Sodus Bay is a bay on the south shore of

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

, one of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five la ...

. Sodus Bay is located in Wayne County, New York, USA. Most of the bay is in the Town of Huron, however, the western part is in the Town of Sodus. Sodus Bay has sometimes been referred to as "Great Sodus Bay" to distinguish it from "Little Sodus Bay," which is east of Sodus Bay in the Town of Sterling. Sodus Bay is halfway between

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

and Syracuse. Sodus Bay is one of Lake Ontario's major embayments separated from the lake by a 7,500-foot-long barrier beach. The bay is located in Wayne County, New York, and is 4.4 miles in length and 2.4 miles across. This major point of access to Lake Ontario contains 12 marinas, 13 waterfront restaurants, 2 public access sites, a public beach, and a sailing school. The Sodus Bay watershed is composed of land that is 30% agriculture, 4% developed land, 61% forest, and 4% wetlands. First Creek, Second Creek, Third Creek, Sodus Creek West, Sodus Creek East (Glenmark Creek), and Clark Creek empty into this bay. The Towns of Huron, Sodus, Rose, Galen, Lyons and the Village of Sodus Point are located within the approximately 46-square mile watershed that drains to the Sodus Bay. Wayne County's shoreline embayments are of ecological importance containing over 6,807 acres of protected wetlands and host to over 36 species of aquatic plants, including three species of protected aquatic plants (e.g., American Lotus) and the protected softshell turtle. Chimney Bluffs State Park is located in the northeast part of the bay. Webster, New York-based Sea Scout Ship 303 operates the

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoo ...

S.S.S. ''Lotus'' out of Sodus Bay.

History

The bay was called "Assorodus" ("Silvery Waters") by pre-colonial indigenous peoples of the Onondaga Nation. Around 1794, Europeans began to settle in what's today Sodus Point. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...

the community was mostly burned during an attack by the British. A community of Shakers lived near here until about 1836, when they felt the development of the area was becoming too worldly. A lighthouse was erected on the western point of the bay in 1870, replacing an earlier lighthouse constructed in 1824. The bay was considered an important port. A rail line extending into Pennsylvania allowed coal to be place on board lake shipping.

Geography

Eagle, Leroy, and Newark Islands are in Sodus Bay and the only islands in south central end of

References

External links

Sodus Bay information
{{Authority control Bays of New York (state) Bays of Lake Ontario Bodies of water of Wayne County, New York