# Genesee River
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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesee_River
> Source revision: 1338332068
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{{Short description|River in New York and Pennsylvania}}
{{Infobox river
| name = Genesee River
| name_native = {{native name|tus|Čunehstí•yu•}}[{{Cite book |title=History of Rochester and Monroe county, New York |last=Peck |first=William |year=1908 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_IvssAAAAYAAJ/page/n23 15] |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_IvssAAAAYAAJ |access-date=April 4, 2009 |publisher=The Pioneer publishing company}}]
'''NOTE''': Čunehstí•yu• is from the [Seneca tribe](/source/Seneca_tribe) name ''Chin-u-shio'' ([Tuscarora language](/source/Tuscarora_language)) meaning ''a beautiful open valley''.
| name_native_lang =
| name_other =
| name_etymology =
| image = Genesee river 9044.jpg
| image_caption = Genesee River near [Belmont](/source/Belmont%2C_New_York)
| map = Genesee River Watershed.png
| map_size = 300
| map_caption = Genesee River watershed ([https://mghydro.com/app/shared/F15986 Interactive map])
| pushpin_map =
| pushpin_map_size = 300
| pushpin_map_caption=
| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = [United States](/source/United_States)
| subdivision_type2 = State
| subdivision_name2 = [New York](/source/New_York_(state)), [Pennsylvania](/source/Pennsylvania)
| subdivision_type3 = [Counties](/source/County_(United_States))
| subdivision_name3 = (see [Navbox, below](/source/Genesee_River))
| subdivision_type4 =
| subdivision_name4 =
| subdivision_type5 = City
| subdivision_name5 = [Rochester, NY](/source/Rochester%2C_New_York)
| length = {{convert|157|mi|km|abbr=on}}
| width_min =
| width_avg =
| width_max =
| depth_min =
| depth_avg =
| depth_max =
| discharge1_location= [Lake Ontario](/source/Lake_Ontario)
| discharge1_min =
| discharge1_avg =
| discharge1_max =
| discharge2_location= [Portageville, NY](/source/Portageville%2C_New_York)
| discharge2_min =
| discharge2_avg =
| discharge2_max =
| source1 =
| source1_location = [Ulysses Township](/source/Ulysses_Township%2C_Pennsylvania), [Potter County](/source/Potter_County%2C_Pennsylvania), [Pennsylvania](/source/Pennsylvania)
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|41|53|33|N|77|43|54|W|display=inline}}[
| source1_elevation = {{convert|2275|ft|abbr=on}}][''Harrison Valley, PA,'' 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1957 (1971 rev)]
| mouth = [Lake Ontario](/source/Lake_Ontario)
| mouth_location = [Charlotte](/source/Charlotte%2C_Rochester%2C_New_York), [Rochester](/source/Rochester%2C_New_York), [Monroe County](/source/Monroe_County%2C_New_York), [New York](/source/New_York_(state))
| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|43|15|30|N|77|36|08|W|display=inline,title}}[
| mouth_elevation = {{convert|243|ft|abbr=on}}][{{GNIS|970162}}]
| progression =
| river_system =
| basin_size = {{convert|2500|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| tributaries_left =
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}}
The '''Genesee River''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|dʒ|ɛ|n|ɪ|ˈ|s|iː}} {{respell|JEH|nih|SEE}}) is a [tributary](/source/tributary) of [Lake Ontario](/source/Lake_Ontario) flowing northward through the [Twin Tiers](/source/Twin_Tiers) of [Pennsylvania](/source/Pennsylvania) and [New York](/source/New_York_(state)) in the United States. The river contains several waterfalls in New York at [Letchworth State Park](/source/Letchworth_State_Park) and [Rochester](/source/Rochester%2C_New_York).
The river was historically used as a border between the lands of the [Seneca](/source/Seneca_people) to the east and the [Erie](/source/Erie_people) and [Wenro](/source/Wenrohronon) to the west. Later, the river provided the original power for the Rochester area's 19th century mills, and still provides hydroelectric power for downtown Rochester. Flooding occurred periodically in the river valley before construction of the [Mount Morris Dam](/source/Mount_Morris_Dam) in the 1950s.
==Geology==
[[File:Letchworth State Park Upper Falls and Genesee Arch Bridge July 2022.jpeg|thumb|left|[Portage Viaduct](/source/Portage_Viaduct) and Upper Falls in Letchworth State Park]]
The Genesee is the remaining western branch of [a preglacial system](/source/Glacial_geology_of_the_Genesee_River), with rock layers tilted an average of 40 feet (12 m) per mile, so the river flows across progressively older bedrock as it flows northward. It begins in exposing the [Allegheny Plateau](/source/Allegheny_Plateau)'s characteristic [conglomerates](/source/conglomerate_(geology)): [sandstone](/source/sandstone)s and [shale](/source/shale)s in the {{nowrap|[rock](/source/rock_(geology)) [column](/source/geologic_record)s}} of the [Mississippian](/source/Mississippian_age) and [Pennsylvanian](/source/Pennsylvanian_(geology)) subperiods. Thereafter, farther downstream as it traverses the area known as ''The Grand Canyon of the East'',[[http://www.letchworthpark.com/ Letchworth State Park], access-date=2016-06-05] where it falls (three times) through over 600 feet (180 m)[. As it passes through the gorges in New York's [Letchworth State Park](/source/Letchworth_State_Park), the river also often exposes older rocks such as [shale](/source/shale)s (some rich in hydrocarbons][Such layers often allow carbon-14 dating to synchronize subdisciplines of stratigraphy]), [siltstone](/source/siltstone)s and some [limestone](/source/limestone)s of the [Devonian](/source/Devonian) period at Letchworth and, at other canyons with three more waterfalls[[http://www.cityofrochester.gov/article.aspx?id=8589936495 High falls & Browns race area], City of Rochester, accessdate=2016-06-05][[http://www.cityofrochester.gov/lowergorge/ downtown falls area], City of Rochester, accessdate=2016-06-05][[http://www.lowerfalls.org/ MAPLEWOOD/LOWER FALLS - Rochester, NY], access-date=2016-06-05] at Rochester cuts through the [Niagara Escarpment](/source/Niagara_Escarpment), exposing limestones and shales of [Silurian](/source/Silurian) age in the rock column. With cuttings in the geologic record showing so many early ages, the river area has a great variety of [fossil](/source/fossil)s for paleobiological and [stratigraphic](/source/stratigraphic) analysis.
During the past million years, [four glacial ages](/source/Glacier) covered the [Rochester](/source/Rochester%2C_New_York) area. The southern edges of the [Laurentide Ice Sheet](/source/Laurentide_Ice_Sheet) and those advances impacted the formation geology and geography of the area. The most recent glacier that left evidence here was about 10,000 years ago and it caused compression of the earth by as much as 2,500 feet (760 m).[{{cite web |title=Geology: 100,000 years ago |url=http://www.vintageviews.org/vv-tl/timeline/geology.html#100,000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603092054/http://www.vintageviews.org/vv-tl/timeline/geology.html#100,000#100,000 |archive-date=2008-06-03 |access-date=July 11, 2008 |work=Rochester's History: An Illustrated Timeline}}] About 12,000 years ago, the area underwent massive changes, which included the rerouting of the Genesee and other water bodies. The pre-[ice age](/source/ice_age) eastern branch of the Genesee runs south of Mount Morris and was completely diverted by extensive terminal [moraine](/source/moraine)s in [Livingston County](/source/Livingston_County%2C_New_York) with a key blocking dam just south of [Dansville](/source/Dansville%2C_Livingston_County%2C_New_York), so most of the upper section of the ancient river was diverted instead to fall the off [Appalachian Plateau](/source/Appalachian_Plateau) toward the [Susquehanna River](/source/Susquehanna_River) system (to an eventual destination well to the southeast).
Only a small creek ([Irondequoit Creek](/source/Irondequoit_Creek)) flows in what is left of this large paleogeologic valley. The area of the lower river was also affected. Since the earth rebounded from the melting glaciers more rapidly in Canada than in New York, water from Lake Ontario was spilled over New York due to its lower elevation. During this time, the original outlet of the Genesee River, [Irondequoit Bay](/source/Irondequoit_Bay), was flooded out, creating the current bay. As these waters later retreated, glacial debris caused the river to be rerouted to the west along its current path.[{{cite web |title=Geology: 12,000 years ago |url=http://www.vintageviews.org/vv-tl/timeline/geology.html#12,000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603092054/http://www.vintageviews.org/vv-tl/timeline/geology.html#12,000#12,000 |archive-date=2008-06-03 |access-date=July 11, 2008 |work=Rochester's History: An Illustrated Timeline}}][{{Cite journal |last=Rogers |first=Brownell |date=1893 |title=The Genesee River |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1448335 |journal=Science |volume=21 |issue=526 |pages=121 |doi=10.1126/science.ns-21.526.121|pmid=17814804 |doi-access=free }}]
==History==
The [Seneca nation](/source/Seneca_nation) traditionally lived between the Genesee River and [Canandaigua Lake](/source/Canandaigua_Lake). The region was surveyed by [Thomas Davies](/source/Thomas_Davies_(British_Army_officer)) in 1766. The High Falls was then also known as the Great Seneca Falls, and the Genesee River was also spelled Zinochsaa by early writers.[Supplement to [Dobson's Encyclopedia](/source/Dobson's_Encyclopedia) volume 3, which cites [Jedidiah Morse](/source/Jedidiah_Morse) as its source, probably the American Gazetteer, 1795]
Historically, the river's gorge formed a clearly demarcated border between the lands of the [Five Nations of the Iroquois](/source/Five_Nations_of_the_Iroquois), whose range extended east and the related tribes of the [Erie people](/source/Erie_people) and [Wenro](/source/Wenrohronon) along the west side of the gorge. By the end of the [Beaver Wars](/source/Beaver_Wars) and the American Revolution, the lands in all of upstate New York into the [Ohio Country](/source/Ohio_Country) were controlled by the Iroquois Confederation, but were also effectively depopulated, the tribes weakened in the Revolution. In 1779, on the orders of [George Washington](/source/George_Washington), the [Sullivan Expedition](/source/Sullivan_Expedition) destroyed over 40 Haudenosaunee villages in and around the watershed to force the Seneca and allied nations out of the newly formed United States. Subsequently, with most Iroquois having fled to Canada, the remnant tribal groups were in no position to further impede white settlers, so most of New York state west of the Genesee River became part of the [Holland Purchase](/source/Holland_Purchase) after the [American Revolution](/source/American_Revolution). From 1801 to 1846 the entire region was sold to individual owners from the Holland Land office in [Batavia, New York](/source/Batavia%2C_New_York). In the 1797 [Treaty of Big Tree](/source/Treaty_of_Big_Tree), the Seneca tribes were granted six reservations along the river, among them [Canawaugus](/source/Canawaugus), [Little Beard's Town](/source/Little_Beard's_Town), Geneseo, Caneadea, Deyuitgau and Gardeau. In August 1826, the [Ogden Land Company](/source/David_A._Ogden) purchased the six Genesee River reservations from the Seneca, allegedly under duress;[{{cite book|last1=Red Jacket (Seneca chief)|title=The Collected Speeches of Sagoyewatha, Or Red Jacket|date=2006|publisher=[Syracuse University Press](/source/Syracuse_University_Press)|isbn=9780815630968|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JP27XEqTNycC&pg=PA285|access-date=May 8, 2017|language=en}}] the modern [Seneca Nation of Indians](/source/Seneca_Nation_of_Indians) does not recognize the 1826 sale as valid and moved to reclaim Canawaugus in December 2022.[{{Cite web |last=Quigley |first=Kellen |date=December 31, 2022 |title=Seneca Nation purchases ancestral Genesee Valley land |url=https://www.salamancapress.com/news/seneca-nation-purchases-ancestral-genesee-valley-land/article_7fcb785a-885b-11ed-9c26-87556795cadf.html |access-date=2022-12-31 |website=The [Salamanca Press](/source/Salamanca_Press) |language=en}}]
On Friday, November 13, 1829 (Friday the 13th), the daredevil [Sam Patch](/source/Sam_Patch) jumped to his death before 8,000 spectators at the [Upper Falls in Rochester](/source/%3AFile%3AUpper_fallspost.jpg).
If "not for hydropower, the flour mills, clothing mills, and tool fabricators would not have located in Rochester",[{{cite journal |last=Baily |first=Rod |date=October 1984 |title=Sources of Energy in Rochester's History |url=http://www.rochester.lib.ny.us/~rochhist/v46_1984/v46i3-4.pdf |journal=Rochester History |publisher=Rochester Public Library |volume=XLVI |issue=3–4 |issn=0035-7413 |access-date=December 29, 2009 |quote=''Hydropower has never contributed more than two and a half percent of the total energy supply of Rochester'' |archive-date=March 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327043430/http://www.rochester.lib.ny.us/~rochhist/v46_1984/v46i3-4.pdf |url-status=dead }}] and the 1825 [Erie Canal](/source/Erie_Canal) allowed the mills to ship products to [New York City](/source/New_York_City). A few hundred feet north of the center of the village of Rochester, the Erie Canal crossed the Genesee River via an 1823 stone aqueduct (802 feet (244 m) long, 17 feet (5.2 m) wide), which was replaced by the [Second Genesee Aqueduct in 1842](/source/Erie_Canal%3A_Second_Genesee_Aqueduct).
In 1836 the [Genesee Valley Canal](/source/Genesee_Valley_Canal) was begun to build a new canal from the [Erie Canal](/source/Erie_Canal) near Rochester, up the Genesee Valley, across to the [Allegheny River](/source/Allegheny_River) at [Olean](/source/Olean%2C_New_York). Construction of new sections extended upriver (southward) until 1880. Although an important commercial route, the canal was plagued by frequent flood damage and the final leg down the Allegany River was never completed. The most difficult section to build was the bypass around the gorge and falls at present day Letchworth Park. The canal followed the old [Native American](/source/Native_Americans_of_the_United_States) [portage](/source/portage) route, which necessitated many locks. These old locks can still be seen near Nunda. The project was abandoned, and the right of way was sold in 1880. The property became the roadbed for the [Genesee Valley Canal Railroad](/source/Genesee_Valley_Canal_Railroad), which eventually merged with the [Pennsylvania Railroad](/source/Pennsylvania_Railroad). Much of the canal and railroad right-of-way is open to the public today as the [Genesee Valley Greenway](/source/Genesee_Valley_Greenway), which was started in 1991.
In 1852 a wooden railroad bridge was built over the Upper Falls at [Portageville](/source/Portageville%2C_New_York). It was the largest of all wooden bridges built at the time.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}} The wood from 300 acres (1.2 km²) of trees was required for its timber. In the "summer of 1943", [Arch Merrill](/source/Arch_Merrill) walked the length of the Genesee River.[{{cite web
|last=Merrill
|first=Arch
|author-link=Arch Merrill
|year=1943
|title=A River Ramble: Saga of the Genesee Valley
|url=http://mcnygenealogy.com/book/river-ramble-1.htm
|publisher= GenWeb, Monroe County, NY
|access-date=November 26, 2009
}}
::(see also: {{cite web
|title=Rediscovering the Rambling River
|url=http://democratandchronicle.com/section/river
|publisher=Democrat and Chronicle
}}{{dead link|date=January 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }})]
Serial killer [Arthur Shawcross](/source/Arthur_Shawcross) dumped most of his victims in or near the river, leading to him being nicknamed "The Genesee River Killer".[{{cite web | url=https://thoughtcatalog.com/brie-calvert/2018/03/27-gruesome-facts-about-the-real-life-killer-known-as-the-monster-of-the-rivers/ | title=27 Gruesome Facts About 'The Monster of the Rivers' (AKA Arthur John Shawcross) | date=18 March 2018 }}]
=== Crossings ===
{{main|List of crossings of the Genesee River}}
===Floods===
A March 1865 thaw was the worst Genesee flood in Rochester history, and a similar 1913 flood motivated the excavation of the Genesee's rock bed in Downtown Rochester. The 1972 [Hurricane Agnes](/source/Hurricane_Agnes) flood broke all county historical records, with the most concentrated damage in the [Wellsville](/source/Wellsville%2C_New_York) area.[{{cite web
| title = HURRICANE AGNES and the GENESEE RIVER FLOODING
| publisher = [NWS Eastern Region Headquarters](/source/National_Weather_Service)
| url = http://www.erh.noaa.gov/nerfc/historical/jun1972.htm
| access-date = December 18, 2009}}][{{Cite news | title = The great flood of 1972 |newspaper=[Star-Gazette](/source/Star-Gazette) |location=[Elmira, New York](/source/Elmira%2C_New_York) |publisher=Gannett | page=63 |year=1972 }}] The water from Hurricane Agnes caused the only instance where the river's flow exceeded the storage capacity of the reservoir of the [Mount Morris Dam](/source/Mount_Morris_Dam), the largest flood control dam east of the [Mississippi](/source/Mississippi_River), and water had to be released from the dam to prevent overtopping of the spillway.
File:A View of the Casconchiagon or Great Seneca Falls - Thomas Davies.jpg|''A View of the Casconchiagon or Great Seneca Falls, Lake Ontario, taken 1766'' by [Thomas Davies](/source/Thomas_Davies_(British_Army_officer))
File:HighFallsGenesee.jpg|The [High Falls](/source/High_Falls%2C_Rochester_New_York) in downtown [Rochester](/source/Rochester%2C_New_York)
File:Letchworth State Park Middle Falls N 2002.jpeg|The Middle Falls in [Letchworth State Park](/source/Letchworth_State_Park)
File:Bruce burr.jpg|Genesee River in the [Town of Caneadea](/source/Caneadea%2C_New_York)
==Literature==
The Genesee has been the subject of books and poetry:
* ''Valley of the Genesee: A Poem'' by Charles Edwin Furman (1879)
* ''By the Genesee: Rhymes and Verses'' by [Thomas Thackeray Swinburne](/source/Thomas_Thackeray_Swinburne) (1900)
* ''Genesee Fever'' by [Carl Carmer](/source/Carl_Carmer) (1941); a novel about the early settlement of the Genesee Valley.
* ''A River Ramble: Saga of the Genesee Valley'' by [Arch Merrill](/source/Arch_Merrill) (1943); a walk along the Genesee from its source to its mouth.
* ''The Genesee'' by [Henry W. Clune](/source/Henry_W._Clune) (1963); part of the [Rivers of America Series](/source/Rivers_of_America_Series)
==See also==
* [List of rivers of New York](/source/List_of_rivers_of_New_York)
* [List of rivers of Pennsylvania](/source/List_of_rivers_of_Pennsylvania)
* [Glacial geology of the Genesee River](/source/Glacial_geology_of_the_Genesee_River)
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Genesee River}}
* {{Cite AmCyc|wstitle=Genesee (river)|display=Genesee, a river of western New York |short=x}}
{{Genesee River}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Genesee River
Category:Rivers of New York (state)
Category:Rivers of Pennsylvania
Category:Rivers of Potter County, Pennsylvania
Category:Rivers of Monroe County, New York
Category:Rivers of Wyoming County, New York
Category:Rivers of Allegany County, New York
Category:Rivers of Livingston County, New York
Category:Tributaries of Lake Ontario
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Genesee River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesee_River) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesee_River?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.