of Castleton

Castleton, Vermont

Castleton is a New England town in Rutland County, Vermont, Vermont, United States. Castleton is about to the west of Rutland , Vermont, and about east of the New York/Vermont state border....
and Hubbardton

Hubbardton, Vermont

Hubbardton is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, Vermont, United States. The population was 752 at the 2000 United States Census.The town was the site of the Battle of Hubbardton where British forces attacked Americans during the Saratoga Campaign of 1777....
in Rutland County

Rutland County, Vermont

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Encyclopedia

Lake Bomoseen is a freshwater lake

Lake

A lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all....
in the western part of the state

State

A state is a political Social contract with effective sovereignty over a geographic area and representing a population. These may be nation states, State or multinational states....
of Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a U.S. state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area....
in the towns of Castleton

Castleton, Vermont

Hubbardton, Vermont

Rutland County, Vermont

Rutland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of 2005, the population was 63,743 . Its shire town is Rutland , Vermont....
. It is the largest lake that lies entirely within the state's boundaries, with a surface area of approximately 9.6 km² (2,370 acres). The lake was formed by glaciation and has an average and maximum depth of 8.2 m (26.8 ft) and 19.8 m (65 ft), respectively. It drains a 100.25 km² (24,470 acre) watershed, has five major inlets, and empties to the Castleton River.

A portion of the lake's shoreline is contained within Bomoseen State Park. Most of the remaining area around the lake is privately owned. The lake has such recreational accommodations as a public beach, marinas, and public boat launches, in addition to the state park. There are approximately 1,000 residences around the lake, as well as restaurants and other commercial facilities.

History

Millions of years ago, clays that accumulated on the ocean floor compressed into shale

Shale

Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clay minerals or muds. It is characterized by thin laminae breaking with an irregular curving fracture, often splintery and usually parallel to the often-indistinguishable bedding plane....
. When the ocean floor uplifted to form the Taconic Mountains

Taconic Mountains

The Taconic Mountains or Taconic Range are a Physiographic regions of the world of the larger New England province and part of the Appalachian Mountains, running along the eastern border of New York and adjacent New England from northwest Connecticut to western Massachusetts, north to central western Vermont in the town of Brandon, Verm...
, heat and pressure metamorphosed the shale into much harder slate. Lake Bomoseen nestles in the hills of these mountains. The Taconics

Taconic Mountains

The Taconic Mountains or Taconic Range are a Physiographic regions of the world of the larger New England province and part of the Appalachian Mountains, running along the eastern border of New York and adjacent New England from northwest Connecticut to western Massachusetts, north to central western Vermont in the town of Brandon, Verm...
are the slate-producing region of Vermont, and the area's history parallels the rise and fall of Vermont's slate

Slate

Slate is a fine-grained, foliation , homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcano ash through low grade regional metamorphism....
industry.

Bomoseen State Park has several quarry holes and adjacent colorful slate rubble piles. These quarries provided slate for the West Castleton Railroad and Slate Company, a complex of sixty to seventy buildings that stood between Glen Lake

Glen Lake

Glen Lake is a lake located in Leelanau County, Michigan in the U.S. state of Michigan. Several villages and hamlets lie along or near its shore, including Burdickville, Michigan, Glen Haven, Michigan, and Glen Arbor, Michigan....
and Lake Bomoseen. Several slate buildings and foundations remain in the park, and a self-guided Slate History Trail brochure is available at the contact station.

In the 1920s, literary critic Alexander Woollcott

Alexander Woollcott

Alexander Humphreys Woollcott was an American critic and commentator for The New Yorker magazine, and a member of the Algonquin Round Table and the Fortean Society....
owned Neshobe Island

Neshobe Island

Neshobe Island is an island in Lake Bomoseen in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is particularly known for its association during the 1920s and 1930s with the Algonquin Round Table, a group of literary figures....
and the island served as a retreat and playground for members of the famed Algonquin Round Table

Algonquin Round Table

The Algonquin Round Table was a celebrated group of New York City writers, critics, actors and wits. Gathering initially as part of a practical joke, members of "The Vicious Circle," as they dubbed themselves, gathered for lunch each day at the Algonquin Hotel from 1919 until roughly 1929....
.

Activities at Lake Bomoseen and in Rutland, Vermont

Boating, water skiing, wakeboarding
Wakeboarding

Wakeboarding is a surface water sport which involves riding a wakeboard over the surface of a body of water behind a boat or Cable System ....
, scuba diving
Scuba diving

SCUBA diving is Underwater diving, or taking part in another activity, while using a scuba set. By carrying a source of breathing gas , the scuba diver is able to stay underwater longer than with the simple breath-holding techniques used in snorkeling and free-diving, and is not hindered by air lines to a remote air source....
, wind surfing, swimming, fishing, camping, and hunting.
Ice Fishing
Ice fishing

Ice fishing is the activity of fishing with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice anglers may sit on the stool in the open on a frozen lake, or in a heated cabin on the ice, some with bunks and amenities....
and cross country skiing in winter.
Crystal beach: volley ball, swimming, playground, Picnicing, basketball.
Bomoseen State Park: Camping, swimming, volleyball, hiking.
Hiking and biking on The Long Trail
Rock climbing and cliff jumping.
Fishing: Bass
Bass (fish)

Bass is a name shared by many different species of popular gamefish. The term encompasses both fresh water and sea water species. All belong to the large order Perciformes, or perch-like fishes, and in fact the word bass comes from Middle English bars, meaning "perch." These are some of the best known species of bass:...
, Panfish
Panfish

A Panfish, also spelled pan-fish or pan fish, is an edible game fish that usually doesn't outgrow the size of a frying pan. The term is also commonly used by anglers to refer to any small catch that will fit in a pan, but is large enough to be legal....
, Lake trout
Lake trout

Lake trout is a freshwater Salvelinus living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, lake char , touladi, togue, and grey trout....
, Brown Trout
Brown trout

The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species.They are distinguished chiefly by the fact that the brown trout is largely a fresh water fish, while the sea trout shows anadromous reproduction, migrating to the oceans for much of its life and returning to freshwater only to Spawn ....
, Yellow Perch
Yellow perch

The yellow perch is a species of perch found in the United States and Canada, where it is often referred to by the shortform perch. Yellow perch look similar to the European perch but are paler and more yellowish, with less red in the fins....
, Smelt, and Northern Pike
Northern Pike

The northern pike , Esox lucius, is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox . They are typical of brackish water and freshwaters of the northern hemisphere ....
.
Prospect Bay Country Club- 9 hole Public Golf Course
Diamond Run Mall, the state's second largest shopping mall
Vermont State Fairground

Conservation

Osprey

The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk, is a Diurnality, fish bird of prey. It is a large Bird of prey, reaching 60 centimeters in length with a 1.8 metre wingspan....
s were virtually wiped out in Vermont and most of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
by pesticides decades ago. DDT

DDT

DDT is one of the best known synthetic pesticides. It is a chemical with a long, unique, and controversial history.First synthesized in 1874, DDT's insecticidal properties were not discovered until 1939....
got into the food chain, and osprey populations plummeted as the chemical made their eggshells thin and brittle. CVPS has worked on osprey restoration efforts with the state for over 15 years, installing platforms at hydroelectric facilities, creating buffer zones and educating Vermonters on the birds’ need for space. A platform is under consideration are at Lake Bomoseen.

Bald Eagles were also victims of the pesticide use of the 50's and 60's. Although there has not been a recorded nesting of Bald Eagles on Lake Bomoseen, there have been several sitings of eagles up and down the lake, enjoying the abundant prey of trout, bass, and perch.

Controversy

Lake Bomoseen has had a long history of weed problems

Invasive species

Invasive species is a phrase with several definitions. The first definition expresses the phrase in terms of non-indigenous species that adversely affect the habitats they invade economically, environmentally or ecologically....
. By the early 1980s, Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum

Myriophyllum spicatum

Myriophyllum spicatum is a species of Myriophyllum native to Europe, Asia, and north Africa. It is a submerged aquatic plant, and grows in still or slow-moving water....
) were the dominant weed species in the lake. Eurasian watermilfoil is an introduced species that is difficult to control due to its ability to survive in various environmental conditions. At one point the watermilfoil covered 2.4 km² of the lake, impairing its recreational and commercial uses.

Researchers from Middlebury College, working under contract for the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation introduced a native aquatic weevil

Weevil

A weevil is any beetle from the Curculionidae superfamily. They are usually small, less than 6 mm , and Herbivore. Due to the shape of their heads, weevils are commonly known as snout beetles....
, (Euhrychiopsis lecontei), to help combat the problem. Other treatments such as chemical treatment with the aquatic herbicide Sonar* have been used at other lakes.

In recent years, zebra mussels have been introduced to Lake Bomoseen after many years of attempted prevention. The mussels are clearly visible on the bottom of the lake around the shoreline and have visibly restricted the growth of watermilfoil.

Bomoseen Lake

History

Activities at Lake Bomoseen and in Rutland, Vermont

Conservation

Controversy

See also

External links