The St. Lawrence River is one of the longest rivers in North America. And, is the outflow for the entire Great Lakes system. The Great Lakes hold nearly 20% of the world's fresh water.
The River flows 744 miles from Lake Ontario into the world's largest estuary, the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Only 114 miles of the River are located in New York State.
The River is 250 feet at its deepest point.
Flowing through both Canadian and US lands, the St. Lawrence River is a bi-national waterway, providing drinking water to local municipalities on both sides of the River and a vital tourism-based economy to local towns.
The St. Lawrence River has a discharge rate of 347, 849 cubic feet of water per second.
The Upper St. Lawrence is home to the Thousand Islands region. There are exactly 1,864. To be counted as an island, the piece of land must be surrounded by water, above water all year long, and support at least one tree.
For more information about the St. Lawrence River and Thousand Islands, visit:
- Seaway Trail - The Seaway Trail is a National Scenic By-Way that leads tourists along the many historic and natural features of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario in New York state.
- Thousand Islands Photo Art - View the Thousand Islands with a birds-eye view through the photography of Ian Coristine.
- Thousand Islands Life - An on-line magazine devoted to the history and culture of the Thousand Islands region.
Executive Director discusses GLEAM Project on WPBS Public Eye
The GLEAM research team built new tools to integrate spatial information for environmental management decisions on the Great Lakes. The goal was to build maps to visualize and understand environmental impacts on the lakes and benefits humans enjoy from the lakes; many, if not most of which make their way to the St. Lawrence River. read more
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