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Roughly the western half of the Finger Lakes region comprised the Phelps and Gorham Purchase of 1790, the largest land purchase in the world to that date. The Finger Lakes region, together with the Genesee Country of Western New York, has been referred to as the Burned-Over District, where, in the 19th century, the Second Great Awakening was a revival of Christianity, and some new religions were also formed.
The Finger Lakes region is an important agricultural belt of New York. The state land grant institution is Cornell University. Its alma mater begins "Far Above Cayuga's Waters", because it is on the hills overlooking the city of Ithaca and the southern end of Cayuga Lake. Cornell also maintains the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station and horticultural gene bank at Geneva on the north end of Seneca Lake.
The rolling land between the lakes is occupied with dairy farms, many of them owned by Amish and Mennonite families. These farms raise corn, hay, wheat, oats, barley, and soybeans. Cabbages, sweetcorn, and potatoes are major vegetable crops. Maple syrup and honey are also local products.
Especially around Keuka Lake and the south ends of both Canandaigua and Seneca Lakes are many vineyards and wineries where one can often taste the wines before purchasing them. Most of the area was originally forested with oak, maple, chestnut, ask, hemlock, and beech trees, but the Iroquois maintained, by annual burning, the land between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes as prairie, with herds of bison, normally thought of as a western animal. Today the Finger Lakes area is still known for fishing and hunting. Winter sports are also popular, with skiing, snowmobling and ice fishing available.
The southern ends of the lakes are characterized by steeper hills and glacial hanging valleys which are tributaries that drop steeply to the lake, often with waterfalls. Taughannock Falls State Park, Fillmore Glen, and Watkins Glen are especially scenic examples that have been made into parks. The Village of Watkins Glen is a producer of table salt and the site of an auto racing course.
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