Elsewhere, a discussion began on an Indian place name in the state of Washington. I thought I'd continue the theme under a more approprate heading than "Yenta."

Today we went with a friend to a tasting at a Finger Lakes winery -- I still haven't learned my geography around here that well and asked the name of the lake we were passing on the way (not big enough to qualify as a Finger Lake). Faldage and our friend weren't sure which of two it was: to my Latin-language-trained ear, I heard them say it was either "Juanita" or "La Mocha." So I'm like why did a couple small lakes in upstate New York get Spanish (-sounding) names?

Turns out the names are "Waneta" and Lamoka."

Hey Anna, how big does a lake have to be to qualify as finger lake?

Were Lake Waneta and Lake Lamoka elongated too?

I understand that the finger lakes were the leavings of glaciers but I can't follow the process of the entrenchment. Do you?

If not ask Faldage. He knows stuff.

As a matter of irony all the free flowing rivers of Alabama have Indian names, and all the lakes have the names of the far traveling white eyes who dammed up the free flowing rivers because they thought it best.

Oh well, such is the way of things.

The conventional wisdom around here is that what qualifies a lake to be a finger lake is the inclusion on the list of Finger Lakes taught you by your elementary school geography teacher. This leaves those of us who were not elementarily educated in this part of the country to decide for ourselves. Beyond that there are, I believe, certain qualifications regarding the steepness of the sides, the length/width ratio, and the presence of hanging valleys around the edges. Waneta and Lamoka are not on the A List of Finger Lakes.

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The conventional wisdom around here is that what qualifies a lake to be a finger lake is the inclusion on the list of Finger Lakes taught you by your elementary school geography teacher. This leaves those of us who were not elementarily educated in this part of the country to decide for ourselves.

Waneta and Lamoka are not on the A List of Finger Lakes.

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Well said, El Faldo, but your failure to address the process behind the origin of these finger lakes leads the conventional wisdon around here to demote you.

You are now on the "b" list of People Who Know Stuff.