Sarah Jane Defines the Finger Lakes Region

I think that there are so many different ideas about what constitutes the Finger Lakes region that I need to clarify my usage of the term.  New York is broken up into so many random areas that many of the places I've lived or worked have been considered different regions.

Depending on where you are in the Finger Lakes, other areas may or may not be included in the region despite being located on a Finger Lake.  Growing up in Geneva, I was considered from Western New York.  Moving to Ithaca meant I was in the Southern Tier.  And living on Owasco Lake somehow means I am from the outskirts of Syracuse, and thus from Central New York.

It's difficult to find a map that encompasses what I define as the Finger Lakes.  Most exclude at least some areas that I feel are important to our region.  I was happy to find a map on Wikimedia Commons that includes all of what I identify as the Finger Lakes:

Michael J at the English language Wikipedia [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

~Sarah Jane