Champlain Valley

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Landsat photo of the immediate Lake Champlain region--only part of the much longer drainage basin and overall valley which reaches the Atlantic Ocean north of Nova Scotia via the St. Lawrence Seaway. Lake Champlain Landsat.jpg
Landsat photo of the immediate Lake Champlain region—only part of the much longer drainage basin and overall valley which reaches the Atlantic Ocean north of Nova Scotia via the St. Lawrence Seaway.

The Champlain Valley is a region of the United States around Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York extending north slightly into Quebec, Canada. It is part of the St. Lawrence River drainage basin, drained northward by the Richelieu River into the St. Lawrence at Sorel-Tracy, Quebec (northeast of Montreal). The Richelieu valley is not generally referred to as part of the Champlain Valley.

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The Champlain Lake Valley is the most heavily populated region in Vermont, broadly stretching eastward from the lake's shore to the base of the Green Mountains. The state's largest city, Burlington, is located on the lake, and the city's associated suburban communities encompass part of the central section of the valley. Beyond urbanized Chittenden County, however, the valley's landscape is primarily open pasture and row crops, making the Champlain Valley the most productive agricultural region of Vermont.

The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of Clinton County and Essex County. Most of this area is part of the Adirondack Park, offering tremendous views of the Adirondack High Peaks region and many recreational opportunities in the park and along the relatively undeveloped coast line of Lake Champlain. The city of Plattsburgh is to the north, and the historic town of Ticonderoga is in the southern part of the region. The northern part of Lake George is located at, and near Ticonderoga, and therefore is a part of the Champlain Valley.

Geology and physiography

The Champlain Valley is among the northernmost valleys considered part of the Great Appalachian Valley reaching from Canada to Alabama.

The Champlain Valley is a physiographic section of the larger Saint Lawrence Valley province, which in turn is part of the larger Appalachian physiographic division. [1] In Vermont, the Champlain Valley is equivalent to the Vermont Lowlands physiographic region, [2] and extends southward into the Valley of Vermont. [2] The Vermont Lowlands are primarily underlain by sedimentary rocks, especially limestone and shale, though metamorphic rocks such as marble and slate are also present. [2]

Lake Champlain is situated in the Champlain Valley between the Green Mountains of Vermont and the Adirondack Mountains of New York, drained northward by the Richelieu River into the St. Lawrence River at Sorel-Tracy, Quebec (northeast of Montreal). Major tributaries of Lake Champlain include Otter Creek and the Winooski, Missisquoi, and Lamoille rivers in Vermont, and the Ausable, Chazy, Boquet, and Saranac rivers in New York. Lake Champlain also receives water from Lake George via the La Chute River

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The American Lakes to Locks Passage and the corresponding Canadian Route du Richelieu is a scenic byway in northeastern New York in the United States and in southern Quebec in Canada. The byway unifies the interconnected waterway of the upper Hudson River, Champlain Canal, Lake George, and Lake Champlain; this waterway is the core of North America's first "super-highway" between upstate New York and the Canadian province of Quebec. The initiatives of the Lakes to Locks Passage aim to unify the byway corridor as a single destination. The US portion of the passage is a New York State Scenic Byway, a National Scenic Byway, and an All-American Road. The Canadian portion is a tourist route by the Quebec Ministry of Tourism.

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The La Chute River, also known as Ticonderoga Creek, is a short, fast-moving river, near the Vermont–New York border. It is now almost wholly contained within the municipality of Ticonderoga, New York, connecting the northern end and outlet of the 32-mile (51 km) long Lake George and the southern end of the 107-mile (172 km) long Lake Champlain through many falls and rapids. The river drops about 230 feet in its three and a half-mile (6 km) course, which is a larger drop than Niagara Falls.

The Champlain Valley National Heritage Area is a federally designated National Heritage Area encompassing eleven counties in New York and Vermont surrounding Lake Champlain. The heritage area designation recognizes the area's historical and scenic significance. The region was a strategic corridor between the Hudson Valley of the United States and the Richelieu Valley of Quebec during the American Revolution in the late 18th century, and saw considerable military action during the War of 1812. During the American Civil War the valley was a part of the Underground Railroad network.

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The Eastern Great Lakes and Hudson Lowlands region extends along the south shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River to Lake Champlain, and south down the Hudson River. It is primarily within the state of New York, with smaller portions in Vermont, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. In the north it meets the Mixedwood Plains Ecozone of Canada in eastern Ontario and southern Quebec. It is mostly temperate deciduous forest and agricultural land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeastern Highlands (ecoregion)</span>

The Northeastern Highlands Ecoregion is a Level III ecoregion designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. states of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The ecoregion extends from the northern tip of Maine and runs south along the Appalachian Mountain Range into eastern Pennsylvania. Discontiguous sections are located among New York's Adirondack Mountains, Catskill Range, and Tug Hill. The largest portion of the Northeastern Highlands ecoregion includes several sub mountain ranges, including the Berkshires, Green Mountains, Taconic, and White Mountains.

References

  1. "Physiographic divisions of the conterminous U. S." U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  2. 1 2 3 "The Physiographic Regions of Vermont". Vermont Geographic Alliance. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2013.

See also

44°27′31″N73°25′34″W / 44.45868°N 73.42617°W / 44.45868; -73.42617