Lake Champlain, << sham PLAYN, >> is a long, narrow lake on the border between New York and Vermont, with its northern tip extending into Quebec. The lake covers 490 square miles (1,270 square kilometers). Almost two-thirds of the lake lies in Vermont. Lake Champlain is 107 miles (172 kilometers) long and from less than 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) to 10 miles (16 kilometers) wide. Its maximum depth is 400 feet (122 meters). It was named for the French explorer Samuel de Champlain, who in 1609 became the first European to reach it (see Champlain, Samuel de ). Several naval battles were fought on the lake during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
