Six miles north of the city of Ithaca, high on the west side of Cayuga Lake, the longest of New York's fabled Finger Lakes, is Cayuga Nature Center. Originally built in 1939 as a country refuge for children exposed to tuberculosis, the CNC is today a popular activities center and respected authority on the natural resources of the Region.

This volume summarizes the varied flora, fauna, and other natural wonders of the land preserved at the CNC, much of which applies to northern and central New York State. Over three-hundred species or varieties of plants, animals, insects, snails, fossils, and others are described and illustrated in full color.