This region in the Northern part of New York is made up of some of the highest peaks found in the state. The Adirondacks are not part of the Appalachian range yet are a unique range more similar to the Canadian Shield Territories to the North than the Appalachian ranges to the South and East. Moving from north to south toward the Tug Hill Plateau, the land goes from taller peaks to lower broader mountains and valley systems. These valleys are covered by lakes, streams, and wetlands. The region has little agriculture in its interior due to its extreme climates, poor soils, short growing season, and public land holdings.
The Tug Hill Plateau is at the south western tip of the Adirondacks with the Black River Valley separating the two landmasses. The bulk of the plateau lies in Lewis County. Much like the Adirondacks, much of the area has poorly draining and shallow topsoil’s. The interior is rugged made up of hollows, wetlands, and ridges and thick stands of northern hardwoods.
The Tug Hill and Western Adirondacks can receive up to 200 inches of snow a year. Timber followed by maple production is the regions most profitable agricultural sectors. In the foothills of the Adirondacks and the Tug Hill Plateau, larger farms dot the landscape as climate and soil are much more conducive to growing crops and grains. At one time, the Adirondacks was a global powerhouse for timber utilized in ship construction and pulp production. It also had the largest maple production center in the world.
The Catskill region forms the Northeast edge of the Allegheny Plateau and terminates at edge of the Hudson River Valley. The western edge starts with rolling hills rising in elevation and becoming more broken towards the eastern edge. The soils range from rocky to fine silt, loam, and glacial till in lower valleys. As the region is in the southwestern portion of New York state near the Atlantic Ocean, it has a milder climate than other regions of the state.
With the area being broken by peaks and valleys as well as its proximity to New York Metropolitan region, the area has a very diverse agricultural profile. Some forms of agriculture that can be found in the region are small dairies, horticulture, and specialty crop production at lower elevations. In more mountainous areas, timber and maple production is found.
The Central New York region is a flat series of lowlands and broad deep valleys which separates the three main landforms of New York; Adirondacks, Alleghany Mountains and Plateau, and the Catskill Mountains. The Mohawk river flows through the heart of the region feeding into the Hudson River. The region has rich soils called Honeoye soils and is conducive to many forms of agriculture.
This region is also a major maple production region. Its broad U-shaped valleys are a natural corridor that connects Western and Eastern parts of the state. This geographic phenomena was the reason that the the Erie Canal was built through this region. The canal allowed goods to flow from the rich lowlands in the western portions of the state east down the Mohawk River to areas around Albany. Much of he raw goods that were shipped down the canal were refined in mill towns that sprung up around the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers and shipped south down the Hudson into New York City to be sold or exported around the world.
The Finger Lake region lies at the edge of the Allegheny Plateau terminating into the Ontario Plains. The region gets its name from the long, thin deep lakes of the region. These lakes and valleys were carved out by glaciers which covered the area in past ice ages. There are 11 main Finger Lakes.
At the South end of the lakes, the terrain rises sharply into tall, rounded hilltops that make up the plateau’s lowlands. Broad steep valley walls surround the great lakes which drop in elevation eventually terminating into the Ontario Plain Region. The region is also know for the hundreds of gorgeous that have been formed as water from the plateau above cut through the steep valley walls and feed into the lakes.
The soil of the region is limey soil on top of glacial till. This soil along with the mild climate created by Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes, makes this region a perfect region for grape production. Along the upper fields and valley walls, vineyards can be found all along the region. The region also has strong diary, vegetable, and horticulture production and is a hotbed for agricultural innovation and research with Cornell University and it’s many research facilities being located at the southern portion of Cayuga Lake and throughout the region.
The Hudson Valley region begins in north of Albany at the foothills of the Adirondacks and moves south along the Hudson river ending at the outskirts of New York City. It is skirted by the Adirondacks to the north, Catskills and Allegheny Plateau to the West, and Taconic/Appalachian chain to the East.
The region has relatively good soil which allows for a wide variety of agricultural practices. The climate is moderate due to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean which is perfect for production of a variety of fruits, berries, and vegetables. With its proximity to large populous centers of Albany and New York City, the region contains a vibrant horticulture industry which supports year around production of vegetables and flowers often in greenhouses.
Long Island is the southmost region of New York. The region consists of two boroughs of New York City and the counties of Suffolk and Nassau. The region has a mix of loamy, gravel, sand, and silt soil types. The Atlantic Ocean allows for Long Island to have a much milder climate when compared to other regions of the state. Historically, Long Island was a powerhouse of agriculture feeding the masses of New York City.
The region has a very diverse agricultural profile due to its diverse population demographics and the cultural and ethnic culinary profiles. Commercial fishing has and is still a major agricultural sector for this region as it is the only region to be on the Atlantic Coast outside of Manhattan which makes up the small southern portion of the Hudson Region. Orchards and vineyards can be found across the island. Much of the agricultural land is being lost due to the urban sprawl from New York City. Many organizations are working to create agricultural zones to protect remaining agricultural lands on the island.
The first European settlements were in this region. Dutch settlers originally called it “New Amsterdam”. After falling under British control the name was change to New York. The area had low rolling hills, loamy sandy soil, and mild climate due to the proximity of the Hudson River and Atlantic Ocean. Agriculture was diverse. As the settlement grew it took over all agricultural lands.
The agricultural sector has been transformed as technology has developed. Throughout the region, community gardens sites are popping up. Additionally, New Yorkers have “taken to the sky’s” converting roof tops to roof gardens. There has all been great investment in growing “vertically”. Vertical gardening allows farming to take place in much smaller areas as racks or plants are rotated vertically on conveyor systems allowing plants to access natural or artificial lights. New York City is also well known for its garment district as well as its large food markets which selling all types of agricultural goods.
The Ontario Plains are lowlands areas around the southern shore of Lake Ontario. With predominate jet streams moving across the North American continent from West to East, this region picks up warm moist air off the Great Lake. With a milder climate compared to interior parts of the state, this region has an extended growing season allowing for more specialty crops and fruits to be grown in the region. The region is the most agriculturally diverse in the state.
The soil in the region is a limey with sand. At the shores of the Great Lake there are flat lowlands that eventually roll into broad low hill country. Due to the depth of Lake Ontario, it rarely freezes over in the winter. In the winter, as Arctic jet streams move south through Canada, these artic winds pick up the warm moist air from the lake creating snow belts that push into Western, Central, and Adirondack regions. These areas have some of the highest snow totals in United States.
This region forms the most north westerly and easterly boundaries of New York State. The Saint Lawrence Seaway to the west is a low-lying valley system starting at the northern portion of the Central Region and lies west of the Adirondack region. As the region runs South to North along the St. Lawrence river, it gains in elevation until eventually become the Adirondacks foothills. The broad flat lands have warm summers and cold winters as Arctic winds move south across the Canadian plains.
To the west of the Adirondacks lies Lake Champlain and the Champlain Valley. This Valley forms the north east boundary of the Adirondack region in particular the High Peak region of the Adirondacks. As the High Peaks (most elevated area of New York State) quickly drops into low foothills and flat lands, it creates a rain shadow causing he Champlain Valley to have some of the lowest precipitation averages in the state. In both valleys, the region contains limey, clay, silt, and gravel soils. In the lower areas, diary, grains, beef, honey, potatoes, and hay are the predominate agricultural products. As the region becomes the foothills of the Adirondacks, maple and timber production is found.
Due to the high peaks of the Adirondacks and proximity to Lake Champlain, the Champlain Valley has a thriving apple sector as the buffer from the peaks and warmer humid air from the lake causes the region to have a milder climate compared to west side of the region. With the development of cold tolerant grapes, the area is also becoming a new grape production region.
The Southern Tier region is also known as the Allegheny Plateau. Geographically, the New York portion runs from New York down into Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi which is also called Appalachia. The Southern Tier starts in the Southwest of New York at the Allegheny Mountains and runs East ending in the Catskill region. Moving north, it pushes into the Finger Lake and Central and Mohawk Valley region.
The geography of the region is made up of low broad hills and valleys that contain deep somewhat acidic soils at higher elevations and rich mixed soils in the valley floors. The climate of the region is warm to hot humid summers and cool to cold winters. Winters are much milder in this region and the growing zone of this region is one of the most temperate outside the coastal regions of New York. These characteristics make this region a prime dairy and beef region along with the grain production associated with diary farming.
Vegetables and honey production are also major sectors along with horticulture in some areas and timber and maple in the areas that boarder the Allegheny and Catskill Mountains.
The Western region of New York is found between Lake Erie and the western portion of the Allegheny Plateau. The region begins on the east shore of Lake Erie with a small plains system called the Erie plains. These plans have limey soil over low rolling hills. The combination of limey soil and more temperate climate due to Lake Erie, the plains thrive with fruit, grape, and specialty crop production much like the Ontario plains. Also, much like the Ontario Plains, the area can receive major snow events as Arctic winds pick up warmer humid air of the lake pushing snow bands into the plateau above.
As the region moves east it rises into the Allegheny Mountains. The Alleghenies form the most northwest portion of the Allegheny Plateau. Much like Catskills, the Allegheny mountains have shallow acidic soils with elevated peaks cut by V-shaped valleys. In these valleys, rich productive alluvial soils are found. Maple and timber are found in the elevated parts of the region with diary and grain production in the valleys and lower portions of the region.