Mohawk River (New York)
| Mohawk River | ||
 Cohoes Falls on the Mohawk River |
||
| Data | ||
| Water code | US : 970360 | |
| location | New York (USA) | |
| River system | Hudson River | |
| Drain over | Hudson River → Atlantic Ocean | |
| Confluence of |
East Branch and West Branch Mohawk Rivers 43 ° 22 ′ 15 ″ N , 75 ° 28 ′ 6 ″ W. |
|
| Source height | 284 m | |
| muzzle |
Hudson River Coordinates: 42 ° 45 ′ 39 " N , 73 ° 41 ′ 13" W 42 ° 45 ′ 39 " N , 73 ° 41 ′ 13" W. |
|
| Mouth height | 3 m | |
| Height difference | 281 m | |
| Bottom slope | 1.2 ‰ | |
| length | 230 km | |
| Left tributaries | Ninemile Creek , West Canada Creek , East Canada Creek , Caroga Creek | |
| Right tributaries | Schoharie Creek | |
| Reservoirs flowed through | Delta reservoir | |
| Medium-sized cities | Schenectady , Amsterdam , Utica , Rome | |
| Small towns | Waterford , Cohoes | |
| Communities | Little Falls | |
| Navigable | as part of the Erie Canal from Rome to Waterford | |
| Waterfall Cohoes Falls | ||
 |
||
 Waterford Harbor at the mouth of the Mohawk River |
||
The Mohawk River is a major waterway in the north-central part of the US state of New York .
River course
The Mohawk River arises north of Rome at the confluence of its two source streams, East Branch and West Branch Mohawk River . It then flows through the Delta Reservoir and the city of Rome and turns to the east. The Mohawk River was expanded and channeled from Rome to its confluence with the Erie Canal . In parts there are oxbow branches of the original river course.
The river flows east-southeast for 230 km from Oneida County until it joins the Hudson River near Albany . The cities of Schenectady , Amsterdam , Utica and Rome were built on its shores. The river and its inflowing canal, the New York State Barge Canal (now known as the Erie Canal), connect the Hudson River and New York City Harbor to the Great Lakes .
Major tributaries of the Mohawk River are Ninemile Creek , West Canada Creek , East Canada Creek, and Caroga Creek from the left, and Schoharie Creek from the right.
The river has long been important for transport and settlement to the west as a passage between the Appalachian mountain ranges Allegheny Plateau and Catskill Mountains south and Adirondack Mountains north of the river. The fertile valley also attracted early settlers. Some important battles of the French and Indian Wars and the American War of Independence were fought here.
During the early westward expansion of the United States, the Erie Canal , built between 1817 and 1825, was an important connection to the west that followed or used the course of the river.
5 km from the mouth of Cohoes is the 27 m high and 300 m wide waterfall Cohoes Falls ( ⊙ ).
shipping
The Mohawk River is developed as a shipping route between Rome and Waterford. There are several locks along the river. See the Erie Channel for details .
Hydropower plants
There are several hydropower plants on the Mohawk River. Two of these are operated by the New York Power Authority (NYPA).
The downstream hydropower plants on the Mohawk River:
| Surname | Power in MW |
Number of turbines |
location | operator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Falls | 13 | 2 | ( ⊙ ) | Little Falls Hydro |
| Vischer Ferry | 11.8 | 4th | ( ⊙ ) | NYPA |
| Crescent | 11.6 | 4th | ( ⊙ ) | NYPA |
| School Street | 38 | 5 | ( ⊙ ) | Brookfield |
| New York State Dam | 11.5 | 2 | ( ⊙ ) | Boralex |
| Fourth branch | 3 | 1 | ( ⊙ ) | Boralex |
