Erie Canal

The Mohawk Valley, running east and west, cuts a natural pathway (water gap) between the Catskill Mountains to the south and the Adirondack Mountains to the north.

Operations at Lockport, New York, in 1839

Stonework of lock abandoned because of route change, at Durhamville, New York

An original five-step lock structure crossing the Niagara Escarpment at Lockport, now without gates and used as a cascade for excess water

1853 map of New York canals emboldened, center: the Erie Canal; other lines: railroads, rivers and county borders

Lithograph of the Erie Canal at Lockport, New York c. 1855. Published for Herrman J. Meyer, 164 William Street, New York City.

Aqueduct over Nine Mile Creek north of Camillus, New York, built in 1841 and abandoned c. 1918; one of 32 navigable aqueducts on the Erie Canal, it has since been restored.

Upstream view of the downstream lock at Lock 32, Pittsford, New York

Map of the "Water Level Routes" of the New York Central Railroad (purple), West Shore Railroad (red) and Erie Canal (blue)

Two "low" lift bridges in Lockport, New York, July 2010

The modern Erie Canal has 34 locks, which are painted with the blue and gold colors of the New York State Canal System.

Gateway Harbor in North Tonawanda, about 1000 ft from the present-day western terminus of the Erie Canal where it connects to the Niagara River

The Old Erie Canal and its towpath at Kirkville, New York, within Old Erie Canal State Historic Park

Buffalo's Erie Canal Commercial Slip in Spring 2008

Old Erie Canal State Historic Park, DeWitt, New York

The modern single lock at the Niagara Escarpment

Canal that traverses east–west through upstate New York, eastern United States, as part of the cross-state route of the New York State Canal System .

- Erie Canal

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Syracuse, New York

City in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States.

Skyline from northwest, showing downtown at left to Syracuse University's Carrier Dome at right

State University of New York Upstate Medical University (above); Upstate is ranked No. 35 Best Large Employer in America by Forbes.

Upstate Children's Hospital at Upstate Medical University

The Niagara Mohawk Building (now owned by National Grid USA), an example of art deco, listed in 2010 on the National Register of Historic Places

Syracuse's four interstate highways link the city with its suburbs and other cities throughout the country.

The flag of Syracuse flies over Clinton Square

NBT Bank Stadium is home to the Syracuse Mets baseball team.

Syracuse University's football team plays its games in the JMA Dome.

alt=|Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

alt=|Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

alt=|St. John the Baptist Greek Catholic Church

alt=|South Salina Street Downtown Historic District

alt=|The Amos Block building in downtown

alt=|Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs

alt=|Joe Biden speaking at Syracuse University

Historically, the city has functioned as a major crossroads over the last two centuries, first between the Erie Canal and its branch canals, then of the railway network.

Upstate New York

Geographic region consisting of the portion of New York State lying north of the New York City metropolitan area.

The Fulton Chain Lakes (4th Lake) in the Adirondack Park from Bald Mountain

New York City is highlighted in red; "Upstate" refers to some or all of the area north and west of the city.

The Bear Mountain Bridge across the Hudson River, as seen from Bear Mountain. It connects the northern parts of Westchester and Rockland counties, considered by some to be the southeastern edge of Upstate.

Ethnic ancestries across the United States

Canisteo River Valley in the Allegheny Plateau

Mean annual snowfall (in inches) for Upstate New York, using 1991-2020 climate normals. Snowfall is especially prevalent within the lake-effect snowbelts of western and north central New York.

A 1816 engraving of the Battle of Plattsburgh

Erie Canal at Lockport, New York, in 1839

Harvard Mark I, one of the earliest computers, made by IBM in Endicott

Economic regions of New York, showing approximate location of several upstate subregions

The 1825 opening of the Erie Canal across Upstate New York transformed the economy of the region and the state.

DeWitt Clinton

For the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad locomotive of the same name, see DeWitt Clinton (locomotive).

Print showing Clinton mingling the waters of Lake Erie and the Atlantic, 1826.

Clinton Memorial by Henry Kirke Brown, 1855, at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.

$1,000 Legal Tender note, Series 1880, Fr.187k, depicting DeWitt Clinton.

In this last capacity, he was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal.

Albany, New York

Capital of the U.S. state of New York, and the seat and largest city of Albany County.

North Pearl Street from Maiden Lane North by James Eights, circa 1805

This 1895 map of Albany shows the gridded block system as it expanded around the former turnpikes.

The steamer Albany departs for New York City; at the height of steam travel in 1884, more than 1.5 million passengers took the trip.

The Albany Lumber District was home to the largest lumber market in the nation in 1865.

Broadway in Albany during the funeral ceremonies for Abraham Lincoln (1865)

This 1955 map shows the planned expansion of the Interstate Highway System around Albany.

The Albany Pine Bush is the only sizable inland pine barrens sand dune ecosystem in the United States.

Housing in Ten Broeck Triangle, a subset of the Arbor Hill neighborhood

The 1929 Washington Park Lake House replaced a wooden lake house built in 1876.

Lincoln Park is flanked on the north by the Empire State Plaza.

System Administration Building of the State University of New York

This 1789 etching shows the Dutch influence on the architecture of early Albany.

Price Chopper sponsors the annual Fourth of July fireworks show at the Empire State Plaza (2009 show pictured).

An artist paints tulips during the Tulip Fest at Washington Park.

Ten Broeck Mansion is home to the Albany County Historical Association.

Southwest corner of the Cultural Education Center on Empire State Plaza housing the State Museum, Library, and Archives.

Albany High School is the central high school of the City School District of Albany.

State Quad is one of the four iconic dormitory towers at SUNY Albany's Uptown Campus.

SUNY Polytechnic Institute's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering embodies Albany's emerging high-tech industry.

Albany City Hall, an 1883 Richardsonian Romanesque structure, is the seat of Albany's government.

The First Church in Albany (Reformed) is the oldest congregation in Upstate New York.

WTEN (headquarters pictured), WXXA, and Spectrum News broadcast from within city limits.

The Port of Albany-Rensselaer adds $428 million to the Capital District's $70.1 billion gross product.

Siena guard Ronald Moore dribbles toward the basket in a game against Loyola in January 2010.

It was the original eastern terminus of the Erie Canal, connecting to the Great Lakes, and was home to some of the earliest railroads in the world.

Buffalo, New York

Second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York and the seat of Erie County.

Approximate extent of Wenro territory c. 1630

Satellite image of the Niagara Peninsula and Niagara Frontier; Buffalo is at the lower right.

Racial distribution in Buffalo in 2010: Each dot represents 25 residents.

Buffalo wings with celery and blue cheese

The Albright–Knox Art Gallery, seen from Hoyt Lake in Delaware Park

Common Council Chamber, Buffalo City Hall

Reading Park at Buffalo's Central Library

Buffalo Metro Rail train at the Amherst Street station

In 1825, after its harbor was improved, Buffalo was selected as the terminus of the Erie Canal, which led to its incorporation in 1832.

Hudson River

315 mi river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York in the United States.

The Hudson River Watershed, including the Hudson and Mohawk rivers

The mouth of the Hudson (yellow), located between Jersey City and New York City

The Hudson River flowing out of Henderson Lake in Tahawus

The river from Poughkeepsie, looking north.

The river between Hudson Waterfront in New Jersey (left) and Manhattan (right)

The bulk carrier Nord Angel breaking ice on the Hudson

Robert Havell, Jr., View of the Hudson River from Tarrytown, c. 1866

The George Washington Bridge links Upper Manhattan and Fort Lee, New Jersey

The Hudson Valley Hot-Air Balloon Festival, 2009

US Airways Flight 1549 after landing on the waters of the Hudson River in January 2009

North River by George Bellows, 1908, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

The Norrie Point Environmental Center in Staatsburg, headquarters of the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve

Debris floating on the river near the World Trade Center, 1973

A juvenile house sparrow by the Hudson River

The Hudson was also the eastern outlet for the Erie Canal, which, when completed in 1825, became an important transportation artery for the early 19th century United States.

Lock (water navigation)

Device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways.

Canal lock and lock-keeper's cottage on the Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Union Canal at Marsworth in Hertfordshire, England

Lock on the River Neckar at Heidelberg in Germany

Three Gorges Dam lock near Yichang on Yangtze river, China

Iroquois Lock on the Saint Lawrence Seaway

A pound lock on the Keitele–Päijänne Canal at Äänekoski in Central Finland

A plan and side view of a generic, empty canal lock. A lock chamber separated from the rest of the canal by an upper pair and a lower pair of mitre gates. The gates in each pair close against each other at an 18° angle to approximate an arch against the water pressure on the "upstream" side of the gates when the water level on the "downstream" side is lower.

Operation of a canal lock
1–3. Boat enters 'empty' lock
4. Bottom gates are closed, bottom paddles closed, top paddles opened, lock starts to fill
5. Lock is filling with water, lifting boat to the higher level

Collection of lock windlasses. Note: rakes are for clearing trash out of the lock.

Snubbing a boat to keep it from hitting the downstream gates. Note the rope wrapped around the snubbing post.

Doubled locks. Left lock has boat in it, right lock (center of drawing) is empty. This is on the Erie Canal at Lockport.

Berendrecht Lock (right) and Zandvliet Lock (left), located at the entrance to the Port of Antwerp (top) from the Scheldt (foreground)

Barges at a lock on the Mississippi River

Model of early river pound lock, constructed in Lankheet water park, Netherlands

The turf-sided Monkey Marsh Lock on the Kennet & Avon Canal at Thatcham

Three Gorges Dam model view. A pair of five locking steps is at center with a ship lift to the left

The cill exposed in the deep Pont de Flandre lock on the Canal Saint-Denis, Paris

Top gate of a lock, showing the balance beams and paddle winding gear

200-year-old paddle gear on the Wiener Neustädter Kanal, Austria

Water conservation gear on the Birmingham Canal Navigations

On the old Erie Canal, there was a danger of injury when operating the paddles: water, on reaching a certain position, would push the paddles with a force which could tear the windlass (or handle) out of one's hands, or if one was standing in the wrong place, could knock one into the canal, leading to injuries and drownings.