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Chart Datum, Lake Ontario.-Depths and vertical clearances under overhead cables and bridges given in this chapter are referred to Low Water Datum, which for Lake Ontario is an elevation 243.3 feet (74.2 meters) above mean water level at Rimouski, Quebec, on International Great Lakes Datum 1985 (IGLD 1985). (See Chart Datum, Great Lakes System, indexed as such, chapter 1.)

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General description.-Lake Ontario is the smallest and easternmost of the Great Lakes. The lake is comparatively deep; the greatest depth is 802 feet, and the average depth is 283 feet, much in excess of the greatest depth of Lake Erie. Lake Ontario is fed chiefly by the waters of Lake Erie by way of the Niagara River. The lake drains at its NE end into the St. Lawrence River. Welland Canal bypasses the falls and rapids of the Niagara River and provides a navigable connection between Lake Ontario and the upper lakes.

(10) The great depth of the lake limits fluctuations of water level caused by winds and renders them comparatively small. The lake is generally free of outlying shoals and obstructions. The only significant shoals dangerous to navigation are those in the NE end of the lake in the approach to the St. Lawrence River and those of Niagara Bar off the mouth of the Niagara River. The latter shoal is in the course of vessels plying between the Welland Canal and ports at the E end of the lake.

(11) The waters of Lake Ontario and the Welland Canal are part of the St. Lawrence Seaway and are under the navigational control of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, a corporate agency of the United States, and the Saint Lawrence Seaway Authority of Canada. These agencies issue joint regulations covering vessels and persons using the Seaway. The regulations are codified in 33 CFR 401, and are also contained in the Seaway Handbook, published jointly by the agencies. A copy of the regulations is required to be kept on board every vessel transiting the Seaway. A schedule of the Seaway tolls is contained in the handbook. (See St. Lawrence Seaway, chapter 3, and 33 CFR 401, chapter 2.)

(12) Vessels bound for Lake Ontario from the St. Lawrence River below Montreal are limited by the size of the locks in the river, and vessels bound from Lake Ontario to the upper lakes are limited by the size of the locks in the Welland Canal. The maxi

mum authorized dimensions for vessels navigating the St Lawrence Seaway locks are 730 feet overall length, 76 feet extreme breadth, and 26 feet draft. (For complete information on vessel dimension restrictions, refer to the Seaway Handbook, and for supplemental information, to the Seaway Notices.)

(13) Vessel traffic control.-Lake Ontario and the Welland Canal are divided into three traffic control sectors, with vessel movements in each sector controlled by a traffic controller. The objective of the system is to provide safe and efficient scheduling of vessel traffic, efficient search and rescue coverage, information regarding pilot requirements to the pilot dispatch centers, marine weather broadcasts, and information on vessel location to all interested parties.

(14) The traffic control sectors are as follows: Sector 4, from Crossover Island in the St. Lawrence River to midlake in Lake Ontario; Sector 5, the W half of Lake Ontario; Sector 6, Welland Canal and its approaches.

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Calling-in point Mid-Lake Ontario.-Upbound vessels shall contact "Seaway Newcastle" on VHF-FM channel 11 and downbound vessels shall contact "Seaway Sodus" on VHF-FM channel 13 upon arrival at a point in mid-lake in about 43°41′N., 77°47'W. After initial contact, vessels shall guard VHF-FM channel 16.

(19) Calling-in points Newcastle.-Upbound and downbound vessels shall contact "Seaway Newcastle" upon arrival at a point about 16 miles S of Newcastle, Ont., and when about 8 miles N of Thirtymile Point, N.Y. on VHF-FM channel 11. After initial contact, vessels shall guard VHF-FM channel 16.

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Complete information on the traffic control sectors and their respective calling-in points is contained in the Seaway Handbook.

(21) Fluctuations of water level.-The normal elevation of the lake surface varies irregularly from year to year. During the course of each year, the surface is subject to a consistent seasonal rise and fall, the lowest stages prevailing during the winter and the highest during the summer. In addition to the normal seasonal fluctuations, oscillations of irregular amount and duration are also produced by storms. Winds and barometric pressure changes that accompany squalls can produce fluctuations that last from a few minutes to a few hours. At other times, strong winds of sustained speed and direction can produce fluctuations that last a few hours or a day. These winds drive forward a greater volume of surface water than can be carried off by the lower return currents, thus raising the water level on the lee shore and lowering it on the windward shore. This effect is more pronounced in bays and at the extremities of the lake, where the impelled water is concentrated in a

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small space by converging shores, especially if coupled with a gradually sloping inshore bottom which even further reduces the flow of the lower return currents.

(22) Lake Ontario has less of a seiche problem than some of the other lakes. These irregular oscillations of the water surface are less pronounced in range because of the lake's smaller area and deep water along with a general symmetrical shape. There is also a lesser number of high- and low-pressure centers that pass directly over the lake.

(23) Weather.-Navigation-season winds are strongest in autumn. Gales are most likely from October through December and blow out of the SW through NW. This is particularly true at the E end of the lake, where a funneling effect may occur with W and SW winds, which prevail throughout most of the year. As these winds encounter land, on either side of the lake, near the Thousand Islands, they are accelerated. A moderate blow in midlake often becomes a dangerous gale in this restricted area. Another local problem area is Mexico Bay, N of Oswego. This was once known as "the graveyard of Lake Ontario" because ships foundered there in NW through NE winds. In spring, northeasterlies and easterlies occasionally reach gale force throughout the lake. May through August is often the most troublefree time; windspeeds of 16 knots or less are encountered 80 percent or more of the time. The strongest sustained measured wind on the lake was west-north-westerly at 50 knots. This short period record (17 years) occurred in November. Since extremes along the shore range from 50 to 65 knots, it could be expected that an extreme on the lake could reach 90 knots. The prevailing SW and W winds are most persistent in winter and summer. Winds with northerly components are also common in winter as are those with southerly components in summer. Autumn and spring winds are more variable.

(24) While visibilities are restricted by rain, snow, haze, and smoke, fog is the most frequent and troublesome cause. On Lake Ontario, prolonged periods of rain and foggy weather are common when frontal systems moving into New York become stationary. In the spring, advection fog reduces visibilities to below 0.5 mile up to 10 percent of the time. It is usually worst during the morning hours. Along the shore, radiation fog is common in autumn under calm, clear nighttime skies. This fog sometimes drifts out over the water; it usually burns off by noon. Visibilities of 2.5 miles or less occur on about 10 to 13 days per month from October through March along the shore.

(25) While rough seas can be encountered in any season, they are most often a problem during fall and winter. From October through February, wave heights of 5 feet or more can be expected 10 to near 20 percent of the time and 10 feet or more up to 2 percent of the time. Extreme wave heights of 17 to 19 feet have been encountered. Since strong winds over a long fetch of water are conducive to creating rough seas, strong winds out of the E and W quadrants over Lake Ontario are often danger signals. Sea conditions are best from May through July when waves of less than 1 foot occur 50 percent or more of the time.

(26) Thunderstorms can occur at any time, but are mostly a summertime problem. Along the shore, they are recorded on 20 to 30 days annually; about 75 percent or more brew up from May through September. They are most likely during the late afternoon. Over the open lake, thunderstorms are most likely during August when they occur about 2 percent of the time. Summertime thunderstorms are mostly nocturnal creatures over the lake; they are most frequent between sunset and sunrise.

(27) Ice.-The main part of Lake Ontario usually remains open throughout the winter, with only a few patches of thin ice and slush during cold spells. Its small area and great depth give Lake Ontario a large heat storage capacity. In addition, the land portion of the basin contributes more runoff to its lake than any of the other lakes. These factors retard the growth of ice in fall and aid its rapid decay in spring. During a normal winter, early ice cover appears toward the end of January and early decay begins in midMarch. During severe winters, extensive slush develops for brief periods, but the significant ice is confined to the E end of the lake. E of Prince Edward Point, ice formation begins in early January. The area from Kingston to Prince Edward Point and Oswego is usually covered 70 to 90 percent with thin and medium lake ice by the end of the month. This thickness increases during February and reaches the thick category by early March, but the extent is unchanged except for drifting patches of slush along the Canadian shore. By this time, fast ice about 20 to 25 inches thick usually extends in a N arc from Prince Edward Point to Stony Point. Decay generally develops in early March, and by the third week most of the pack has melted in place rather than drifting down the river. (See Winter Navigation, chapter 3.)

(28) Local magnetic disturbances.-Differences from normal variation of from about 006°W to 007°E have been observed at numerous locations throughout Lake Ontario. Differences of up to 37° have been observed in the approach to Kingston, Ont., on the N side of the head of the St. Lawrence River. The locations of these anomalies are shown on NOS chart 14500.

(29) Routes.-The Lake Carriers' Association and the Canadian Shipowners Association have recommended, for vessels enrolled in the associations, the following separation of routes for upbound and downbound traffic in Lake Ontario.

(30) Downbound vessels from Port Weller to Cape Vincent from a position 0.5 mile off Port Weller breakwaters, shall lay a course of 048° for 8.5 miles to pass not more than 1.5 miles off Niagara Bar Lighted Buoy 2; thence 074° for 103 miles to a position not less than 7 miles off Point Petre; thence 069° for 27 miles to a position 3.5 miles to East Charity Shoal Traffic Lighted Buoy. (31) Downbound vessels from Toronto, Port Credit, or Clarkson from a position not less than 2.5 miles off Gibraltar Point shall lay a course 085° 113.75 miles to a position not less than 7 miles off Point Petre; thence recommended downbound courses of 069° and 039° to East Charity Shoal Traffic Lighted Buoy.

(32) Downbound vessels from Port Weller to Toronto, from a position 0.5 mile off Port Weller breakwaters, shall lay a course of 314° for 4 miles; thence 349° for 20 miles to a position not less than 3.8 miles off Toronto Main Harbour Channel range front light.

(33) Downbound vessels from Port Weller to Hamilton, from a position 0.5 mile off Port Weller breakwaters, shall lay a course 314° for 4 miles; thence 273° for 25 miles to Burlington Canal Entrance Lighted Bell Buoy MH.

(34) Upbound vessels from Cape Vincent to Port Welier, from East Charity Shoal Traffic Lighted Buoy, shall lay a course 240° for 14.5 miles to a position 0.5 mile off Psyche Shoal Lighted Bell Buoy 12; thence 249° for 22.5 miles to a position not more than 3 miles off Point Petre; thence 254° for 102 miles to a position not less than 5.5 miles off Niagara Bar Lighted Buoy 2; thence 212° for 11.25 miles to a position 0.5 mile off Port Weller breakwaters. (35) Upbound vessels from Cape Vincent to Toronto, Port Credit, and Clarkson, from a position not more than 3 miles off Point Petre, shall lay a course of 263° for 113.25 miles to a posi

tion more than 2.8 miles off Toronto Main Harbour Channel range front light; thence to destination.

(36) Upbound vessels from Toronto to Port Weller, from a position not less than 3.8 miles off Toronto Main Harbour Channel Range Front Light, shall lay a course 163° for 23.5 miles to a position 0.5 mile off Port Weller breakwaters.

(37) Upbound vessels from Hamilton to Port Weller, from a position 0.5 mile off Burlington piers, shall lay a course 098° for 28.7 miles to a position 0.5 mile off Port Weller breakwaters.

(38) It is understood that masters may exercise discretion in departing from these courses when ice and weather conditions are such as to warrant it. The recommended courses are shown on chart 14800, Lake Ontario.

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43°37′N., 78°00′W.

The area may be used for military purposes from the surface to an altitude of 50,000 feet. The using agency is the Commander, 21st Air Div., Hancock Field, Syracuse, N.Y. Consult Local Notice to Marines for additional information and firing schedules.

(45) Pilotage.-The waters of Lake Ontario are Great Lakes undesignated waters; registered vessels of the United States and foreign vessels are required to have in their service a United States or Canadian registered pilot or other officer qualified for Great lakes undesignated waters. The Welland Canal and its approaches are Great Lakes designated waters; registered vessels of the United States and foreign vessels are required to have in their service a United States or Canadian registered pilot. Registered pilots for Lake Ontario and Welland Canal are supplied by the Great Lakes Pilotage Authority, Ltd., St. Catharines. (See appendix for address.) Pilot exchange points are off Cape Vincent, N.Y., 1 to 2 miles N of Port Weller, and at the S end of Welland Canal 1 to 2 miles S of Port Colborne. (See Pilotage, chapter 3, and 46 CFR 401, chapter 2.)

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Principal ports.-The principal ports on Lake Ontario are at Oswego and Rochester, N.Y., and at Hamilton and Toronto, Ont. These harbors have been improved by dredging by the United States and Canadian governments, respectively, and provide access for vessels up to 26-foot draft. At Cape Vincent, N. Y., a harbor protected by a breakwater provides refuge for vessels who find that storm conditions render it unsafe to venture into the open lake from the head of St. Lawrence River. The largest drydock on Lake Ontario is at Port Weller in the Welland Canal.

(47) Chart 14802.-The shoreline SE for about 11 miles from Tibbetts Point to Point Peninsula is irregular, with numerous bays and outlying islands and shoals.

(48) Tibbetts Point, 3 miles SW of Cape Vincent, N.Y., is on the S side of the main ship channel leading from the St. Lawrence River to Lake Ontario. Tibbetts Point Light (44°06.0′N., 76°22.2′W.), 69 feet above the water, is shown from a white conical tower on the point; a radiobeacon is at the light. Reefs extend off about 1,000 feet around the point, and a rock ledge, with a least depth of 18 feet near its outer end, extends about 1 mile SW from the point. A lighted buoy marks the SW end of the ledge.

(49) Wilson Point is about 1 mile SE of Tibbetts Point and is separated from it by Fuller Bay, which extends inshore about 0.5 mile. A rocky spit, with 11 feet near its outer end and shoaler

water inside, extends about 0.6 mile SW from Wilson Point. Wilson Bay, a rectangular indentation about 1 mile long and 0.5 mile wide, opens between Wilson Point on the N and Dablon Point on the S. The bay has depths of 10 to 20 feet, but the deep water at the entrance narrows between the spit extending from Wilson Point and a shallow bank extending 0.9 mile W from Dablon Point. This bank has a depth of 11 feet at the outer end and a 4-foot spot 0.65 mile W of Dablon Point. (50)

Mud Bay, a narrow, shallow inlet about 1.4 miles long, is E of Dablon Point with Baird Point on its S side. (51)

Grenadier Island, 2.3 miles long and 1.4 miles in maximum width, is 0.8 mile SW of Baird Point. Fox Island, E of Grenadier Island, is irregularly shaped, about 0.8 mile across at its S end and quite narrow at its N end. Between Fox Island and Grenadier Island is a shallow passage about 0.6 mile wide, with depths of 6 to 8 feet. An expanse of shallow water with mud bottom separates both islands from the shore. The shallow water extends off the SW side of the islands as much as 1.2 miles and extends SE to Point Peninsula.

(52) Allan Otty Shoal, about 4.7 miles SW of Tibbetts Point Light, is a narrow ridge about 0.5 mile long E and W, with rocks covered 10 feet along the N edge. A lighted buoy marks the SE side of the shoal.

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Charity Shoal, East Charity Shoal, and South Charity Shoal, 5 to 6 miles W of Grenadier Island, form a group of outlying rock obstructions in the approach to the S channel of the St. Lawrence River.

(54) Charity Shoal, the northernmost, is a narrow rocky ledge about 0.7 mile long and 0.25 mile wide, with a least depth of 2 feet near its center. A buoy marks the W side of the shoal.

(55) East Charity Shoal, SE of Charity Shoal, has a least depth of 10 feet and is marked by a light. The passage between Charity and East Charity Shoals is rendered unsafe by South Charity Shoal, a narrow ridge about 0.9 mile SW of East Charity Shoal Light, having a least depth of 11 feet. The SW extremity of South Charity Shoal is marked by a lighted buoy. About 3.7 miles SSW of South Charity Shoal, a detached 27-foot shoal is marked by a lighted buoy. An unmarked shoal with a least depth of 25 feet is about 5.5 miles SW of South Charity Shoal.

(56) East Charity Shoal Traffic Lighted Buoy is about 1.5 miles SE of East Charity Shoal Light. Vessels bound from and to the S channel of the St. Lawrence River should pass close on this buoy and well to the E and S of East Charity Shoal Light.

(57) Charts 14802, 14811.-Point Peninsula (44°00′N., 76°15′W.), an almost detached body of land about 6 miles long and 3 miles wide, is joined to the mainland on its NW side by a narrow neck. Shoaling extends as much as 1.2 miles off the W side and around the S end. A lighted buoy 1 mile S of the SW end of the peninsula marks the S side of the shoaling. Between the SE side of the peninsula and Pillar Point on the mainland opposite, a deep channel extends NE to Chaumont and Guffin Bays. The channel has general depths greater than 30 feet except for a shoal with depths of 22 to 28 feet which generally parallels the SE end of the peninsula.

(58) Between Point Peninsula and Stony Point, 8 miles S, a group of large deep bays, including Chaumont Bay, Guffin Bay, Black River Bay, and Henderson Bay, open to the N and E.

(59) Chaumont Bay, about 20 miles by deep water from Tibbetts Point, is separated from Lake Ontario by Point Peninsula and the adjoining mainland point. It is a large and well-protected area with depths of 18 to 30 feet of water to within 0.4 mile of shore,

except for shoals in the SW end and shoals extending about 1.5 miles SE from Three Mile Point on the N side of the bay. The bay provides good anchorage, mud bottom.

(60) Three Mile Bay, N.Y., is a village at the N end of Three Mile Bay, a small bay on the N side of Chaumont Bay. In 1977, the reported controlling depth through the bay to the village was 3 feet, thence 2 feet to and in the marina. Gasoline, ice, marine supplies, a launching ramp, and limited repairs are available.

(61) At the NE end of Chaumont Bay, Independence Point extends from the mainland to form two arms, the NE end of Chaumont Bay on the NW side of the point and Sawmill Bay on the SE side. Johnson Shoal, with a least depth of 2 feet, extends SW for about 1.4 miles from Independence Point and is marked on the SE side by a lighted buoy.

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Chaumont, N.Y., a village at the NE end of Chaumont Bay, can be approached on the NW side of Independence Point or through Sawmill Bay on the SE side of the point. The Sawmill Bay approach is marked by a light on the SE side of Independence Point, and deep water in the harbor is marked by buoys and a daybeacon.

(63) The Chaumont River flows through the village and into Chaumont Bay on the NW side of Independence Point. A fixed highway bridge at the mouth of the river has a clearance of 20 feet, and an overhead telephone cable on the N side of the bridge has a clearance of 22 feet. The pier remains of a railroad bridge 0.1 mile NE provide a horizontal clearance of 50 feet. An overhead cable of unknown clearance crosses the river at the pier remains.

(64) Small-craft facilities.-Several marinas provide limited transient berths, gasoline, water, ice, electricity, sewage pump-out, marine supplies, launching ramps, a 25-ton marine railway, mobile lifts to 25 tons, a mast-stepping crane, and hull and engine repairs. In 1977, the reported controlling depths were 5 to 10 feet to the Sawmill Bay facilities with 5 to 8 feet alongside, and 5 feet to the facilities above the highway bridge crossing Chaumont River.

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Cherry Island, on the W side of Guffin Bay, is marked by a light on the SW end. The passage between the NE end of Cherry Island and Point Salubrious is about 0.5 mile wide with depths of 15 to 19 feet except for a detached 11-foot shoal about 650 feet off Point Salubrious.

(68) Black River Bay, opening about 6 miles E of the SW end of Point Peninsula, is entered between Everleigh Point on the N side and Horse Island on the S side. The bay is about 1 mile wide and extends NE for about 5.5 miles. The water is deep through the bay and close to the shores except for a very shallow expanse filling the upper 1.5 miles. Black River enters at the head of the bay. A depth of about 5 feet can be carried through the shallows and between the submerged ruins of breakwaters at the mouth of the river upstream to the village of Dexter, about 1 mile above the mouth. The channel is marked by private lighted and unlighted buoys that are shifted to mark the best water.

(69) Sackets Harbor, N.Y., is on the SE side of Black River Bay, about 22 miles by water from Tibbetts Point. The harbor, about 7 acres in extent, is protected on the N side by Navy Point. Lights on the N side of Horse Island and on Navy Point mark the approach to the harbor. In 1976, the controlling depth in the

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Several marinas at Sackets Harbor provide gasoline, diesel fuel, water, ice, electricity, sewage pump-out, marine supplies, launching ramps, mobile lifts to 8 tons, and hull and minor engine repairs. In 1977, depths of 3 to 15 feet were reported alongside the facilities.

(73) Henderson Bay, SW of Black River Bay on the E side of Stony Point, is a broad indentation separated from Lake Ontario by a line of shoals and small islands extending from Stony Point NE to Horse Island. The bay is about 7 miles long and 2 miles wide. Once inside, the bay is clear with depths of 20 to 40 feet close to the shore except at the E end. Shoals extend 0.7 mile SW from Horse Island and continue S to Campbell Point where a shoal with a least depth of 2 feet extends about 1 mile W. The bay provides good anchorage, mainly sand and mud bottom.

(74) Bass Island, 1.5 miles SW of Horse Island, and Gull Island, 0.9 mile SSW of Bass Island, are on a very small bank that extends 0.2 mile NE from Bass Island and 0.5 mile SW from Gull Island. The deep channel between the shoals off Horse and Bass Islands, about 0.7 mile wide, is the NE entrance to Henderson Bay. (75) A partly submerged projection of land extends about 2 miles NE from Stony Point and terminates in Six Town Point. Lime Barrel Shoal, with a least depth of 1 foot, is the NE end of shallow water that extends 1.2 miles NE from Six Town Point. A lighted buoy on the W side of the shoal marks a small-craft passage with depths of 11 to 14 feet between Lime Barrel Shoal and Six Town Point. A deepwater passage between Lime Barrel Shoal and Gull Island has depths of 23 to 33 feet. (76) Henderson Harbor is a small summer resort on the NE side of Henderson Harbor, a small inlet at the S end of Henderson Bay. In May 1977, the reported controlling depth to marinas in the S end of the harbor was 4 feet with 2 to 10 feet reported alongside the berths. The marinas provide transient berths, gasoline, diesel fuel, water, electricity, ice, sewage pump-out, marine supplies, launching ramps, mobile lifts to 15 tons, a 45-foot marine railway, and hull, engine, and electronic repairs.

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Special anchorages are in Henderson Harbor. (See 33 CFR 110.1 and 110.87, chapter 2, for limits and regulations.) (78) Whites Bay, with good depths, and Snow Shoe Bay, small and shallow, are indentations in the W shore of Henderson Bay NW of Henderson Harbor. A privately maintained channel connecting Snow Shoe Bay with Lake Ontario has depths of about 3 feet through a cut in the narrow peninsula on the NE side of Stony Point. A bridge across the channel has a 30-foot fixed span with a clearance of 12 feet.

above the water, is shown from a white skeleton tower with a triangular red daymark on the W end of the point.

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Stony Island is about 2.2 miles NW of Stony Point. The channel between the mainland and the island is broad and deep and is occasionally used by tows bound to and from the St. Lawrence River. A rocky ledge with least depths of 2 feet extends about 2.3 miles SW from Stony Island. Calf Island is on the W part of the ledge, and the SW end of the ledge is marked by a buoy. A detached rock ledge with a least depth of 13 feet is about 1 mile S of the buoy. A shoal with a least depth of 14 feet extends 0.4 mile off the NE end of Stony Island and is marked on the E side by a lighted buoy. Dutch John Bay is a small bight of deep water on the W side of Stony Island. From the head of the bay, a narrow strip of water extends SW almost through the length of the island.

(81) Little Galloo Island, about halfway between the SW ends of Stony and Galloo Islands, is on a bank 1 mile long and 0.5 mile wide, with broad and deep channels to either side. A detached 24foot spot is in the channel SW of the island.

(82) Galloo Island is 2.4 miles W of Stony Island. Gill Harbor, on the NE side of Galloo Island, provides shelter for small craft. The harbor is enclosed by a gravel spit across which a channel has been dredged. In 1961, the controlling depth was 7 feet in the entrance channel.

(85) Galloo Island Light (43°53.3′N., 76°26.7′W.), 58 feet above the water, is shown from a gray conical tower at the SW end of the island. (86) Galloo Shoal, about 1.3 miles W of Galloo Island Light, has a least depth of 3 feet, and is marked off its W side by a lighted buoy. Vessels bound to and from the St. Lawrence River should pass W of the buoy, although there is a deep passage about 0.8 mile wide between the shoal and Galloo Island.

(87) An unmarked snag, covered 16 feet, is 0.4 mile NE of Galloo Shoal, and an unmarked wreck is 1 mile NE of the shoal.

(90) Chart 14803.-The lakeshore S of Drowned Island is relatively straight for about 17 miles with deep water about 1 mile off. In this stretch, several shallow ponds, fed by numerous creeks, are practically cut off from the lake by narrow ridges of shore.

(91) North Pond, about 13 miles S of Stony Point, is separated from the lake by a long, narrow neck of land. The narrow, continually shifting entrance channel had a reported controlling depth of 3 feet in 1977. Local knowledge is advised. The pond, about 3.5 miles long and 2 miles wide, has depths of 6 to 13 feet with shoaling to lesser depths along the shore and on the N, E, and S sides. Several marinas on the pond provide berths, gasoline, ice, marine

supplies, sewage pump-out, launching ramps, a 3-ton mobile hoist, and engine and hull repairs. In 1977, depths of 2 to 4 feet were reported alongside the berths.

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Sandy Pond is a village at the S end of the pond.

The Salmon River, about 6 miles S of North Pond entrance, empties into Port Ontario which is entered through a dredged channel protected by breakwaters. The dredged channel leads about 0.5 mile to the town of Selkirk. The approach to the entrance channel is marked by a private light. The entrance channel is marked by lights at the ends of the breakwaters and buoys. In November 1993, the controlling depth was 71⁄2 feet in the E half and 8 feet in the W half of the dredged channel to just below the head of the project, thence 71⁄2 feet to the end.

(94) Little Salmon River enters the SE side of Mexico Bay. The town of Texas is 1 mile above the mouth.

(95) In Mexico Bay, from Selkirk to Nine Mile Point (43°31.5′N., 76°22.0'W.), the bottom is rock, and deep water is within 1 mile of the shore. The headland W of Nine Mile Point is relatively deep-to, and SW to Oswego shallow water extends no more than 1 mile offshore.

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Charts 14803, 14813, 14786.-Oswego Harbor, at the mouth of the Oswego River, is on the S shore of Lake Ontario about 15 miles from its E end and about 45 miles S of Tibbetts Point at the head of the St. Lawrence River. The harbor serves the city of Oswego, N.Y., and is the terminus of the Oswego Canal of the New York State Barge Canal System. The harbor comprises an outer breakwater harbor of refuge and an inner terminal harbor in the Oswego River. Because most of the very severe storms are from the W and NW, with a fetch the entire length of the lake, the outer harbor is an important harbor of refuge for vessels in this part of the lake.

(98) An unmarked dumping ground with a least reported depth 35 feet is about 1.5 miles NNW of the entrance of Oswego Harbor.

(99) Prominent features.-The strobe-lighted stacks at the powerplant 1 mile W of the river mouth are prominent in the harbor approach.

(100) Channels.-A dredged approach channel leads E from the lake S of a detached breakwater and between converging breakwaters into the outer harbor of refuge. From the outer harbor, the inner harbor extends up the Oswego River for 0.5 mile along the Oswego piers. Another channel, protected by an extension of the W breakwater, extends SW from the outer harbor along the shore to a turning basin. The breakwaters are marked by lights, and the channels by lighted and unlighted buoys. A fog signal is at the light on the west breakwater.

(101) In May 1993, the controlling depths were 27 feet at midchannel in the approach channel, thence 22 feet in the channel through the outer harbor, thence 21 feet in the river channel to the head of the Federal project at Seneca Street.

(102) The outer harbor W of the entrance channel had depths of 14 feet except for shoaling to 21⁄2 feet along the W breakwater. The outer harbor E of the entrance channel had depths of 21 feet except for shoaling to 15 feet along the SE edge; the SE portion of the harbor is not being maintained. The channel to the turning basin had a depth of 17 feet with 13 to 21 feet in the basin and lesser depths along the edges; the S portion of the channel was not being maintained.