page_title: Lake Champlain
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Lake Champlain / History
context_page_description: Lake Champlain is a natural freshwater lake in North America mainly within the borders of the United States but also across the Canada–U.S. border into the Canadian province of Quebec.
  The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of Clinton County and Essex County. Most of this area is part of the Adirondack Park. There are recreational facilities in the park and along the relatively undeveloped coastline of Lake Champlain. The cities of Plattsburgh, New York and Burlington, Vermont are on the lake's western and eastern shores, respectively, and the Town of Ticonderoga, New York is in the region's southern part. The Quebec portion is in the regional county municipalities of Le Haut-Richelieu and Brome-Missisquoi. There are a number of islands in the lake; the largest include Grand Isle, Isle La Motte, and North Hero, all part of Grand Isle County, Vermont.
context_section_description: The lake has long acted as a border between indigenous nations much as it is today between the states of New York and Vermont. The lake is located at the frontier between Abenaki and Mohawk (Iroquois Confederacy) traditional territories. The official toponym for the lake according to the orthography established by the Grand Council of Wanab-aki Nation is Pitawbagok (alternative orthographies include Petonbowk and Bitawbagok), meaning 'middle lake', 'lake in between' or 'double lake'.
  The Mohawk name in modern orthography as standardized in 1993 is Kaniatarakwà:ronte, meaning "a bulged lake" or “lake with a bulge in it." An alternate name is Kaniá:tare tsi kahnhokà:ronte (phonetic English spelling Caniaderi Guarunte), meaning 'door of the country' or 'lake to the country'. The lake is an important eastern gateway to Iroquois Confederacy lands.
  The lake was named after the French explorer Samuel de Champlain, who encountered it in July 1609. While the ports of Burlington, Vermont, Port Henry, New York, and Plattsburgh, New York today are primarily used by small craft, ferries, and lake cruise ships, they were of substantial commercial and military importance in the 18th and 19th centuries.
caption: Brooklyn Museum – Green Mountains, Lake Champlain – Winckworth Allan Gay – overall
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