continental glacier in scouring down the passes between the St Lawrence and southern drainage, and in turning streams southward, has facilitated the building of railways across the divides.
There are thousands of lakes and ponds in the state, most of them very small and all, even including Lakes Erie and Ontario, the result of glacial action. The largest lake apart from Erie and Ontario is the beautiful Lake Champlain, which lies on the eastern boundary, partly in Vermont, and with the N. end in Canada. It occupies the lower portion of the trough between the Adirondacks and the Green Mountains. The largest lake entirely within the state is Lake George, famous for its beautiful scenery. In the central part of the state are a series of peculiar elongated lakes, extending in a nearly N.S. direction, known as the Finger Lakes. The largest of these are Cayuga, Seneca, Keuka, Canandaigua, Owasco and Skaneateles. In the extreme western part of the state is Chautauqua Lake, beautifully situated in the plateau of western New York.
New York is noted for its many falls and rapids, some of them of great beauty. Of these the largest is the cataract of Niagara, about 1 m. wide and 160 ft. high. The American Fall is entirely within the state; but the Canadian boundary-line passes down the centre of the Horseshoe or Canadian Fall. Other notable falls are those of the Genesee at Portage and at Rochester, Trenton Falls, the Falls of Ticonderoga, and a multitude of falls and rapids in the Adirondack region and along the shores of the upper portions of the Finger Lakes. Here the tributary streams tumble down the sides of the lake valleys, whose bottoms have been deepened by glacial erosion, leaving the tributary valleys hanging. There are scores of picturesque glens here, and hundreds of waterfalls, among the most beautiful being in the Cayuga valley—notably Enfield Falls, a few miles S. of Ithaca, Ithaca Falls in the city, and Taughannock, a few miles N. of Ithaca. The last, the highest waterfall in the state, has a vertical fall of 215 ft. Similar glens and falls are found in the Seneca Valley, the best known being the widely renowned Watkins Glen, now reserved as a state park (see Watkins). Many of the waterfalls of New York, but notably Niagara, are used as a source of power.
The Coast-line.—New York has extensive coast-line along the Great Lakes, 75 m. on Lake Erie and over 200 m. on Lake Ontario. Where the lake waters flood the stream mouths, there are excellent harbours, and lake navigation is therefore of high importance. The largest of the lake ports is at Buffalo at the head of Niagara river, where, owing to the Niagara cataract, lake boats from the W. must transfer their goods to rail or canal. Buffalo lies at the lower end of natural lake navigation, though by the building of a ship canal in Canada, lake steamers can proceed into Lake Ontario and thence to the St Lawrence.
The ocean coast-line, though of limited extent, is by far the most important in the United States. The greater part of the sea coast is on Long Island—a low, sandy coast, the seat of numerous summer resorts and of some fishing. The mainland, opposite the western end of Long Island, is traversed by the lower Hudson and other channels—submerged valleys—which form a branching bay with several islands, the largest of which are Staten and Manhattan Islands. The western bank of the lower Hudson is in New Jersey. This branching bay makes an excellent protected harbour, with an immense water front, at the outlet of the chief natural highway from the E. to the interior of the country. Naturally, therefore, a dense population, engaged mainly in manufacturing and commerce, has gathered around the shores of this harbour, the greatest number on Manhattan Island and the contiguous mainland in New York City, but large numbers also on western Long Island, in Brooklyn, on the smaller islands, and on the New Jersey side. The harbour entrance is somewhat obstructed by sand bars, so that extensive government work has been necessary to open and maintain a channel for large draft ocean vessels. This sand has not been brought by the Hudson itself, for that river drops most of its sediment load far up stream, in its long tidal channel. It is supplied by the tidal- and wind-formed currents, which are drifting sand from the Long Island and New Jersey coasts, extending the barrier beaches, such as Sandy Hook, out across the entrance to New York Bay.
Climate.—In general the climate of New York is typical of that of northern United States, a climate of extremes, hot in summer, and cold in winter, and yet healthful, stimulating, and, on the whole, not disagreeable. In the absence of extensive alluvial plains and marshes, there is little malaria. The average mean annual temperature is not far from 45° F., though it varies from over 50° near New York City, and 48° near the Lake Erie shore, to less than 40° in the high Adirondacks. The average maximum summer heat is about 93°, temperature of 100° being rarely reached. In the winter the temperature descends below zero during exceptionally cold spells. A temperature of −20° or lower is never attained in the southern portion, seldom in the central, but is often passed, by 5 or 10 degrees, in the Adirondacks and in the higher parts of the plateau. The rivers and smaller lakes freeze in winter and navigation on the St Lawrence river is closed by ice on the average from about the middle of December until early in April. The average rainfall is between 40 and 45 in., but it is less than 30 in. in the Lake Champlain Valley and over 55 in. N. of New York City. In most of the state frosts begin from September 1st to October 1st, and end from April 1st to May 1st. In the Adirondack region the snowfall is heavy, the winter long and severe. In central New York it is not uncommon for snow to accumulate to the depth of 3 or 4 ft., and yet this is not persistent. About New York City, and on Long Island, the snow rarely exceeds 1 ft. in depth. The climate is very variable, owing to the frequent passage of cyclonic storms from the W. and S.W., bringing warmer weather with rain and snow in winter, and causing days of great heat and humidity, with thunderstorms, in summer. Between these cyclonic storms come areas of high pressure, or anticyclones, with dry cool air in summer, and dry cold air in winter, sometimes with such decided changes in temperature as to merit the name cold wave. About New York City, and on Long Island, the ocean softens the rigours of winter, and through the influence of cold surface waters off the coast, tempers the heat of summer. The temperature of the larger valleys is notably higher than that of the uplands; and the temperature along the lake shores is decidedly influenced by the large bodies of water. Lakes Ontario and Erie never freeze completely over in winter.
Although one of the smaller states in the Union, being 30th in area, New York ranks first in population and in wealth, and has won for itself the name Empire State. The physiography has enabled the state to become a great highway of commerce between the central part of the United States and the sea-coast, by rail and by water, along the Mohawk Gap and by other routes. The Great Lakes waterway naturally finds an outlet in New York City. This has made it easy for the states to the west to contribute raw materials, notably coal and iron, adding these to the natural raw products of New York. Thus it happens that from Buffalo to New York City there is a chain of busy manufacturing centres along the natural highway followed by the Erie Canal and the Hudson river. Other parts of the state, where connected with the main highway, are influenced by it to some extent; but away from the great natural route of commerce New York is not especially noteworthy either for its density of population or for extensive manufacturing and commerce. (R. S. T.)
Flora.—When first settled by Europeans New York was a woodland region containing nearly all the varieties of trees, shrubs and plants which were common to the territory lying E. of the Mississippi river, N. of the Ohio, and S. of the St Lawrence. In the Adirondack region the trees were principally white pine, spruce, hemlock and balsam, but mixed with these were some birch, maple, beech and basswood, and smaller numbers of ash and elm; in the swamps of this region were also larch and cedar. The forests of the W. half of the state contained pine, but here such hardwood trees as oak, chestnut, hickory, maple and beech were more common. The tulip tree was common both in the S.W. and N.; and the walnut, butternut, poplar, sycamore and locust were widely distributed. The original varieties of trees still abound, though in less numbers, on lands ill-adapted to agriculture, and in the Adirondack and Catskill Mountains, where the state has established forest preserves, and the Forest, Fish and Game Commissioner began reforesting in 1901, principally with pine, spruce and larch. On the summits of the Adirondacks are a few alpine species, such as reindeer moss and other lichens; on the shores of Long Island, Staten Island and Westchester county are a number of maritime species; and on Long Island are several species especially characteristic of the pine barrens of New Jersey. Laurel, rhododendron, and whortleberry are common shrubs in the mountain districts, and sumac, hazel, sassafras and elder are quite widely distributed elsewhere. Among indigenous fruit-bearing plants the state has the black cherry, red cherry, red plum, yellow plum, grape, black currant, blackberry, dewberry, strawberry and cranberry. Blue flag, snake root, ginseng, lobelia, tansy, wormwood, wintergreen, pleurisy root, plantain, burdock, sarsaparilla and horehound are among its medicinal plants. Cowslips, violets, anemones, buttercups and blood-roots are conspicuous in early spring, the white pond lily and the yellow pond lily in summer, asters and golden-rod in autumn, and besides these there are about 1500 other flowering plants in the state and more than 50 species of ferns.
Fauna.—Of the fur and game animals which were inhabitants of the primeval forests few of the larger species remain except in the Adirondack region. Here the puma (“panther”) has become extinct and the Canada lynx is rare. The moose, the elk and the beaver have been placed under the protection of the Forest, Fish and Game Commissioner. There are many deer in the Adirondacks. The porcupine is common, but the Canada pine marten or American sable, fisher, and red fox are rare, and the black bear and grey wolf are found only in small numbers. Rabbits and squirrels are numerous in nearly all parts of the state; skunks, weasels, muskrats and woodchucks are common; there are some racoons; mink are frequently taken in the Adirondacks; and a few otter remain. In the lower counties are some “Virginia” opossums.
Among birds of prey a bald eagle and a golden eagle are occasionally seen in secluded places. Game birds include ducks, geese, plovers, snipe, loons, grebes, terns, rails, the woodcock and the ruffed grouse; quails are scarce except on Long Island, where a number of young birds are liberated each year, and by the same means a supply
