Blue Lake (New York)

This article is about Sterling Forest Lake and is not to be confused with Sterling Lake.

Blue Lake, also called Sterling Forest Lake, is located in Sterling Forest State Park, New York.^[1] As of 2018, the Blue Lake Reservoir System, operated by SUEZ North America (formerly United Water), supplies drinking water from Blue Lake to about 1,200 people.^[3]

Blue Lake
Sterling Forest Lake
Blue Lake Show map of New York Blue Lake Show map of the United States
Location	Orange County, New York
Coordinates	41.163288°N 74.259774°W / 41.163288; -74.259774
Type	Reservoir
Part of	Ramapo River Watershed
Primary outflows	Ringwood River
Basin countries	United States
First flooded	1956
Surface area	115 acres (0.47 km2)
Max. depth	26 ft (7.9 m)
Shore length1	2.3 miles (3.7 km)
Surface elevation	650 ft (200 m)
References	[1][2]
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Overview

The lake is the largest of many smaller lakes in the state park. The lake contains a number of fish species including Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Largemouth Bass, Chain Pickerel and Panfish.^[4] Fishing is permitted and the lake has the only boat launch within the state park, but no gas motors are allowed.^[4]

History

Blue Lake was created in 1956 when the stream originating at Little Cedar Pond to the northwest was dammed, inundating the area. In 1960, the International Nickel Company (INCO) purchased property overlooking the lake where they built a facility. That facility, which ceased operation in the late 1980s, included a headquarters office and a research center called the Paul D. Merica Laboratory.^[5][6] After remaining vacant for decades, the old INCO facility was replaced in 2016^[7] by the newly constructed world headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses.^[8] The only other facility adjacent to Blue Lake is owned by IBM. Originally built in the early 1970s, it now hosts a business continuity and recovery center.^[9][10]