La Chute River in the context of Lake George (New York)

Lake George (Mohawk: Kaniá:taro’kte, "Lake-End") is a long narrow oligotrophic lake located at the southeast base of the Adirondack Mountains, in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York. It lies within the upper region of the Great Appalachian Valley and drains all the way northward into Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River drainage basin. The lake is situated along the historical natural (Amerindian) path between the valleys of the Hudson and St. Lawrence Rivers, and so lies on the direct land route between Albany, New York, and Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The lake extends about 32.2 mi (51.8 km) on a north–south axis, is 187 ft (57 m) deep, and ranges from one to three miles (1.6 to 4.8 km) in width, presenting a significant barrier to east–west travel. Although the year-round population of the Lake George region is relatively small, the summertime population can swell to over 50,000 residents, many in the village of Lake George region at the southern end of the lake.

Lake George drains into Lake Champlain to its north through a short stream, the La Chute River, with many falls and rapids and drops 226 feet (69 m) in its 3.5-mile (5.6 km) course, virtually all of which is within the lands of Ticonderoga, New York, and near the site of Fort Ticonderoga. Ultimately, the waters flowing via the 106-mile-long (171 km) Richelieu River drain into the St. Lawrence River downstream and northeast of Montreal, and then into the North Atlantic Ocean in Nova Scotia.

Fort Ticonderoga (/taɪkɒndəˈroʊɡə/), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in northern New York. It was constructed between October 1755 and 1757 by French-Canadian military engineer Michel Chartier de Lotbinière, Marquis de Lotbinière during the French and Indian War, sometimes known overseas as the "North American theater" of the Seven Years' War. The fort was of strategic importance during the 18th-century colonial conflicts between Great Britain and France, and again played an important role during the American Revolutionary War.

The site controlled a river portage alongside the mouth of the rapids-infested La Chute River, in the 3.5 miles (5.6 km) between Lake Champlain and Lake George. It was strategically placed for the trade routes between the British-controlled Hudson River Valley and the French-controlled Saint Lawrence River Valley.