Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/366

 354 NEW YOEK (STATE) island and Connecticut to within a few rods of the Connecticut shore, Hart's, Randall's, Ward's, BlackwelTs, Governor's, Bedloe's, and Ellis. The last three are owned by the general government, and occupied as military posts. New York bay and harbor is deep and capa- cious enough to accommodate all the ship- ping belonging to and trading with the port of New York. The other principal harbors are Dunkirk and Buffalo, on Lake Erie ; Tonawan- da and Lewiston, on Niagara river ; Genesee, Sodus, Oswego, Sackett's Harbor, and Cape Vincent, on Lake Ontario ; Ogdensburg, on the St. Lawrence ; Rouse's Point, Plattsburgh, Port Henry, and Whitehall, on Lake Champlain ; and Sag Harbor, at the E. end of Long island. The principal river of the state is the Hudson, which is navigable to Troy, 151 m. from its mouth. The Mohawk, the principal affluent of the Hudson, rising in the interior, enters the Hudson at Waterford, descending about 500 ft. in its entire length of 135 m. ; it affords extensive water power at Little Falls and Co- hoes. Its principal branches are West and East Canada creeks from the north, and Schoharie creek from the south. Oswego river, which receives the waters of all the interior lakes, from Oneida and Cazenovia on the east to Keuka (formerly Crooked) and Canandaigua on the west, furnishes with its branches and tributaries good water power at Penn Yan, on Keuka lake outlet ; at Waterloo, Seneca Falls, and Baldwinsville, on Seneca river ; at Phelps, on Flint creek and Canandaigua outlet; at Auburn, on Owasco outlet; almost the entire length of Skaneateles outlet (the fall being 453 ft. in 9 m.) ; at Cazenovia and Chittenan- go, on Chittenango creek ; and at Fulton and Oswego, on Oswego river. The Alleghany, Susquehanna, and Delaware, with numerous branches, drain the western, central, and east- ern portions respectively of the S. part of the state, and furnish valuable water power at numerous points. Cattaraugus and Tonawan- da creeks are also considerable streams in the west, the former furnishing important water power, and the latter affording slack- water navigation for the Erie canal for about 10 m. from its mouth. The other principal streams are Buffalo river (formerly creek), flowing into Lake Erie; Oak Orchard creek, Gene- see, Salmon, and Black rivers, flowing into Lake Ontario; Oswegatchie, Grasse, and Ra- quette rivers, tributaries of the St. Lawrence; Chazy, Saranac, and Au Sable rivers, and Wood creek, rapid streams or mountain tor- rents flowing into Lake Champlain, and fur- nishing almost unlimited water power ; Sus- quehanna river, which rises in Otsego lake, and in its course in the state receives the waters of Charlotte, Unadilla, and Chenango rivers ; and Chemung river, which drains a portion of the state between the Alleghany and Susque- hanna, and receives the waters of Canisteo, Conhocton, and Tioga rivers. The principal branches of the Delaware are Popacton and Nevisink rivers. The state is noted for the great number of beautiful lakes in the interior and N. E. parts. The principal of these are Chautauqua and Cattaraugus, in the west; Hemlock, Honeoye, Canadice, and Conesus, in the Genesee basin, which discharge their wa- ters into Genesee river ; Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, Cayuga, Owasco, Skaneateles, Cross, Onondaga, Otisco, Cazenovia, and Oneida, in the central part of the state, all of which find river ; Otsego and Schuyler, which empty into the Susquehanna; and George, Schroon, Au Sable, Placid, Avalanche, Golden, Henderson, Sandford, Blue Mountain, the Fulton lakes (eight in number), Raquette, Beach's, Forked, Newcomb, Long, Cranberry, Upper Saranac, Lower Saranac, Tupper's, Chateaugay, Chazy, Rich, Pleasant, Peseco, Smith's, Moose, and numerous smaller lakes, in the N. E. part. Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, Cayuga, Owasco, Onondoga, Skaneateles, Chautauqua, Otsego, and Oneida lakes, and Lake George, are all navigable for boats and steamers, and on many of them considerable trade is carried on. Lakes Erie, Ontario, and Champlain are navigable for vessels of all sizes. Seneca lake never freezes, and steamers ply upon it throughout the year. The scenery of these lakes attracts thousands of pleasure seekers during the sum- mer months. The surface of the state is great- ly diversified. The topographical features are clearly marked in the mountain ranges and great extent of certain outcrops forming es- carpments which extend across the state E. and W. The range constituting the High- lands on the Hudson, entering the state from New Jersey, extends N. E. through Rockland, Orange, Putnam, and Dutchess cos. It is com- posed of compact gneissoid and granitic rocks. The highest points, varying from 1,100 to 1,700 ft., are Butter hill, Crow's Nest, and Bear mountain in Orange co. ; Bull hill, Anthony's Nose, and Breakneck mountain in Putnam co. ; and Beacon hill in Dutchess co. This range in its proper limitation gradually declines north- eastward to Dover Plains, and passes in low hills into Litchfield co., Conn. It has been sometimes regarded as a continuation of the Blue Ridge of Virginia, but the connection is not proved, and its geological relation is distinct from the metamorphic formations on either side. The Adirondack range is of the same age as the Highlands, and of the same geological structure. This range begins in the Mohawk valley, and is seen on both sides of it at the Noses, rising on the south 100 ft. above the level of the river, and again at Lit- tle Falls, forming the rapids. It extends over the N. part of Montgomery and Herkimer cos., the N. E. part of Oneida, all of Lewis co. E. of the Black river, a considerable part of Saratoga, the most of Warren, Hamilton co. entire, nearly all of Essex, Clinton, and Frank- lin, the greater part of St. Lawrence, and much of Jefferson. The whole constitutes "that
 * 1) n outlet for their waters through Oswego