177-808: Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York . Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley , the Capital District , the Mohawk Valley region , Central New York , the Southern Tier , the Finger Lakes region, Western New York , and the North Country . Major cities across upstate New York from east to west include
354-665: A chateau on Castle Island , within present-day Albany; it was abandoned the following year due to flooding. In 1614, the Dutch, under the command of Hendrick Corstiaensen, rebuilt the French chateau, which they called Fort Nassau . Fort Nassau was the first Dutch settlement in North America, and was located along the Hudson River, also within present-day Albany. The small fort served as a trading post and warehouse. Located on
531-628: A humid subtropical climate . Weather in New York is heavily influenced by two continental air masses: a warm, humid one from the southwest and a cold, dry one from the northwest. Downstate New York (comprising New York City, Long Island, and lower portions of the Hudson Valley) have rather hot summers with some periods of high humidity and cold, damp winters which are relatively mild compared to temperatures in Upstate New York, due to
708-530: A physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains , located in southeastern New York . As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas close to or within the borders of the Catskill Park , a 700,000-acre (2,800 km ) forest preserve protected from many forms of development under New York state law. Geologically, the Catskills are
885-487: A boundary between upstate and downstate New York. Yet another usage follows the U.S. Census definition of the New York metropolitan area prior to 2010, which includes all of included Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam counties. This definition was used by the plaintiffs in the federal redistricting case Rodriguez v. Pataki . In New York state law, the definition of the upstate boundary also varies: while Westchester
1062-533: A career most natives had turned to in hopes of trading with whites first. This completely changed the ethnography of the region, and most large game was hunted out before whites ever fully explored the land. Still, afterward, the Iroquois Confederacy offered shelter to refugees of the Mascouten , Erie, Chonnonton , Tutelo , Saponi , and Tuscarora nations. The Tuscarora became the sixth nation of
1239-728: A family in the United States. Five of the six Iroquois nations have filed land claims against New York State (or have sought settlement of pending claims), based on late 18th-century treaties following the American Revolutionary War with the State of New York (which did not have constitutional authority to treat with American Indian nations) and the United States. The headwaters of the Delaware , Susquehanna , Mohawk , Hudson, and Allegheny rivers are located in
1416-415: A favored destination for vacationers from New York City in the mid-20th century. The region's many large resorts gave many young stand-up comedians an opportunity to hone their craft. Since the late 19th century, the Catskills have been a haven for artists, musicians and writers, especially in and around the towns of Woodstock and Phoenicia . Nicolaes Visscher I 's 1656 map of New Netherland located
1593-654: A major center of radical abolitionist activity and was an important nexus of the Underground Railroad . Resistance to the Fugitive Slave Act was particularly heated in the region, as evidenced by such events as the Jerry Rescue . The American women's rights movement was also born in upstate New York at this time. The Seneca Falls Convention , the first women's rights convention, was held at Seneca Falls in 1848. The Rochester Convention ,
1770-709: A major threat to the Abenaki and Mohicans, while the Susquehannock briefly conquered the Lenape in the 1600s. The most devastating event of the century, however, was the Beaver Wars . From approximately 1640–1680, the Iroquois peoples waged campaigns which extended from modern-day Michigan to Virginia against Algonquian and Siouan tribes, as well as each other. The aim was to control more land for animal trapping ,
1947-635: A mature dissected plateau , a flat region subsequently uplifted and eroded into sharp relief by watercourses. The Catskills form the northeastern end of the Allegheny Plateau (also known as the Appalachian Plateau ). The Catskills were named by early Dutch settlers. They are well known in American society as the setting for films and works of art, including many 19th-century Hudson River School paintings, as well as for being
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#17327651468032124-674: A number of notable waterways, with the Susquehanna , Delaware , and Hudson Rivers all originating in the region, and is bordered on its northern and western edges by the Saint Lawrence River and the Great Lakes . As a result, the region is a significant source of hydroelectric power (going back to the creation of the world's first hydroelectric dam by Nikola Tesla at Niagara Falls ) and drinking water (with multiple reservoirs serving New York City). Upstate New York
2301-490: A result, upstate New York became a hotbed for manufacturing during the Second Industrial Revolution , giving birth to such firms as General Electric , IBM , Kodak , and Xerox . The rapid industrialization led to a large influx of immigrants seeking jobs at factories across the region. Since the mid-20th century, American deindustrialization has contributed to economic and population decline , and
2478-598: A small group known as the Ouabano migrated southwest into West Virginia at an earlier time. They may have merged with the Shawnee . The Mohawk and Susquehannock were the most militaristic . Trying to corner trade with the Europeans, they targeted other tribes. The Mohawk were also known for refusing white settlement on their land and discriminating against any of their people who converted to Christianity . They posed
2655-659: A temperature of −13 °F (−25 °C) or lower can be expected in the northern highlands (Northern Plateau) and 5 °F (−15 °C) or colder in the southwestern and east-central highlands of the Southern Tier. New York had a record-high temperature of 108 °F (42.2 °C) on July 22, 1926, in the Albany area. Its record-lowest temperature during the winter was −52 °F (−46.7 °C) in 1979. Governors Island, Manhattan , in New York Harbor ,
2832-676: A total area of 54,555 square miles (141,297 km ) and ranks as the 27th-largest state by size . The highest elevation in New York is Mount Marcy in the Adirondack High Peaks in Northern New York , at 5,344 feet (1,629 meters) above sea level ; while the state's lowest point is at sea level, on the Atlantic Ocean in Downstate New York . In contrast with New York City's urban landscape,
3009-682: A unique region neither upstate nor downstate, drew only 7%.) An informal 2018 poll found the Hudson Valley region is the most heavily disputed area regarding whether it is upstate or downstate. A number of businesses and institutions in the area have "upstate" as part of their name. Examples of this include the State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse , the Upstate New York Chapter of
3186-611: A water border with Rhode Island , while Connecticut has land and sea borders. Except for areas near the New York Harbor and the Upper Delaware River , New York has a mostly land border with two Mid-Atlantic states , New Jersey and Pennsylvania . New York is the only state that borders both the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean . The Hudson River begins near Lake Tear of the Clouds and flows south through
3363-562: Is a state in the Northeastern United States . One of the Mid-Atlantic states, it borders the Atlantic Ocean , New England , Canada, and the Great Lakes . With almost 19.6 million residents, it is the fourth-most populous state in the United States , and the 27th-largest state by area , with a total area of 54,556 square miles (141,300 km ). New York has a varied geography . The southeastern part of
3540-564: Is a temperate rainforest [1] [2] and meets all 4 of the criteria in Alaback’s definition of what qualifies or defines a temperate rainforest. [3] 1. Averages at least 55 inches of precipitation per year with at least 10% of its average annual precipitation during the summer months. [4] 2. Cool, frequently overcast summers with average July temperature less than 16 degrees Celsius (60.8 degrees Fahrenheit) 3. Infrequent forest fires/wildfires and fires do not play an important role in shaping
3717-467: Is among the largest university systems in the nation. New York City is home to the headquarters of the United Nations , and it is sometimes described as the world's most important city, the cultural , financial , and media epicenter, and the capital of the world. The Native American tribes in what is now New York were predominantly Iroquois and Algonquian . Long Island
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#17327651468033894-681: Is an organization whose members have climbed all the peaks in the Catskills over 3,500 feet (1,100 m). The highest mountain, Slide Mountain in Ulster County, has an elevation of 4,180 feet (1,270 m). Climatically, the Catskills lie within the Allegheny Highlands forests ecoregion . According to the Köppen climate classification system, the Catskill Mountains have two climate zones. The vast majority of
4071-418: Is anchored by the city of Syracuse ; between the central and western parts of the state, New York is dominated by the Finger Lakes , a popular tourist destination. To the south, along the state border with Pennsylvania , the Southern Tier sits atop the Allegheny Plateau , representing some of the northernmost reaches of Appalachia . New York was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that went on to form
4248-481: Is common among New York City residents and significantly less farther north. This definition is used by the Department of Environmental Conservation . A cheeky joke among Manhattanites is that anything north of 14th Street is "upstate". Another usage locates the upstate/downstate boundary farther north, at the point where New York City's suburbs segue into its exurbs , as the exurbs do not generally fall within
4425-530: Is covered by ice. The summer climate is cool in the Adirondacks, Catskills, and at higher elevations of the Southern Tier. Buffalo and its metropolitan area are described as climate change havens for their weather pattern in Western New York. Summer daytime temperatures range from the high 70s to low 80s °F (25 to 28 °C), over most of the state. In the majority of winter seasons,
4602-436: Is especially true for the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Oswego and Syracuse, and is largely due to lake-effect snow from Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The villages of Old Forge and Saranac Lake , both in the Adirondacks, often vie on winter nights with places like International Falls, Minnesota , and Fargo, North Dakota , for the coldest spot in the nation. New York (state) New York , also called New York State ,
4779-711: Is famous for its fly fishing , although in recent years it has been plagued by invasive plants . Road and mountain biking are fairly popular in the range. Bicycle racing includes the Tour of the Catskills, a three-day road stage race held in Green and Ulster counties each summer, and the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Windham. Other cycling resources include the Catskill Scenic Trail ,
4956-690: Is home to numerous popular tourist and recreational destinations, including Niagara Falls , the Adirondack and Catskill Mountains , the Thousand Islands , the National Baseball Hall of Fame , and the Finger Lakes . There is no clear official boundary between upstate New York and downstate New York . The most expansive definition of the upstate New York region excludes only New York City and Long Island , which are always considered to be part of downstate New York; this usage
5133-539: Is less than 16 degrees Celsius (60.8 degrees Fahrenheit). As for the 3rd criteria, forest fires or wildfires also are very rare and many places within the Catskills which have never had any forest fires ever before and many the trees and ecology of the forest is old and untainted by wildfires or forest fires have not played any significant role in the ecology or ecosystem of the forest with the exception of Native Americans who did prescribed burning in some areas in order to create land for farming. [7] And of course it also meets
5310-692: Is noted for making an almost 270-degree turn around Panther Mountain , following a buried 6-mile (10 km) impact crater rim. It is famous for tubing , a sport of rafting down a river in an inner tube. Many tubers begin their trip at Phoenicia, New York , and head down the creek towards the Ashokan Reservoir at Olive, New York . The Ashokan Reservoir is part of the New York City water supply system, with fishing allowed under permit, but swimming and most other recreational uses are forbidden. River canoeing and kayaking are popular. There are 42 rapids ranging from class I to V+ . The Esopus Creek
5487-536: Is planned to host a US$ 1 billion research and education center poised to make New York the global leader in addressing the climate crisis . Due to New York's relatively large land area and unique geography compared to other eastern states, there are several distinct ecoregions present in the state, many of them reduced heavily due to urbanization and other human activities: Southern Great Lakes forests in Western New York , New England–Acadian forests on
Upstate New York - Misplaced Pages Continue
5664-406: Is seemingly always considered downstate under state law, some definitions include Rockland and Putnam counties in the downstate region, and others also include Orange and Dutchess counties; all of these counties are served by Metro-North Railroad lines. Ulster County , and, in the largest state-defined extent of downstate, Columbia County , are also sometimes included. The division line between
5841-606: Is shared between New York and Ontario as it flows on the Niagara River from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. The Delaware River Basin Compact, signed in 1961 by New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania , Delaware , and the federal government, regulates the utilization of water of the Delaware system. Under the Köppen climate classification , most of New York has a humid continental climate , though New York City and Long Island have
6018-527: Is true for New York City: four of its five boroughs are situated on three islands at the mouth of the Hudson River : Manhattan Island ; Staten Island ; and Long Island , which contains Brooklyn and Queens at its western end. The state's borders include a water boundary in (clockwise from the west) two Great Lakes ( Lake Erie and Lake Ontario , which are connected by the Niagara River );
6195-729: The Landt van Kats Kill at the mouth of Catskill Creek . The region to the south is identified as Hooge Landt van Esopus (High Lands of the Esopus ), a reference to a local band of northern Lenape Native Americans who inhabited the banks of the Hudson and hunted in the highlands along the Esopus Creek . While the meaning of the name ("cat creek [ kill ]" in Dutch ) and the namer (early Dutch explorers) are settled matters, how and why
6372-581: The Adirondack Mountains and the Catskill Mountains (part of the wider Appalachian Mountains ). The east–west Mohawk River Valley bisects the more mountainous regions of Upstate and flows into the north–south Hudson River valley near the state capital of Albany . Western New York , home to the cities of Buffalo and Rochester , is part of the Great Lakes region and borders Lake Ontario and Lake Erie . Central New York
6549-590: The Adirondack Mountains , which are sometimes mistaken as part of the Appalachians but are in fact a southern extension of the Canadian Shield . In the more mountainous eastern parts of upstate New York, along the valleys of the Hudson River and the Mohawk River , have been historically important travel corridors and remain so today. Western New York in the vicinity of Buffalo is very flat, as it
6726-531: The American Civil War , in terms of finances, volunteer soldiers, and supplies. The state provided more than 370,000 soldiers to the Union armies. Over 53,000 New Yorkers died in service, roughly one of every seven who served. However, Irish draft riots in 1862 were a significant embarrassment. Since the early 19th century, New York City has been the largest port of entry for legal immigration into
6903-1003: The Arthritis Foundation serving 31 of New York's 62 counties , and the VA Healthcare Network Upstate New York, which includes all of New York State northward and westward from Kingston in Ulster County . Other organizations in New York with "upstate" in their name include the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association (now known as the Liberty League ), the Upstate Correctional Facility , the Upstate New York Club Hockey League ,
7080-636: The Capital District , the Mohawk Valley , the North Country , Western New York or Central New York . Within New York, surveys have had difficulty determining a consensus. In a 2016 poll of New York voters in which respondents were asked to choose among four definitions of where upstate begins, three were about equally common, selected by between 25% and 30% of respondents each: north of New York City, north of Westchester County, and north of Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County . (The fourth, which also started north of Poughkeepsie but excluded Buffalo as
7257-525: The Capital Region entered Phase 1 of reopening. On May 26, the Hudson Valley began Phase 1, and New York City partially reopened on June 8. During July 2020, a federal judge ruled Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio exceeded authority by limiting religious gatherings to 25% when others operated at 50% capacity. On Thanksgiving Eve, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked additional religious restrictions imposed by Cuomo for areas with high infection rates. The state of New York covers
Upstate New York - Misplaced Pages Continue
7434-422: The Census Bureau-defined New York–Newark Urban Area . This latter boundary places most of the Lower Hudson Valley, or Westchester and Rockland counties and about one-third of Putnam County , downstate, while putting the northwestern edge of Rockland County as well as the northernmost quarter of Westchester County (including Peekskill ) upstate. Conversely, area residents often use Interstate 84 to delineate
7611-423: The Continental Army at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777, a success that influenced France to ally with the revolutionaries; the state constitution was enacted in 1777. New York became the 11th state to ratify the United States Constitution , on July 26, 1788. In an attempt to retain their sovereignty and remain an independent nation positioned between the new United States and British North America , four of
7788-406: The Declaration of Independence on July 9, 1776. The New York State Constitution was framed by a convention which assembled at White Plains on July 10, 1776, and after repeated adjournments and changes of location, finished its work at Kingston on Sunday evening, April 20, 1777, when the new constitution drafted by John Jay was adopted with but one dissenting vote. It was not submitted to
7965-401: The Devonian and early Mississippian period (395 to 325 million years ago). Over that time, thousands of feet of these sediments built up, slowly moving the Devonian seashore further west. A meteor impact occurred in the shallow sea approximately 375 mya , creating a 10 km (6 mi) diameter crater. This crater eventually filled with sediments and became Panther Mountain through
8142-681: The Great Lakes , with the port of New York City. Improving transportation, it enabled additional population migration to territories west of New York. After 1850, railroads largely replaced the canal. The connectivity offered by the canal, and subsequently the railroads, led to an economic boom across the entire state through the 1950s. Major corporations that got their start in New York during this time include American Express , AT&T , Bristol Myers Squibb , Carrier , Chase , General Electric , Goldman Sachs , IBM , Kodak , Macy's , NBC , Pfizer , Random House , RCA , Tiffany & Co. , Wells Fargo , Western Union , and Xerox . New York City
8319-419: The Hudson River . The Catskills occupy much of two counties ( Greene and Ulster ), and extend slightly into Delaware , Sullivan , and southwestern Schoharie counties. At the range's eastern end, the mountains begin dramatically with the Catskill Escarpment rising up suddenly from the Hudson Valley . The western boundary is far less certain, as the mountains gradually decline in height and grade into
8496-420: The Iroquois Nations fought on the side of the British; only the Oneida and their dependents, the Tuscarora, allied themselves with the Americans. In retaliation for attacks on the frontier led by Joseph Brant and Loyalist Mohawk forces , the Sullivan Expedition of 1779 destroyed nearly 50 Iroquois villages, adjacent croplands and winter stores, forcing many refugees to British-held Niagara. As allies of
8673-501: The Lake Champlain Valley . The Great Appalachian Valley dominates eastern New York and contains Lake Champlain Valley as its northern half and the Hudson Valley as its southern half within the state. The Tug Hill region arises as a cuesta east of Lake Ontario . The state of New York contains a part of the Marcellus shale , which extends into Ohio and Pennsylvania. Upstate and Downstate are often used informally to distinguish New York City or its greater metropolitan area from
8850-416: The Massachusetts Bay Colony claimed all of the region west of Massachusetts to the Great Lakes. The Province of New York also claimed jurisdiction east to the Connecticut River . To pursue this claim north of Connecticut and Massachusetts, New York granted lands to settlers in what is now Vermont at the same time that New Hampshire made grants of the same lands. When Vermont declared independence in 1777,
9027-475: The New England border, Northeastern coastal forests in the lower Hudson Valley and western Long Island , Atlantic coastal pine barrens in southern Long Island, Northeastern interior dry–mesic oak forest in the eastern Southern Tier and upper Hudson Valley, Appalachian–Blue Ridge forests in the Hudson Valley), Central Appalachian dry oak–pine forest around the Hudson Valley, Eastern Great Lakes and Hudson Lowlands , Eastern forest–boreal transition in
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#17327651468039204-523: The New York State Legislature created the Board of Commissioners of Immigration to regulate immigration. The first permanent immigration depot in New York was established in 1855 at Castle Garden , a converted War of 1812 era fort located within what is now Battery Park , at the tip of Lower Manhattan. The first immigrants to arrive at the new depot were aboard three ships that had just been released from quarantine . Castle Garden served as New York's immigrant depot until it closed on April 18, 1890, when
9381-404: The Phelps and Gorham Purchase and the Holland Purchase . Many of the settlers of what then became Central and Western New York came from the New England states. The Central New York Military Tract , where many of the townships were given the names of classical military and literary figures by Robert Harpur , was established to grant land to Revolutionary War veterans. Some of Northern New York
9558-423: The Philadelphia Convention , which drafted the United States Constitution, in which he also took part. The new government was to be a strong federal national government to replace the relatively weaker confederation of individual states. Following heated debate, which included the publication of The Federalist Papers as a series of installments in New York City newspapers, New York was the 11th state to ratify
9735-481: The Province of New York . During the American Revolutionary War , a group of colonists eventually succeeded in establishing independence, and the state ratified the then new United States Constitution in 1788. From the early 19th century, New York's development of its interior, beginning with the construction of the Erie Canal , gave it incomparable advantages over other regions of the United States. The state built its political, cultural, and economic ascendancy over
9912-463: The Royal Proclamation of 1763 , which established the western and northern boundary of the Province of New York at the limits of the Hudson, Mohawk and Delaware River watersheds. The area between that boundary and the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River, including west of the Appalachian Mountains, was to be the " Indian Reserve ." Between 1774 and 1783, deeply divided colonists waged civil war on each other directly and by proxy, through attacks such as
10089-418: The Susquehannock and the Erie . Many of the Wampanoag and Mohican peoples were caught up in King Philip's War , a joint effort of many New England tribes to push Europeans off their land. After the death of their leader, Chief Philip Metacomet , most of those peoples fled inland, splitting into the Abenaki and the Schaghticoke . Many of the Mohicans remained in the region until the 1800s, however,
10266-409: The Taconic Mountains are located today (though significantly larger). Finer sediment was deposited further westward, and thus the rocks change from gravel conglomerates to sandstone and shale . Further west, these fresh water deposits intermingle with shallow marine sandstone and shale until the end, in deeper water limestone . The uplift and erosion of the Acadian Mountains was occurring during
10443-476: The United States Constitution , on July 26, 1788. New York City remained the national capital under the new constitution until 1790 when it was moved to Philadelphia until 1800, when it was relocated to its current location in Washington, D.C. and was the site of the inauguration of President George Washington, In the first session of the Supreme Court of the United States , the United States Bill of Rights were drafted. Transportation in Western New York
10620-407: The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York places Sullivan County and Dutchess County in the Southern District, and Ulster and Columbia counties in the Northern District. Residents of upstate New York typically prefer to identify with subregions , such as the Hudson Valley (Middle and Upper),
10797-476: The Upstate New York Synod , and the Upstate Citizens for Equality . Before the arrival of Europeans, the area was long inhabited by Iroquoian -speaking people, mainly west of the Hudson River and around the Great Lakes and Algonquian -speaking people, mainly east of the Hudson River. The conflict between the two peoples continued through the period of early European colonization, and the French, Dutch and English tended to ally with their trading partners among
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#173276514680310974-404: The Wesleyan Church and Free Methodist Church (both offshoots of Methodism that originated in political disputes with the mainline Methodist church ), also survive. In the 19th century, extractive industries changed the landscape. Potash was manufactured as the land was cleared for farming. Logging was rampant in the Adirondacks. Iron was mined in the Adirondacks and the North Country. By
11151-471: The World Trade Center site . On October 29 and 30, 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused extensive destruction of the state's shorelines, ravaging portions of New York City, Long Island , and southern Westchester with record-high storm surge , with severe flooding and high winds causing power outages for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, and leading to gasoline shortages and disruption of mass transit systems. The storm and its profound effects have prompted
11328-517: The ring-necked pheasant , northern bobwhite , ruffed grouse , spruce grouse , Canada jay , wild turkey , blue jay , eastern bluebird (the state bird ), American robin , and black-capped chickadee . Birds of prey that are present in the state are great horned owls , bald eagles , red-tailed hawks , American kestrels , and northern harriers . Waterfowl like mallards , wood ducks , canvasbacks , American black ducks , trumpeter swans , Canada geese , and blue-winged teals can be found in
11505-401: The semiconductor industry , moved its headquarters from Silicon Valley, California to its semiconductor chip manufacturing facility in Malta, New York . Since the late 20th century, with the decline of manufacturing and its jobs, the area has generally suffered a net population loss, most heavily in Western New York. By contrast, many Amish and Mennonite families are recent arrivals to
11682-539: The white-footed mouse , North American least shrew , little brown bat , muskrat , eastern gray squirrel , eastern cottontail , American ermine , groundhog , striped skunk , fisher , North American river otter , raccoon , bobcat , eastern coyote , red fox , gray fox white-tailed deer , moose , and American black bear ; extirpated mammals include Canada lynx , American bison , wolverine , Allegheny woodrat , caribou , eastern elk , eastern cougar , and eastern wolf . Some species of birds in New York are
11859-421: The 1720s. In what became known as the Albany Congress in 1754, delegates from seven of the thirteen British North American colonies met at Albany to pursue a treaty with the powerful Mohawk. Benjamin Franklin , a Pennsylvania delegate, proposed a plan for uniting the seven colonies that greatly exceeded the scope of the congress. The delegates spent most of their time debating this Albany Plan of union, one of
12036-400: The 1870s, business leaders, concerned about the effect of deforestation on the water supply necessary to the Erie Canal, advocated for the creation of forest preserves in the Adirondacks and the Catskills. The Adirondack Park and Catskill Park were created and strengthened by a series of legislation between 1885 and 1894, when the " forever wild " provision of the New York State Constitution
12213-423: The 1905–1907 Mills Commission , charged with investigating the origins of baseball , named Cooperstown as the place where baseball was invented in the 1830s or 1840s by Abner Doubleday . Cooperstown is the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum . (Modern research suggests that the game was actually developed in its modern form in New York City.) In the pre–Civil War era, upstate New York became
12390-434: The 1970s as fire spotting from airplanes had become more effective and efficient, so the fire towers were decommissioned; the Hunter Mountain Fire Tower was the last to be taken out of service in 1990. Six remaining towers were renovated and opened to the public as observation posts with panoramic views and a tower was opened at the Catskill Visitor Center in 2022. In 2024 a tower was restored to Bramley Mountain , bringing
12567-401: The 4th criteria of dormant season caused by lower temperatures in the winter and snow is very common in the winter Although the Catskills are sometimes compared with the Adirondack Mountains farther north, the two mountain ranges are not geologically related, as the Adirondacks are a continuation of the Canadian Shield . Similarly, the Shawangunk Ridge , which forms the southeastern edge of
12744-548: The Adirondacks, Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests around the Adirondacks, and Allegheny Highlands forests , most of which are in the western Southern Tier. Some species that can be found in this state are American ginseng , starry stonewort , waterthyme , water chestnut, eastern poison ivy , poison sumac , giant hogweed , cow parsnip and common nettle . There are more than 70 mammal species, more than 20 bird species, some species of amphibians, and several reptile species. Species of mammals that are found in New York are
12921-632: The Battle of Sackets Harbor . The city of Buffalo was razed by the British as well. After the war, the US government began to construct Fort Montgomery just south of the border at Rouses Point on Lake Champlain. Subsequently, it was discovered that at that point, the actual 45th parallel was three-quarters of a mile south of the surveyed line, putting the fort, which became known as "Fort Blunder", in Canada. This
13098-522: The British crown. Thousands emigrated to colonies that remained under British rule, such as Nova Scotia and the newly established Upper Canada (now Ontario ). Haudenosaunee who had fought with the British also fled. The British Crown granted a large tract of land in Upper Canada to their Haudenosaunee allies, who established the Grand River settlement. In the federal Treaty of Canandaigua ,
13275-490: The British, the Iroquois were forced out of New York, although they had not been part of treaty negotiations. They resettled in Canada after the war and were given land grants by the Crown. In the treaty settlement, the British ceded most Indian lands to the new United States. Because New York made a treaty with the Iroquois without getting Congressional approval, some of the land purchases have been subject to land claim suits since
13452-785: The Catskill Mountain Branch of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad which was absorbed into the New York Central railroad in 1932. Oneonta to Kingston passenger rail service continued until 1954. Part of the line still exists but now serves only freight. The southern part of the Catskills was served by the New York, Ontario and Western Railway . Over the course of 1950, service on the NYO&;W downscaled to summer only. In its last years it ran trains from Roscoe to Weehawken, New Jersey , via Liberty . It connected with
13629-734: The Catskill region are Albany International Airport to the north and Stewart International Airport in Newburgh to the south. Smaller airports in the region include: The Catskills serve as the setting for many works of fiction, such as the short story Rip Van Winkle , and the children's book My Side of the Mountain . The Hudson Valley Film Commission maintains a list of films set in the Hudson Valley/Catskills Region. Of them, more than three dozen films are set in
13806-576: The Catskills have a warm summer humid continental climate ( Dfb ) with some isolated locations in valleys with hot summer humid continental climate ( Dfa ). The plant hardiness zone on Slide Mountain at 4,180 feet (1,270 m) is 5a with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of −16.6 °F (−27.0 °C). The plant hardiness zone in Margaretville at 1,000 feet (300 m) is 5b with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of −10.6 °F (−23.7 °C). The Catskill Mountains also
13983-543: The Catskills still average at least 55 inches annually. [6] For the 2nd criteria, summers in the Catskills are indeed cooler, not as hot and frequently cloudy, overcast, and foggy and even frequently chilly overnight as soon as the sun goes down. The tops of the mountains also meet the criteria of average July temperature less than 16 degrees Celsius (60.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in July. The top of Slide Mountain for example has an average July temperature of 60.3 degrees Fahrenheit which
14160-524: The Catskills, is part of the geologically distinct Ridge-and-Valley province and is a continuation of the same ridge known as Kittatinny Mountain in New Jersey and Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania. The Catskill Mountains are more of a dissected plateau than a series of mountain ranges. The sediments that make up the rocks in the Catskills were deposited when the ancient Acadian Mountains in
14337-481: The Catskills. The town of Bethel, New York , located in the Catskills, was home to the famous Woodstock music festival that took place August 15–18, 1969. The event, wherein 32 music acts performed in front of over 500,000 concert-goers, was captured in the documentary movie Woodstock (1970). The site is now home to the world-renowned Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. The many hotels and vacation resorts located in
14514-875: The Catskills: Belleayre Mountain (run by the Olympic Regional Development Authority ); Hunter Mountain (the first ski area to install snowmaking machines in New York); Windham Mountain ; Holiday Mountain Ski and Fun in Monticello ; and Plattekill Mountain in Roxbury . Joppenbergh Mountain , in Rosendale Village hosted its first ski jumping competition in 1937. Ski jumping was continued on
14691-702: The Continental forces. British efforts to divide the New England colonies from the rest led to battles including the Battle of Valcour Island and the Battle of Saratoga , a significant turning point in the war. While New York City remained in the hands of the British during most of the war, the upstate region was eventually dominated by the Colonial forces. At the end of the war, the Continental Army
14868-694: The Dutch government in 1613, codified relations between the Haudenosaunee and European colonizers, and formed the basis of subsequent treaties. In the mid-17th century, during the Beaver Wars , the Iroquois were victorious and dominated the tribes of Neutral Indians , Wenrohronon and the Erie Indians in western New York. Survivors were mostly assimilated into the Seneca people of the Iroquois; some are believed to have escaped to South Carolina , where they merged with other Indian tribes. The region
15045-741: The Headwaters Trails in Stamford and the Roundtopia trail network (mapped by the Round Top Mountain Bike Association). Several ski centers provide downhill mountain bicycling in the warmer months. Within the range is the Catskill Park , comprising over 700,000 acres (280,000 ha). Catskill Park is part of New York's Forest Preserve . Not all the land is publicly owned; about 60% remains in private hands, but new sections are added frequently. Most of
15222-610: The Hudson River flood plain, the rudimentary fort was washed away by flooding in 1617, and abandoned for good after Fort Orange (New Netherland) was built nearby in 1623. Henry Hudson's 1609 voyage marked the beginning of European involvement in the area. Sailing for the Dutch East India Company and looking for a passage to Asia, he entered the Upper New York Bay on September 11 of that year. Word of his findings encouraged Dutch merchants to explore
15399-602: The Iroquois Confederacy include the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Tuscarora and Mohawk. The Iroquois fought for both sides during the Revolutionary War ; afterwards many pro-British Iroquois migrated to Canada. Today, the Iroquois still live in several enclaves across New York and Ontario. Meanwhile, the Lenape formed a close relationship with William Penn . However, upon Penn's death, his sons managed to take over much of their lands and banish them to Ohio. When
15576-457: The Iroquois cede the vast majority of their land in upstate New York to the newly formed United States. The 1825 opening of the Erie Canal across upstate New York transformed the economy of the region and the state. The canal greatly eased the movement of goods from across the upper Midwest and the cities along the Great Lakes through upstate New York and to the port of New York City. As
15753-596: The Iroquois. In the 1700s, Iroquoian peoples would take in the remaining Susquehannock of Pennsylvania after they were decimated in the French and Indian War . Most of these other groups assimilated and eventually ceased to exist as separate tribes. Then, after the American Revolution , a large group of Seneca split off and returned to Ohio, becoming known as the Mingo Seneca. The current Six Nations of
15930-557: The King of France's sister . Verrazzano described it as "a vast coastline with a deep delta in which every kind of ship could pass" and he adds: "that it extends inland for a league and opens up to form a beautiful lake. This vast sheet of water swarmed with native boats." He landed on the tip of Manhattan and possibly on the furthest point of Long Island. Verrazzano's stay was interrupted by a storm which pushed him north towards Martha's Vineyard . In 1540, French traders from New France built
16107-589: The Lenape. In 1524, Giovanni da Verrazzano , an Italian explorer in the service of the French crown , explored the Atlantic coast of North America between the Carolinas and Newfoundland , including New York Harbor and Narragansett Bay . On April 17, 1524, Verrazzano entered New York Bay , by way of the strait now called the Narrows into the northern bay which he named Santa Margherita, in honor of
16284-581: The Mohawk village of Ossernenon, which was located at the confluence of the Schoharie and Mohawk rivers, where the modern hamlet of Auriesville was later developed. They are considered to be the first three U.S. saints . England seized New Netherland by force in 1664, renaming it New York. The Dutch recaptured the colony nine years later, but ceded it to England under the Treaty of Westminster of 1674 . In
16461-657: The New York Central's West Shore Railroad at Cornwall . This service lasted until September 10, 1953. The Delaware and Ulster Railroad is a heritage railroad , based in Arkville, New York , that still runs a scenic part of the track from Highmount to Hubbell Corners, New York, for tourist use. The Catskill Mountain Railroad is also a heritage railroad in the Catskills, operating from Kingston up to Highmount. The Catskills are accessible by automobile from
16638-476: The New York metropolitan market. A Greek-style yogurt, Chobani , is being produced upstate by a recent immigrant, who has expanded his operation nationally. Additionally, upstate New York continues to boast low crime rates, high educational prospects, and readily affordable daily essentials, earning Syracuse, Rochester, Albany, Schenectady , and Buffalo spots in the Forbes magazine list of top ten places to raise
16815-463: The Niagara River and Lake Erie became the border with Upper Canada . Great Britain continued to occupy military installations along the American shores of the Great Lakes until 1794, including Fort Niagara at the mouth of the Niagara River and Fort Ontario at the mouth of the Oswego River . The government of the new State of New York seized the property of New Yorkers who had remained loyal to
16992-627: The Seneca-led Cherry Valley and the Mohawk-led Cobleskill massacre. In 1779, the Sullivan Expedition , a campaign by the Continental Army ordered by General George Washington , drove thousands of the Haudenosaunee from their villages, farms and lands in the region in an effort to both avenge and prevent such attacks. The region was strategically important to the war plans of both the British and
17169-616: The State Assembly as early as 1777. Sojourner Truth was held as a slave in the Hudson Valley from the time she was born in 1797 until she escaped in 1826. Through efforts of the New York Manumission Society and others, New York began to adopt a policy of gradual emancipation in 1799. The law passed in 1817 that would finally emancipate slaves did not take effect for ten years, giving slaveowners an entire decade to sell their slaves away to other states. When
17346-709: The State of New York, but granted to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts the "pre-emptive" right to seek title to the land from the Haudenosaunee. The eastern boundary of the Massachusetts lands was thus known as the Preemption Line . This line runs from the Pennsylvania line due north to Lake Ontario, passing through Seneca Lake . The line was surveyed a second time due to initial errors. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sold this land in large tracts, including
17523-594: The Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan , and the towers collapsed . 7 World Trade Center also collapsed due to damage from fires. The other buildings of the World Trade Center complex were damaged beyond repair and demolished soon thereafter. The collapse of the Twin Towers caused extensive damage and resulted in the deaths of 2,753 victims, including 147 aboard
17700-680: The U.S. drafted the Indian Removal Act , the Lenape were further moved to Missouri, whereas their cousins, the Mohicans, were sent to Wisconsin. Also, in 1778, the United States relocated the Nanticoke from the Delmarva Peninsula to the former Iroquois lands south of Lake Ontario, though they did not stay long. Mostly, they chose to migrate into Canada and merge with the Iroquois, although some moved west and merged with
17877-418: The United States . In the United States, the federal government did not assume direct jurisdiction for immigration until 1890. Prior to this time, the matter was delegated to the individual states, then via contract between the states and the federal government. Most immigrants to New York would disembark at the bustling docks along the Hudson and East Rivers , in the eventual Lower Manhattan . On May 4, 1847,
18054-408: The United States can trace their ancestry to these immigrants. Ellis Island was the subject of a contentious and long-running border and jurisdictional dispute between the State of New York and the State of New Jersey, as both claimed it. The issue was officially settled in 1998 by the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled that the original 3.3-acre (1.3 ha) island was New York state territory and that
18231-568: The United States. The area of present-day New York had been inhabited by tribes of the Algonquians and the Iroquois Confederacy Native Americans for several thousand years by the time the earliest Europeans arrived. Stemming from Henry Hudson 's expedition in 1609, the Dutch established the multiethnic colony of New Netherland in 1621. England seized the colony from the Dutch in 1664, renaming it
18408-908: The aftermath of the Lower Canada Rebellion , some Québécois rebels escaped south to the North Country, while on the Niagara Frontier , events of the Upper Canada Rebellion , also known as the Patriot War , took place. In the late 1860s, some of the Fenian raids were launched across the Niagara Frontier; Fenians also assembled in Malone . Although now largely discredited, the report of
18585-615: The area and have helped revive agriculture as part of the economy. Beginning in 1974, many Mennonite families moved to the Penn Yan area of Yates County from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania , seeking cheaper farmland. Amish communities have also been established in St. Lawrence, Montgomery , Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties, and are making farming profitable. Artisans are reviving traditional specialty cheeses and developing growing markets for their products, including shipping some items to
18762-540: The area for many conflicts of the French and Indian War , such as the Battle of Fort Oswego (1756) and the Siege of Fort William Henry (which was later depicted in the work of James Fenimore Cooper ), during the Seven Years' War . The British conquered New France by 1760 with the fall of Quebec . France formally ceded New France to the British in the Treaty of Paris of 1763 . The same year, King George III issued
18939-409: The area is named "Catskills" is a mystery. Mountain lions (catamounts) were known to have been in the area when the Dutch arrived in the 17th century and may have been a reason for the name. The confusion over the origins of the name led over the years to variant spellings such as Kaatskill and Kaaterskill , both of which are also still used: the former in the regional magazine Kaatskill Life ,
19116-559: The balance of the 27.5 acres (11 ha) added after 1834 by landfill was in New Jersey. In May 1964, Ellis Island was added to the National Park Service by President Lyndon B. Johnson and is still owned by the federal government as part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument . In 1990, Ellis Island was opened to the public as a museum of immigration. On September 11, 2001, two of four hijacked planes were flown into
19293-512: The canal carrying passengers and freight. Farm products came in from the Midwest , and finished manufactured goods moved west. It was an engineering marvel which opened up vast areas of New York to commerce and settlement. It enabled Great Lakes port cities such as Buffalo and Rochester to grow and prosper. It also connected the burgeoning agricultural production of the Midwest and shipping on
19470-502: The century the New York Central Railroad followed the "water-level route" from New York City to the Great Lakes, contributing to the industrialization of cities along its route. Several times in the nineteenth century, upstate New York served as a staging area and refuge for Canadian rebels against Great Britain, as well as Irish-American invaders of Canada, straining British–American relations. In 1837 and 1838, in
19647-765: The city on October 19 of that year, composed of representatives from across the Thirteen Colonies who set the stage for the Continental Congress to follow. The Stamp Act Congress resulted in the Declaration of Rights and Grievances , which was the first written expression by representatives of the Americans of many of the rights and complaints later expressed in the United States Declaration of Independence . This included
19824-578: The coast in search of profitable fur trading with local Native American tribes. During the 17th century, Dutch trading posts established for the trade of pelts from the Lenape, Iroquois, and other tribes were founded in the colony of New Netherland . The first of these trading posts were Fort Nassau (1614, near present-day Albany ); Fort Orange (1624, on the Hudson River just south of the current city of Albany and created to replace Fort Nassau), developing into settlement Beverwijck (1647), and into what became Albany; Fort Amsterdam (1625, to develop into
20001-439: The comparative isolation of the region, many of the sects were Nonconformist , and because of their non-traditional tenets they had numerous difficulties with government and other local people. The region is considered to be the cradle of Mormonism . The Mormons , Seventh-day Adventists and Spiritualists are the only 21st century survivors of the hundreds of sects created during this time; some more mainstream churches, such as
20178-528: The conflux of New York, Québec and Ontario lies the Mohawk Nation of Iroquois. To the east, across the remainder of the North Country region, New York shares a land border with the province of Québec . Upstate counties and towns are generally larger in area and smaller in population, compared with those downstate, although there are exceptions. The state's smallest county in population ( Hamilton County ) and largest county in area ( St. Lawrence County on
20355-415: The count to eight. The current towers are: The Catskill Mountain House , built in 1824, was a hotel near Palenville , New York , in the Catskill Mountains overlooking the Hudson River Valley . In its prime at the turn of the century, visitors included United States Presidents Ulysses S. Grant , Chester A. Arthur and Theodore Roosevelt . From 1872, the northern part of the Catskills were served by
20532-427: The discussion of constructing seawalls and other coastal barriers around the shorelines of New York City and Long Island to minimize the risk from another such future event. Such risk is considered highly probable due to global warming and rising sea levels . On March 1, 2020, New York had its first confirmed case of COVID-19 after Washington (state) , two months prior. From May 19–20, Western New York and
20709-425: The downstate region's lower elevation, proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, and relatively lower latitude . Upstate New York experiences warm summers, marred by only occasional, brief intervals of sultry conditions, with long and cold winters. Western New York, particularly the Tug Hill region, receives heavy lake-effect snows , especially during the earlier portions of winter, before the surface of Lake Ontario itself
20886-402: The duration of the conflict, and consequently the focus of General George Washington 's intelligence network . On the notorious British prison ships of Wallabout Bay , more American combatants died than were killed in combat in every battle of the war combined. Both sides of combatants lost more soldiers to disease than to outright wounds. The first of two major British armies were captured by
21063-414: The east along Interstate 87 / New York State Thruway , which runs north–south through the Hudson Valley . To the south and southwest, the Catskills are accessible by a variety of highways, including New York State Route 55 , U.S. Route 44 , U.S. Route 209 , and New York State Route 17 . Access to the western Catskills is provided by New York State Route 30 ; and the vaguely defined far-western edge of
21240-418: The east were rising and subsequently eroding. The sediments traveled westward and formed a great delta into the sea that was in the area at that time. The escarpment of the Catskill Mountains is near the former (landward) edge of this delta, as the sediments deposited in the northeastern areas along the escarpment were deposited above sea level by moving rivers, and the Acadian Mountains were located roughly where
21417-413: The eastern part of the state, without draining Lakes George or Champlain . Lake George empties at its north end into Lake Champlain, whose northern end extends into Canada, where it drains into the Richelieu River and then ultimately the Saint Lawrence River . The western section of the state is drained by the Allegheny River and rivers of the Susquehanna and Delaware River systems. Niagara Falls
21594-511: The ecology or ecosystem of the forest 4. Dormant season caused by lower temperature or even occasional snow. [5] For the first criteria, majority areas within the Catskill Mountains do indeed average at least 55 inches of precipitation annually and summer is the wettest season hence it by far meets the criteria of at least 10% of its average annual precipitation during the summer months. Slide Mountain and nearby Hunter Mountain average about 63 inches of precipitation annually and most areas within
21771-425: The eighteenth century, the British consolidated their hold on the region. William Johnson , a Scottish trader, established an estate in the Mohawk Valley, living among the Mohawk, learning their language, and forging an alliance with them. He was appointed as the British Indian agent to the Iroquois. The British also encouraged settlement in the Mohawk Valley by other Europeans, including German Palatines beginning in
21948-441: The federal government assumed control over immigration. During that period, more than eight million immigrants passed through its doors (two of every three U.S. immigrants). When the federal government assumed control, it established the Bureau of Immigration , which chose the three-acre (1.2 ha) Ellis Island in Upper New York Harbor for an entry depot. Already federally controlled, the island had served as an ammunition depot. It
22125-433: The first attempts to form a union of the colonies "under one government as far as might be necessary for defense and other general important purposes". The delegates approved an amended version, but the colonies rejected it. To counter the French militarily, the British established forts along Lake Ontario and at portages between the Mohawk Valley and the adjacent Lake Champlain and Lake Ontario watersheds. The region became
22302-441: The highest count of any U.S. state in 2022. Many of its landmarks are well known, including four of the world's ten most-visited tourist attractions in 2013: Times Square , Central Park , Niagara Falls , and Grand Central Terminal . New York is home to approximately 200 colleges and universities , including Ivy League members Columbia University and Cornell University , and the expansive State University of New York , which
22479-481: The indigenous peoples. The Haudenosaunee or Iroquois confederacy of the Five (later Six) Nations was a powerful force in its home territory. The Five Nations' territory extended from the Mohawk River Valley through the western part of the state and into current Pennsylvania. From this home base they also controlled at various times large swaths of additional territory throughout what is now the northeastern United States. The Guswhenta (Two Row Wampum Treaty) , made with
22656-408: The last of the native claims in Western New York as part of the federal Indian Removal program, but the purchaser failed to buy most of the land in time, and some of the tribes objected to their exclusion. Three of the four reservations remain in the region to this day; one of the reservations leased out their land to form the city of Salamanca , and the coexistence of the predominantly white city and
22833-409: The late 20th century by the federally recognized tribes. New York put up more than 5 million acres (20,000 km ) of former Iroquois territory for sale in the years after the Revolutionary War, leading to rapid development in Upstate New York. As per the Treaty of Paris , the last vestige of British authority in the former Thirteen Colonies —their troops in New York City—departed in 1783, which
23010-513: The latter as the name of a mountain peak and a waterfall . The supposed Native American name for the range, Onteora ("land in the sky"), was purportedly created in the mid-19th century to drum up business for a resort. It is still the name of a school district and as the name of a Boy Scout summer camp ( Onteora Scout Reservation ). The Catskill Mountains are approximately 100 miles (160 km) north-northwest of New York City and 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Albany , starting west of
23187-408: The law finally took effect, the last 2,800 slaves in New York State were emancipated on July 4, 1827. Although routes for travel on foot and by canoe had existed across the region for hundreds of years, transportation of agricultural goods to market was expensive and slow. Influenced by the canals being built in Britain, leading citizens of New York began to press for the construction of a canal across
23364-407: The mid-1950s gave the region superior access to other eastern markets. This regional advantage faded as many local firms relocated certain operations to other states, or downsized in the face of foreign competition, similar to events in other areas in the American Rust Belt . There have, however, been recent efforts at economic revitalization. In April 2021, GlobalFoundries , a company specializing in
23541-404: The mountain until February 7, 1971, when the last competition was held. The Mountain Trails Cross Country Ski Center in Tannersville has 22 miles (35 km) of trails. The Catskill Mountains fire towers were constructed to facilitate forest fire prevention and control. Twenty-three fire towers were built in the Catskill Mountains between 1908 and 1950. The fire towers fell out of use by
23718-482: The mountains. Grooves and scratches in exposed bedrock provide evidence of the great sheets of ice that once traversed the region. Even today the erosion of the mountains continues, with the region's rivers and streams deepening and widening the mountains' valleys and cloves. In the mid–20th century, summer resorts in the Catskills, nicknamed the Borscht Belt , were a major vacation destination for Jewish New Yorkers. At its peak of popularity, about 500 resorts operated in
23895-434: The new Republic of Vermont recognized the New Hampshire grants over those of New York. New Yorkers who lost land in Vermont came to be known as the "Vermont Sufferers" and were granted new lands in 1788 in the town of Bainbridge, New York . The dispute with Massachusetts over lands to the west of Massachusetts was settled in the 1786 Treaty of Hartford by dividing the rights to the land. The treaty granted sovereignty to
24072-414: The new United States recognized the title of the remaining Haudenosaunee to the land north and west of the Proclamation Line of 1763. Nevertheless, New York state officials and private land agents sought through the early 19th century to extinguish Indian title to these lands via non-Federally-sanctioned treaties, such as the Treaty of Big Tree . The Treaties of Buffalo Creek were designed to finally remove
24249-411: The next century, earning it the nickname of the " Empire State ". Although deindustrialization eroded a portion of the state's economy in the second half of the 20th century, New York in the 21st century continues to be considered as a global node of creativity and entrepreneurship , social tolerance , and environmental sustainability . The state attracts visitors from all over the globe, with
24426-528: The park and the preserve are within Ulster County, with a significant portion in Greene County, and parts in Sullivan and Delaware counties as well. Many of the trails in public areas are maintained and updated by the New York–New Jersey Trail Conference and the Catskill Mountain 3500 Club . Devil's Path is one of the many trails open for hikers. Spots to camp in the Catskills include Bear Spring Mountain , Little Pond, Mongaup Pond, and North-South Lake . There are five main downhill ski and snowboard areas in
24603-513: The people for ratification. On July 30, 1777, George Clinton was inaugurated as the first Governor of New York at Kingston. Approximately a third of the battles of the American Revolutionary War took place in New York; the first major one and largest of the entire war was the Battle of Long Island , also known as the Battle of Brooklyn, in August 1776. After their victory, the British occupied present-day New York City, making it their military and political base of operations in North America for
24780-440: The process of uplift and erosion. By the middle of the Mississippian period, the uplift stopped, and the Acadian Mountains had been eroded so much that sediments no longer flowed across the Catskill Delta. Over time, the sediments were buried by more sediments from other areas, until the original Devonian and Mississippian sediments were deeply buried and slowly became solid rock. Then the entire area experienced uplift, which caused
24957-416: The provinces of Ontario and Quebec in Canada, with New York and Ontario sharing the Thousand Islands archipelago within the Saint Lawrence River, while most of its border with Quebec is on land; it shares Lake Champlain with the New England state of Vermont ; the New England state of Massachusetts has mostly a land border; New York extends into Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean , sharing
25134-428: The region in 1609, and the Dutch erected Fort Orange (present-day Albany) in 1624, which was the first permanent European settlement in New York. The region saw many battles during the American Revolutionary War , with the Iroquois split between supporters of the loyalists and supporters of the revolutionaries. After the war ended, the 1784 Treaty of Fort Stanwix kicked off a series of treaties and purchases that saw
25311-413: The region is largely considered part of the Rust Belt . There are a wide variety of land uses in the region, including urban, suburban, forested preserve, and rural landscapes. Due to its vast areas of rural land, upstate also supports a strong agricultural industry, and is notable for its dairy , maple syrup , and fruit production (especially apples ), as well as winemaking . Upstate New York includes
25488-410: The region is variously considered to be New York State Route 10 or Interstate 88 , though this boundary remains a matter of local preference. New York State Routes 28 and 23A cut east–west through the heart of the Catskills, serving many of the most popular outdoor tourist destinations. New York State Route 23 runs east–west across the Catskills' northern section. The closest major airports to
25665-421: The region. Later changes in vacationing patterns have led most of those travelers elsewhere, although there are still some bungalow communities and summer camps in the region catering to Orthodox populations. Esopus Creek is a 65.4-mile (105.3 km) tributary of the Hudson River , starting at Winnisook Lake on Slide Mountain . It flows across Ulster County to the Hudson River at Saugerties . The Esopus
25842-400: The region. Maritime or shore birds of New York are great blue heron , killdeers , northern cardinals , American herring gulls , and common terns . Reptile and amphibian species in land areas of New York include queen snakes , hellbenders , diamondback terrapins , timber rattlesnakes , eastern fence lizards , spotted turtles , and Blanding's turtles . Sea turtles that can be found in
26019-428: The region. Several regions upstate are characterized by major mountain ranges, large lakes, and extensive forests. The Allegheny Plateau extends into west and central New York from the south. The Catskill Mountains lie within Lower New York in the southeastern part of the state, closer to New York City. The Catskills and the Allegheny Plateau are part of the Appalachian chain . By contrast, Northern New York contains
26196-427: The reservation has been a source of contention since the 1990s. Both before and after the Revolution, boundary disputes with other colonies and their successor states also complicated American settlement. In conflict with the New York Colony 's claims west of the Hudson Valley, which placed the entire region in the sprawling Albany County , the Pennsylvania Colony claimed much of the Southern Tier until 1774, while
26373-489: The rest of the Allegheny Plateau , but maps from the 18th and 19th centuries consistently mark the border of the Catskill Mountains as the East Branch of the Delaware River, which is consistent with the actual topographic relief. The Pocono Mountains , to the immediate southwest in Pennsylvania , are also a part of the Allegheny Plateau. The Catskills contain more than 30 peaks above 3,500 feet (1,100 m) and parts of six important rivers. The Catskill Mountain 3500 Club
26550-484: The rest of the State of New York. The placement of a boundary between the two is a matter of great contention. Unofficial and loosely defined regions of Upstate New York include from the Southern Tier, which includes many of the counties along the border with Pennsylvania, to the North Country region, above or sometimes including parts of the Adirondack region. Among the total area of New York state, 13.6% consists of water. Much of New York's boundaries are in water, as
26727-452: The right to representative government . At the same time, given strong commercial, personal and sentimental links to Britain , many New York residents were Loyalists . The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga provided the cannon and gunpowder necessary to force a British withdrawal from the siege of Boston in 1775. New York was the only colony not to vote for independence , as the delegates were not authorized to do so. New York then endorsed
26904-407: The second such convention, was held two weeks later in Rochester . Through the nineteenth century, upstate New York was a hotbed of religious revivalism. A number of sects, such as the Shakers and the Oneida Community , established themselves in upstate New York during that time. This led evangelist Charles Grandison Finney to coin the term the " Burned-Over District " for the region. Because of
27081-415: The sedimentary rocks to begin to erode. Today, those upper sedimentary rocks have been completely removed, exposing the Devonian and Mississippian rocks. Today's Catskills are a result of the continued erosion of these rocks, both by streams and, in the recent past, by glaciers. In successive ice ages , both valley and continental glaciers have widened the valleys and the notches of the Catskills and rounded
27258-560: The site on March 21, 2014. Upon its completion in 2014, the new One World Trade Center became the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere, at 1,776 feet (541 m), meant to symbolize the year America gained its independence , 1776. From 2006 to 2018, 3 World Trade Center , 4 World Trade Center , 7 World Trade Center, the World Trade Center Transportation Hub , Liberty Park , and Fiterman Hall were completed. St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center are under construction at
27435-463: The state are the green sea turtle , loggerhead sea turtle , leatherback sea turtle and Kemp's ridley sea turtle . New York Harbor and the Hudson River constitute an estuary , making the state of New York home to a rich array of marine life including shellfish—such as oysters and clams —as well as fish, microorganisms, and sea-birds. Due to its long history, New York has several overlapping and often conflicting definitions of regions within
27612-399: The state capital of Albany , Utica , Binghamton , Syracuse , Rochester , and Buffalo . Before the European colonization of the United States , upstate New York was populated by several Native American tribes. It was home to the Iroquois Confederacy , an indigenous confederation of six tribes, known as the Six Nations. Henry Hudson made the first recorded European exploration of
27789-437: The state's northern border) are both in upstate New York, within the North Country and Thousand Islands regions of northern New York. The counties with the largest in population ( Kings County ) and smallest in area ( New York County ) are both parts of New York City. Upstate New York is well known for its cold and snowy winters, particularly in comparison to the more temperate climate of downstate New York. The snowy reputation
27966-445: The state, known as Downstate , encompasses New York City , the United States's largest city; Long Island , the nation's most populous island; and the suburbs and wealthy enclaves of the lower Hudson Valley . These areas are the center of the expansive New York metropolitan area and account for approximately two-thirds of the state's population. The larger Upstate area spreads from the Great Lakes to Lake Champlain and includes
28143-455: The state. Governor DeWitt Clinton prevailed upon the legislature to charter and fund construction of a canal from Albany to Buffalo. Construction of the Erie Canal began in 1817 and was completed in 1825. The canal allowed the area to become an important component of the 19th century industrial expansion in the United States. The canal also promoted trade with British North America and settlement of newer states in western territories. Later in
28320-410: The state. The regions are also not fully definable due to the colloquial use of regional labels. The New York State Department of Economic Development provides two distinct definitions of these regions. It divides the state into ten economic regions, which approximately correspond to terminology used by residents: Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains , also known as the Catskills , are
28497-416: The town New Amsterdam , which is present-day New York City); and Esopus (1653, now Kingston ). The success of the patroonship of Rensselaerswyck (1630), which surrounded Albany and lasted until the mid-19th century, was also a key factor in the early success of the colony. The English captured the colony during the Second Anglo-Dutch War and governed it as the Province of New York . The city of New York
28674-402: The two planes. Since September 11, most of Lower Manhattan has been restored. In the years since, over 7,000 rescue workers and residents of the area have developed several life-threatening illnesses, and some have died. A memorial at the site, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum , was opened to the public on September 11, 2011. A permanent museum later opened at
28851-426: The vast majority of the state's geographic area is dominated by meadows , forests , rivers, farms, mountains, and lakes. Most of the southern part of the state rests on the Allegheny Plateau , which extends from the southeastern United States to the Catskill Mountains ; the section in the State of New York is known as the Southern Tier . The rugged Adirondack Mountains , with vast tracts of wilderness, lie west of
29028-460: Was a major ocean port and had extensive traffic importing cotton from the South and exporting manufacturing goods. Nearly half of the state's exports were related to cotton. Southern cotton factors, planters and bankers visited so often that they had favorite hotels. At the same time, activism for abolitionism was strong upstate, where some communities provided stops on the Underground Railroad . Upstate, and New York City, gave strong support for
29205-410: Was added. During the era immediately following World War II, upstate reached what was probably its peak influence in the national economy. Major local corporations such as IBM , General Electric , Kodak , Xerox and Carrier had national success, producing cutting-edge products for business, government and consumers, and leadership in corporate culture. The opening of the New York State Thruway in
29382-423: Was by expensive wagons on muddy roads before canals opened up the rich farmlands to long-distance traffic. Governor DeWitt Clinton promoted the Erie Canal , which connected New York City to the Great Lakes by the Hudson River , the new canal, and the rivers and lakes. Work commenced in 1817, and the Erie Canal opened eight years later, in 1825. Packet boats pulled by horses on tow paths traveled slowly over
29559-422: Was chosen due its relative isolation with proximity to New York City and the rail lines of Jersey City, New Jersey , via a short ferry ride. While the island was being developed and expanded via land reclamation , the federal government operated a temporary depot at the Barge Office at the Battery. Ellis Island opened on January 1, 1892, and operated as a central immigration center until the National Origins Act
29736-430: Was divided roughly in half between the Algonquian Wampanoag and Lenape peoples. The Lenape also controlled most of the region surrounding New York Harbor . North of the Lenape was a third Algonquian nation, the Mohicans . Starting north of them, from east to west, were two Iroquoian nations: the Mohawk —part of the original Iroquois Five Nations, and the Petun . South of them, divided roughly along Appalachia , were
29913-418: Was founded by the hundreds of Canadian exiles who had fought in the First and Second Canadian Regiments of the Continental Army , who were banished from Canada due to their rebellion against the Crown. Battles of the War of 1812 (1812–1815) were fought on the Niagara Frontier ; in the Champlain Valley , including the Battle of Plattsburgh ; in the St. Lawrence Valley ; and on Lake Ontario , including
30090-423: Was headquartered in Newburgh . Uncertain that the Continental Congress would pay back wages, some Continental officers threatened an uprising in what became known as the Newburgh Conspiracy . After the American Revolution, the Treaty of Paris established the border between New York and British North America . The 45th Parallel became the border with Quebec or Lower Canada . The St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario,
30267-532: Was highly lucrative, serving a demand for furs in Europe. North and west of New Netherland, the French established trading posts along the St. Lawrence River and as far south as the shores of Onondaga Lake . They found both trading and proselytizing difficult among the Haudenosaunee, as Samuel de Champlain had alienated the Haudenosaunee during military forays from New France . In the 1640s, three French Jesuit missionaries to New France—St. René Goupil , St. Isaac Jogues , and St. Jean de Lalande —were killed near
30444-427: Was important from the first days of both French and Dutch colonization in the seventeenth century. The New Netherland colony encompassed the Hudson Valley from Manhattan island north to the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers, where Fort Orange (later Albany) was established in 1624. The fort at Schenectady was built in 1661. The upper Hudson Valley was the center of much of the colony's fur trade , which
30621-440: Was long afterward celebrated as Evacuation Day . New York City was the national capital under the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union , the first national government. That organization was found to be inadequate, and prominent New Yorker Alexander Hamilton advocated for a new government that would include an executive, national courts, and the power to tax. Hamilton led the Annapolis Convention (1786) that called for
30798-440: Was not resolved until 1842 with the Webster–Ashburton Treaty , in which Great Britain and the United States decided to leave the border on the meandering line as surveyed. Slavery existed in New Netherland and the Province of New York . New York was in the 1690s the largest importer of slaves among the American colonies. Slavery did not end with the American Revolution , although John Jay introduced an emancipation bill into
30975-406: Was once the bottom of a glacial lake. The only "hills" in Niagara County are the Niagara Escarpment , which formed the Falls . Upstate New York has a long shared border with the Canadian province of Ontario stretching from Western New York across Northern New York. It is primarily divided by water boundaries along Lake Erie , the Niagara River , Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River . At
31152-536: Was passed in 1924, reducing immigration. After that date, the only immigrants to pass through were displaced persons or war refugees . The island ceased all immigration processing on November 12, 1954, when the last person detained on the island, Norwegian seaman Arne Peterssen, was released. He had overstayed his shore leave and left on the 10:15 a.m. Manhattan-bound ferry to return to his ship. More than 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954. More than 100 million Americans across
31329-402: Was recaptured by the Dutch in 1673 during the Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672–1674) and renamed New Orange. It was returned to the English under the terms of the Treaty of Westminster a year later. The Sons of Liberty were organized in New York City during the 1760s, largely in response to the oppressive Stamp Act passed by the British Parliament in 1765. The Stamp Act Congress met in
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