Syracuse Lake
Encyclopedia
Syracuse Lake is a natural lake
bordering Syracuse
in Kosciusko County, Indiana
, USA.
by a channel on the south end.
index value of 10.
The lake is typical in structure of natural lakes of the glaciated portions of the upper Midwest. The lake is presently healthy and has balanced aquatic ecosystem
(WAW 1995). It has a surface area of 1.67 km² (414 acres) with a maximum depth of 10 m (34 ft) and an average depth of 3.9 m (13 ft).
Around 1 million years ago, just prior to the Pleistocene epoch
, northern Indiana was covered by the Teays River
system, which flowed northwest out of Virginia
, West Virginia
, and Ohio
, entering Indiana at Adams County
and flowing about 49 miles south of what is now Syracuse Lake.
s. The land supported large vast Picea evergreen forests, and Balsam poplar
, which gave way to hardwoods of oak
and hickory
. Animal life consisted of Glyptodon
, Saber-toothed cat
, Mastodon
, Short-faced bear
, dire wolf
, Ground sloth
, Giant Beaver
, Peccary
, Stag-moose
and Ancient bison. Lakes would have sturgeon
, whitefish
, pike
, pickerel
, and muskellunge
.
who would leave behind artifacts
and burial sites.
. The object had an unusual flat and sharp end and was hollowed out just back of the visible end. He and his father returned and removed moss, marl
, and slime exposing a blackened dugout canoe made of a tulip tree measuring 21 feet (6.4 m) and between 3–4 feet (91–121 cm) wide. Age and exposure had rotted away most of the sides. It was thought that it belonged to Miami Indians or fur traders, or by very early settler
s and that the canoe had been abandoned on the old shore of the lake prior to raising of the lake by the dam
built in 1834.
remains to fall to the ground.
in Lake Syracuse off the lake's extreme northwest side, near a place called China. Yet another sturgeon was seen about the same year by four men in the lake. The third account occurred in the 1920s when a Charlotte White discovered a disabled sturgeon measuring 7 feet (2.1 m), 3 inches and weighing 130 lb suffocated by a pair of waterwings
caught in its gills.
, is lined with many homes used seasonally and by those who live there year round.
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
bordering Syracuse
Syracuse, Indiana
Syracuse is a town in Turkey Creek Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,810 at the 2010 census.Syracuse is the location of Lake Syracuse and the nearby, larger Lake Wawasee, in addition to several other lakes in the region.-Geography:Syracuse is located at ...
in Kosciusko County, Indiana
Kosciusko County, Indiana
Kosciusko County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. Census 2010 recorded the population at 77,358. The county seat is Warsaw.The county was formed in 1836. It was named after the Polish general Tadeusz Kościuszko, who served in the American Revolutionary War, and then returned to...
, USA.
Location
Lake Syracuse is bordered on the west by N. Front Street, Pickwick Road and the B&O Railroad on the south. On the east its bordered by E. Shore Drive and on the north by E. Northshore Drive. It connects to Lake WawaseeLake Wawasee
Lake Wawasee, formerly Turkey Lake, is a natural lake southeast of Syracuse in Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States. It is the largest natural lake in Indiana. It is located just east of Indiana State Road 13.-History:...
by a channel on the south end.
Hydrology
Syracuse Lake is classified as a Trophic Class 1 lake having eutrophicationEutrophication
Eutrophication or more precisely hypertrophication, is the movement of a body of water′s trophic status in the direction of increasing plant biomass, by the addition of artificial or natural substances, such as nitrates and phosphates, through fertilizers or sewage, to an aquatic system...
index value of 10.
The lake is typical in structure of natural lakes of the glaciated portions of the upper Midwest. The lake is presently healthy and has balanced aquatic ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
(WAW 1995). It has a surface area of 1.67 km² (414 acres) with a maximum depth of 10 m (34 ft) and an average depth of 3.9 m (13 ft).
Pre-glaciation
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
, northern Indiana was covered by the Teays River
Teays River
The Teays River was an important preglacial river that drained much of the area now drained by the Ohio River, and more. Traces of the Teays across northern Ohio and Indiana are represented by a network of river valleys. These valleys were carved in the late Cenozoic and eventually led to the...
system, which flowed northwest out of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, and Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, entering Indiana at Adams County
Adams County, Indiana
Adams County lies in northeastern Indiana in the United States and shares its eastern border with Ohio. It was officially established in 1836. The county seat is Decatur....
and flowing about 49 miles south of what is now Syracuse Lake.
Post-glaciation
After the last glaciation period, the land was left with kettle holes and hilly moraineMoraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
s. The land supported large vast Picea evergreen forests, and Balsam poplar
Balsam poplar
The balsam poplars — also known as Populus sect. Tacamahaca — are a group of about 10 species of poplars, indigenous to North America and eastern Asia, distinguished by the balsam scent of their buds, the whitish undersides of their leaves, and the leaf petiole being round in cross-section...
, which gave way to hardwoods of oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
and hickory
Hickory
Trees in the genus Carya are commonly known as hickory, derived from the Powhatan language of Virginia. The genus includes 17–19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and big nuts...
. Animal life consisted of Glyptodon
Glyptodon
Glyptodon was a large, armored mammal of the family Glyptodontidae, a relative of armadillos that lived during the Pleistocene Epoch. It was roughly the same size and weight as a Volkswagen Beetle, though flatter in shape...
, Saber-toothed cat
Saber-toothed cat
Saber-toothed cat or Sabre-toothed cat refers to the extinct subfamilies of Machairodontinae , Barbourofelidae , and Nimravidae as well as two families related to marsupials that were found worldwide from the Eocene Epoch to the end of the Pleistocene Epoch ,...
, Mastodon
Mastodon
Mastodons were large tusked mammal species of the extinct genus Mammut which inhabited Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Central America from the Oligocene through Pleistocene, 33.9 mya to 11,000 years ago. The American mastodon is the most recent and best known species of the group...
, Short-faced bear
Arctodus
Arctodus — known as the short-faced bear or bulldog bear — is an extinct genus of bear endemic to North America during the Pleistocene ~3.0 Ma.—11,000 years ago, existing for approximately three million years. Arctodus simus may have once been Earth's largest mammalian, terrestrial carnivore...
, dire wolf
Dire Wolf
The Dire Wolf, Canis dirus, is an extinct carnivorous mammal of the genus Canis, and was most common in North America and South America from the Irvingtonian stage to the Rancholabrean stage of the Pleistocene epoch living 1.80 Ma – 10,000 years ago, existing for approximately .- Relationships...
, Ground sloth
Ground sloth
Ground sloths are a diverse group of extinct sloths, in the mammalian superorder Xenarthra. Their most recent survivors lived in the Antilles, where it has been proposed they may have survived until 1550 CE; however, the youngest AMS radiocarbon date reported is 4190 BP, calibrated to c. 4700 BP...
, Giant Beaver
Giant Beaver
Castoroides ohioensis was a species of giant beaver, huge members of the family Castoridae , endemic to North America during the Pleistocene epoch .-Morphology:...
, Peccary
Platygonus
Platygonus is an extinct genus of herbivorous peccary of the family Tayassuidae, endemic to North America from the Miocene through Pleistocene epochs , existing for approximately ....
, Stag-moose
Stag-moose
The stag-moose or stag moose was a large, moose-like deer of North America of the Pleistocene epoch. It was slightly larger than the moose, with an elk-like head, long legs, and complex, palmate antlers...
and Ancient bison. Lakes would have sturgeon
Lake sturgeon
The lake sturgeon is a North American temperate freshwater fish, one of about 20 species of sturgeon. Like other sturgeons, this species is an evolutionarily ancient bottomfeeder with a partly cartilaginous skeleton and skin bearing rows of bony plates...
, whitefish
Lake whitefish
The lake whitefish , also called the Sault whitefish or gizzard fish, is a species of freshwater whitefish from North America. Lake whitefish are found throughout much of Canada and parts of the northern United States, including all of the Great Lakes. A valuable commercial fish, they are also...
, pike
Northern Pike
The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...
, pickerel
American pickerel
The American pickerels are two subspecies of Esox americanus, a species of freshwater fish in the pike family of order Esociformes: the redfin pickerel, E. americanus americanus Gmelin, 1789, and the grass pickerel, E. americanus vermiculatus Lesueur, 1846.Both subspecies are native to North America...
, and muskellunge
Muskellunge
A muskellunge , also known as a muskelunge, muscallonge, milliganong, or maskinonge , is a large, relatively uncommon freshwater fish of North America. Muskellunge are the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae...
.
Human inhabitation
The ground around Syracuse Lake and Syracuse was first settled by the people of the Glacial Kame CultureGlacial Kame Culture
The Glacial Kame Culture was a culture of Archaic people that occupied southern Ontario, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana from around 8000 BC to 1000 BC. The name of this culture derives from its members' practice of burying their dead atop glacier-deposited gravel hills...
who would leave behind artifacts
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
and burial sites.
The Syracuse dugout
In 1959 Dick Jamison of Syracuse was fishing in 4 feet (1.2 m) or 5 feet (1.5 m) of water just off the southeast shore. He saw a wobbling image underwater of what he thought was a large water-soaked log with one end protruding from the green algae mossAlgae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
. The object had an unusual flat and sharp end and was hollowed out just back of the visible end. He and his father returned and removed moss, marl
Marl
Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
, and slime exposing a blackened dugout canoe made of a tulip tree measuring 21 feet (6.4 m) and between 3–4 feet (91–121 cm) wide. Age and exposure had rotted away most of the sides. It was thought that it belonged to Miami Indians or fur traders, or by very early settler
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s and that the canoe had been abandoned on the old shore of the lake prior to raising of the lake by the dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
built in 1834.
Indian Hill
Indian Hill is located on the north shore of Syracuse Lake 1.5 miles to the east of the town of Syracuse. It was a Campo Santo for the Indians of the area, who interred their dead in trees. Eventually the wrapping around the dead would disintegrate, causing the skeletalSkeleton
The skeleton is the body part that forms the supporting structure of an organism. There are two different skeletal types: the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, and the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside the body.In a figurative sense, skeleton can...
remains to fall to the ground.
Accounts of sturgeon
In 1912 a Bing Raymond caught a 32 inches (812.8 mm) sturgeonLake sturgeon
The lake sturgeon is a North American temperate freshwater fish, one of about 20 species of sturgeon. Like other sturgeons, this species is an evolutionarily ancient bottomfeeder with a partly cartilaginous skeleton and skin bearing rows of bony plates...
in Lake Syracuse off the lake's extreme northwest side, near a place called China. Yet another sturgeon was seen about the same year by four men in the lake. The third account occurred in the 1920s when a Charlotte White discovered a disabled sturgeon measuring 7 feet (2.1 m), 3 inches and weighing 130 lb suffocated by a pair of waterwings
Waterwings
Inflatable armbands , are devices to help a wearer float in water and learn to swim....
caught in its gills.
Current population
Syracuse, like its neighbor, Lake WawaseeLake Wawasee
Lake Wawasee, formerly Turkey Lake, is a natural lake southeast of Syracuse in Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States. It is the largest natural lake in Indiana. It is located just east of Indiana State Road 13.-History:...
, is lined with many homes used seasonally and by those who live there year round.
Resources
- 1995 Wawasee Area Watershed Lake Enhancement Diagnostic/Feasibility Study
- Lilly, Eli. Early Wawasee Days. Indianapolis: Studio Press Inc., 1960.