Erie Canal - Route

Route

The canal began on the west side of the Hudson River at Albany, and ran north to Watervliet, where the Champlain Canal branched off. At Cohoes, it climbed the escarpment on the west side of the Hudson River and then turned west along the south shore of the Mohawk River, crossing to the north side at Crescent and again to the south at Rexford. The canal continued west near the south shore of the Mohawk River all the way to Rome, where the Mohawk turns north.

At Rome, the canal continued west parallel to Wood Creek, which flows westward into Oneida Lake, and turned southwest and west cross-country to avoid the lake. From Canastota west, it ran roughly along the north (lower) edge of the Onondaga Escarpment, passing through Syracuse and Rochester. Before reaching Rochester, the canal uses a series of natural ridges to cross the deep valley of Irondequoit Creek (a preglacial course of the Genesee River). At Lockport the canal turned southwest to rise to the top of the Niagara Escarpment, using the ravine of Eighteen Mile Creek. The canal continued south-southwest to Pendleton, where it turned west and southwest, mainly using the channel of Tonawanda Creek. From Tonawanda south toward Buffalo, it ran just east of the Niagara River, where it reached its "Western Terminus" at Little Buffalo Creek (later it became the Commercial Slip), which discharged into the Buffalo River just above its confluence with Lake Erie. With Buffalo's recent re-watering of the Commercial Slip, a water route from the eastern terminus at Albany to the western terminus at Buffalo is once again open.

The Erie made use of the favorable conditions of New York's unique topography providing that area with the only break in the Appalachians south of the St. Lawrence River. A major feature of New York is that the Hudson River below Glens Falls follows a valley formed by geologic forces, not erosion. The Hudson is tidal to Troy and Albany is west of the Appalachians. It allowed for east-west navigation from the coast to the Great Lakes within U.S. territory. The canal system thus gave New York State a competitive advantage, helped New York City develop as an international trade center, and allowed Buffalo to grow from just 200 settlers in 1820 to more than 18,000 people by 1840. The port of New York became essentially the Atlantic home port for all of the Midwest. It was because of this vital and critical connection that New York State would become known as the great "Empire State".