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Mohawk Valley region | |||
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| Country | United States | ||
| State | New York | ||
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| Area | |||
| • Metro | 6,984 sq mi (18,088 km2) | ||
| Highest elevation at | 4,360 ft (1,330 m) | ||
| Lowest elevation at | −10 ft (−3 m) | ||
| • Density | 1,065/sq mi (411/km2) | ||
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (PDT) | ||
| Part ofa series on |
| Regions of New York |
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TheMohawk Valley region of theU.S. state ofNew York is the area surrounding theMohawk River, sandwiched between theAdirondack Mountains andCatskill Mountains, northwest of theCapital District. As of the 2010United States Census, the region's counties have a combined population of 622,133 people. In addition to the Mohawk River valley, the region contains portions of other major watersheds such as theSusquehanna River.
The region is a suburban and rural area surrounding the industrialized cities ofSchenectady,Utica andRome, along with other smaller commercial centers. The 5,882 square miles (15,230 km2) area is an important agricultural center and encompasses the heavily forested wilderness areas just to the north that are part ofNew York'sAdirondack Park.
The Mohawk Valley is part of a natural passageway connecting theAtlantic Ocean, by way of theHudson Valley, with the interior of North America. Native American Nations of theIroquois Confederacy lived in the region. In the 17th century,Dutch,French andEnglish immigrants —and in the 18th centuryGerman,Irish andScottish—settled the area. Following the rapid industrialization of the mid-19th century,Italians andWelsh People settled in the valley.
During the 18th Century, the Mohawk Valley was a frontier of great political, military, and economic importance. Colonists— such asPhillip Schuyler,Nicholas Herkimer,William Johnson—trading with the Iroquois set the stage for commercial and military competition between European nations, leading to theFrench and Indian Wars and theAmerican Revolution. Almost 100 battles of the American Revolution were fought in New York State, including theBattle of Oriskany,Battle of Saratoga and defense ofFort Stanwix. During the war, a series of raids against valley residents took place led byJohn Johnson. These raids were collectively known as the "Burning of the Valleys".
In 1825, theErie Canal was completed as the first commercial connection between the American East and West.
During theFrench and Indian War, the Mohawk River Valley was of prime strategic importance; to the British, it provided a corridor to theGreat Lakes from which to threatenNew France directly, while to the French it provided a corridor to theHudson Valley and on to the heart ofBritish North America. In addition, many settlements of theMohawk, Britain's crucial Indian ally at the time of the war, were located in or near the valley.
At the beginning of the war, the major British stronghold in the Mohawk corridor wasFort Oswego, located onLake Ontario. The French captured and destroyed the fort after a short siege in 1756, and the Mohawk Valley lay open to French advance as a result. Although the French did not directly exploit this avenue of attack, its impact swayed some of the Iroquois tribes to the French side.
The original inhabitants of the Mohawk Valley can be traced back 10,000 plus years and includedAlgonquian people that later relocated from the newly establishedFort Orange Dutch trading post region as early as 1624, as the name implies, the inhabitants were and remainedMohawks. The name Mohawk Valley has its origins in the years 1614 and 1624-25 following the settlement by Dutch traders who established a trading post in the Valley, the Mohawk tribe became alliances and targets during the Indian Wars.The Mohawks of Mohawk Valley call themselvesKanien'keha'ka, and "People of the Flint" in part due to their creation story of a powerful flinted arrow. Among other things, the traditional use of Mohawk Valley flint asToolmaking Flint is only one attribution to the Mohawk Valley People of the Flint name.
Schoharie County is sometimes considered to be part of the Mohawk Valley because theSchoharie Creek, primarily located in Schoharie County, is a major tributary that empties into the Mohawk River atFort Hunter in Montgomery County. Furthermore, the northern border of Schoharie County with Montgomery County is very close to the Mohawk River.
Schenectady,Albany, andSaratoga counties are also sometimes considered to be part of the Mohawk Valley because the Mohawk River Flows through those 3 counties, the Mohawk River also ends at theHudson River where Albany, Saratoga, andRensselaer counties meet as adelta.
Schoharie, Montgomery, Fulton, Saratoga, Schenectady, and Albany counties are the only 6 counties within the Mohawk Valley to be part of theCapital District, Albany County is also considered part of theHudson Valley.
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