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Onondaga Lake is northwest of the city of Syracuse, New York and south of Lake Ontario. Water...

Onondaga Lake is northwest of the city of Syracuse, New York and south of Lake Ontario. Water outflows from the lake to Lake Ontario through the Oswego River. The lake is five miles (8 km) long and a mile (1.5 km) wide. It has an area of 4.6 square miles (11.9 square kilometers) and has a maximum depth of 63 feet (19 m). Although it is near the Finger Lakes region, it is not traditionally counted as one of the Finger Lakes. Around 1450 or possibly earlier, Onondaga Lake was the site of the founding of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy. According to legend, at this spot the warlike Onondaga chief Tadodaho was persuaded by Hiawatha and Deganawidah (the Peacemaker) to accept the Great Law of Peace. Historically, the lake and the surrounding area was a site of salt springs and later salt mining. The salt was distributed throughout the north-east via the Erie Canal; Irish immigrants working in this industry created the local dish of salt potatoes. Today, Onondaga Lake is a severely polluted lake. Onondaga Lake has been described as one of the most polluted lakes in the United States, primarily due to industrial dumping and sewage contamination. Fishing for human consumption was