Before the Erie Canal was built and disrupted the original drainage pattern, where did the waters of Cayuga Lake (and Seneca Lake and some of the others) enter Lake Ontario? I have been wondering for years whether they drained into Sodus Bay in Wayne County.
The creek at the south end of Sodus Bay is now nothing much to speak of (I’ve seen it), but I have to wonder what the genesis of the bay is. Most bays of that size are associated with the outlet of a good-sized river. (The smaller Irondequoit Bay about 30 miles to the west was the outlet of the Genesee River in prehistory.) Was Sodus Bay the outlet of the Finger Lakes’ drainage, either in historical or in prehistorical times? Or was it the Oswego River, which appears to drain Oneida Lake?
Work is the curse of the drinking classes. (Oscar Wilde)
From Water Conservation
"GEOLOGICAL HISTORY
With the retreat of the Wisconsin glaciation thirteen thousand years ago, the globally unique Finger Lakes landscapes and watershed were revealed. (A watershed is the drainage area which contributes to the flow of a stream, lake or other body of water.) Pre-glacial river valleys, which flowed south to Chesapeake Bay, were broadened, smoothed, grooved, and plugged at the south ends with moraines (accumulations of earth and stones carried and deposited by a glacier) several hundred feet in depth.
Drainages were reversed, and water began to flow through the Genesee and Oswego River systems. Eventually, Conesus, Hemlock, Canadice, and Honeoye Lakes drained north through the Genesee River to Lake Ontario; the other Finger Lakes drained to the east through the Oswego River system. The Hemlock-Canadice watershed, encompassing about 40,000 acres or 60 square miles, is small by comparison with the whole basin and the larger lakes’ watersheds."
I was out at the Sodus lighthouse last year for a day last year and they seemed to have a very good drasp of local history etc. They do have a website and an e-mail to them might be helpful. They seem to have a small library on site (part of the upstairs IIRC) and my guess is that they could give you a good explanation about the size of the bay.
Proof, then post.
::Slams head into monitor::
I started digging around the net for historic maps of Revolutionary War era New York state but couldn’t find one that really covered things well enough. I know I’ve seen facsimiles of these in several of the area’s historic museums since waterways were the main means of transport during the time. There are several books about the construction of the Erie canal and they should have pictures of these maps included. Good luck.