Cohoes Falls ''Kanien'ké:ha''_(Kanyenkeha_or_Mohawk_language)_for_"a_boat_is_in_the_water_/_is_actively_submerged".html" ;"title="Mohawk language">''Kanien'ké:ha'' (Kanyenkeha or Mohawk language) for "a boat is in the water / is actively submerged"">Mohawk language">''Kanien'ké:ha'' (Kanyenkeha or Mohawk language) for "a boat is in the water / is actively submerged"is a

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

on the

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk f ...

shared by the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

of Cohoes and the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

, New York. Cohoes

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

Arthur Masten incorrectly wrote in his 1880 history that the phrase might mean "Potholes in the River," referring to the potholes that appear in the riverbed when it is dry. However, ''Kanatsio'harè:ke'' (Kanatsiohareke) and ''Kanatsio'háre'' (Canojahare) bear names with reference to this meaning in ''Kanien'ké:ha'' (Kanyenkeha). In the oral and written tradition of the

Haudenosaunee The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

(Iroquois), ''Kahón:ios'' is where

The Great Peacemaker The Great Peacemaker (''Skén:nen rahá:wi'' kʌ̃.nːʌ̃.ɾahaːwiin Mohawk), sometimes referred to as Deganawida or Tekanawí:ta (as a mark of respect, some Iroquois avoid using his personal name except in special circumstances) was by tradi ...

performed a feat of supernatural strength, convincing the Kanyenkehaka (Mohawks) to become the founding nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Some historians believe the Kanyenkehaka (Mohawks) launched the Confederacy as early as 1142 CE, though other experts report dates ranging from 1450–1650. Celebrated by 18th-century travelers in letters and journals, Cohoes Falls, also called The Great Falls of the Mohawk, were regarded as the second-most beautiful cataract in New York State after

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

. In 1804, the national poet of Ireland,

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852) was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist celebrated for his ''Irish Melodies''. Their setting of English-language verse to old Irish tunes marked the transition in popular Irish culture from Irish ...

, visited Cohoes and wrote a

paean A paean () is a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. In classical antiquity, it is usually performed by a chorus, but some examples seem intended for an individual voice ( monody). It comes from the Greek παιάν (also πα ...

to the waterfall's beauty: "Lines Written at the Cohos, or Falls of the Mohawk River." In 1831, town leaders built a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

across the Mohawk River to harness the power of the falls to fuel the turbines of the city's burgeoning

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

industry. Over the next several decades, the predominant company, Harmony Mills, became the largest manufacturer of cotton in the United States, thanks to its control of local water rights. When all the mills closed in the wake of the Great Depression, city leaders leased the flow rights to a series of power companies, including

Niagara Mohawk Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation was a New York State utility company, which was acquired in 2000 by National Grid plc. The Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation designation was retired, using variations of NationalGridUS (such as National Grid Buffa ...

and

Orion Power Orion () may refer to: Common meanings * Orion (constellation), named after the mythical hunter * Orion (mythology), a hunter in Greek mythology * Orion (spacecraft), NASA crew vehicle first launched in 2022 Arts and media Fictional ent ...

. The

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

was planned to overcome the navigational barrier of the Cohoes Falls. The original "Clinton's Ditch", the Erie Canal of 1825, was built through the city of Cohoes. The later Enlarged Canal was realigned, yet still went through the City of Cohoes. The Barge Canal, which opened in 1918, bypasses Cohoes and runs through the Village of Waterford via the

Waterford Flight The Waterford Flight is a set of locks on the Erie Canal in upstate New York. Erie Canal Locks E-2 through E-6 make up the combined flight at Waterford which lifts vessels from the Hudson River to the Mohawk River, bypassing Cohoes Falls. Built in ...

of Locks. The Cohoes Falls is 90 feet (28 m) high and 1,000 feet (305 m) wide. Its flow is greatest in springtime, sometimes running at of water per second. The flow varies with seasonal variation of Mohawk River flow as well as with diversions for the Barge Canal locks, power generation, and the Cohoes water supply. During the summer, the falls are virtually dry, revealing shale rock formations that have their own distinctive beauty. The 87-year average flow of the Mohawk River at Cohoes is 34,638 cubic feet per second, but this includes water diverted to the power plant and Erie Canal locks. __toc__

Cohoes Falls compared to Niagara Falls

*The width of Cohoes Falls is roughly , while Niagara Falls' width is for

American Falls The American Falls is the second-largest of the three waterfalls that together are known as Niagara Falls on the Niagara River along the Canada–U.S. border. Unlike the much larger Horseshoe Falls, of which approximately 90% is in Ontari ...

and for

Horseshoe Falls Horseshoe Falls is the largest of the three waterfalls that collectively form Niagara Falls on the Niagara River along the Canada–United States border. Approximately 90% of the Niagara River, after diversions for hydropower generation, flows ...

*The height of Cohoes Falls ranges from on the north side to on the south end. Niagara Falls' height is 70 to for American Falls and for Horseshoe Falls. *Water flow over Cohoes Falls ranges from zero to 90,000 cubic feet per second. (During Hurricane Irene in August 2011, the flow was estimated to be over 100,000 cubic feet per second with a total river flow of 117,000.) Water flow over Niagara Falls ranges from 5,000 to 21,000 cubic feet per second for American Falls and 45,000 to 190,000 cubic feet per second for Horseshoe Falls. *Cohoes Falls generates about 190,000 megawatt hours (i.e. 190 gigawatt hours) of electricity a year. Niagara Falls produces about 2.4 gigawatts in New York and 2.0 gigawatts in Canada. *At Niagara Falls, the annual rate of tourism tops 28 million people. There is no tourist industry at Cohoes Falls.

Gallery

Image:Cohoes Falls Spring.jpg, Cohoes Falls in spring with high volume of water File:2020 Cohoes Falls 2.jpg, Cohoes Falls with low water flow Image:Cohoes Falls Dry.jpg, Cohoes Falls dry

References

External links

Webcam of the Cohoes Falls
{{Hudson River, state=collapsed Cohoes, New York Erie Canal Waterfalls of New York (state) Landforms of Saratoga County, New York Landforms of Albany County, New York Tourist attractions in Albany County, New York Tourist attractions in Saratoga County, New York Block waterfalls