Regional Overview

Geographic Setting

The Buffalo Niagara region encompasses a land area of 7,598 square miles, of which 6,448 (85%) lie within Western New York and the remaining 1,150 square miles (15%) in Southern Ontario.

The area generally comprises two distinct land forms. In the northern part of Buffalo Niagara are flat lake plains extending from Lake Ontario across the Niagara Peninsula of Southern Ontario and into Southern Erie and Wyoming Counties, and along the shore of Lake Erie, bounding Chautauqua County. Cutting across these lake plains are a series of escarpments marking former lake shores created when glaciers advanced and retreated across North America during the Ice Age. In the southern part of the region are the hills and valleys of the Allegheny Plateau, covering much of Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua Counties and extending southward into Pennsylvania.

Both the ecology and human history of the region have been determined by water. The Buffalo Niagara region's most prominent feature, the Niagara River, is actually a strait connecting Lakes Ontario and Erie. It flows over the Niagara Escarpment about half way between the two lakes, creating Niagara Falls, a stunning natural wonder of the world and the region's premier tourist attraction.

Other, much smaller streams in the region serve as extensive flood plains during the spring runoff, then shrink during the summer months. The difference between high and low flows for these water courses has become more pronounced with the clearing of the original forest cover, and the spread of buildings and pavement over formerly vegetated areas. In the southern part of the region, stream erosion cuts into hilly upper reaches, depositing sediments at lower elevations.