The Champlain Valley (or more technically correct, the Champlain Lake Valley) is a region of the United States around Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York extending slightly into Quebec, Canada—as part of the St. Lawrence River drainage basin drained northward by the Richelieu River into the St. Lawrence River at Sorel-Tracy, Quebec (northeast of Montreal)—but the Richelieu valley is not generally referred to as part of the Champlain.
The Champlain Lake Valley is also the most heavily populated region in Vermont, broadly stretching eastward from the lake's shore to the spine of the Green Mountains. The state's largest city, Burlington is located on the lake; the city's associated suburban communities encompass part of the central section of the valley. Beyond urbanized Chittenden County, however, the valley's landscape is primarily open pasture and row crops, making the Champlain Valley the most productive agricultural region of Vermont.
The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of Clinton County and Essex County. Most of this area is part of the Adirondack Park, offering tremendous views of the High Peaks region and many recreational opportunities in the park and along the relatively undeveloped coast line of Lake Champlain. The city of Plattsburgh is to the north and the historic village of Ticonderoga in the southern part of the region.
Read more about Champlain Valley: Geology and Physiography
Famous quotes containing the word valley:
“Ah! I have penetrated to those meadows on the morning of many a first spring day, jumping from hummock to hummock, from willow root to willow root, when the wild river valley and the woods were bathed in so pure and bright a light as would have waked the dead, if they had been slumbering in their graves, as some suppose. There needs no stronger proof of immortality. All things must live in such a light. O Death, where was thy sting? O Grave, where was thy victory, then?”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)