Lake Ronkonkoma (lake)

For the hamlet, see Lake Ronkonkoma, New York.

Lake Ronkonkoma
Location of Lake Ronkonkoma on Long Island.
Location of Lake Ronkonkoma on Long Island.
Lake Ronkonkoma
Location of Lake Ronkonkoma on Long Island.
Location of Lake Ronkonkoma on Long Island.
Lake Ronkonkoma
Location of Lake Ronkonkoma on Long Island.
Location of Lake Ronkonkoma on Long Island.
Lake Ronkonkoma
LocationSuffolk County, New York, United States
Coordinates40°49′42″N 073°07′18″W / 40.82833°N 73.12167°W / 40.82833; -73.12167 (Lake Ronkonkoma (lake))
Typekettle lake
Primary inflowsgroundwater
Primary outflowsunderground
Basin countriesUnited States
Surface area243 acres (0.98 km2)
Max. depth95 ft (29 m)
Surface elevation52 ft (16 m)

Lake Ronkonkoma is a freshwater lake in Suffolk County, New York. It is a kettle lake formed by retreating glaciers and is the largest freshwater lake on Long Island; it has a circumference of about 2 miles (3.2 km) and is 0.65 miles (1.05 km) across on average.[1] The lake is owned by the Town of Islip under the terms of the Nichols Patent. The land around it is controlled by three town governments – Smithtown, Islip and Brookhaven. The separation originated because three different Native American communities claimed lands on different shores, and these claims continued when the tribes gave separate deeds to the land under their control. The name Ronkonkoma comes from an Algonquian expression meaning "boundary fishing-lake", also earlier written as Raconkumake and Raconkamuck.[2]

  1. ^ Lake Ronkonkoma (Google Maps)
  2. ^ Bright, William (2007). Native American placenames of the United States. Bright University of Oklahoma Press. p. 411.