Mid-Hudson Region
| Hudson Valley | |
| Hudson River Valley | |
| Region | |
| Name origin: River valley for the Hudson River | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | New York |
| Counties |
11
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| Cities and towns | 13 and 143 |
| Area | 7,228 sq mi (18,720 km2) |
| Population | 1,170,483 (2013) |
| Density | 161.4/sq mi (62/km2) |
| Timezone | EST (UTC−5) |
| - summer (DST) | Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4) |
 The Hudson River Watershed
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| Website: [1] | |
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York, from the cities of Albany and Troy southward to Yonkers in Westchester County. Depending upon the definition delineating its boundaries, the Hudson Valley encompasses a growing metropolis which is home to between 3 and 3.5 million residents centered along the north-south axis of the Hudson River.
The Hudson River valley runs more or less north to south down the eastern edge of New York State, cutting through a series of rock types including Triassic sandstones and redbeds in the south and much more ancient Precambrian gneiss in the north (and east). In the Hudson Highlands, the river enters a fjord cut during previous ice ages. To the west lie the extensive Appalachian highlands. In the Tappan Zee region, the west side of the river has high cliffs produced by an erosion-resistant diabase; these cliffs range from 400–800 feet in height.
The Hudson Valley is one physiographic section of the larger Ridge-and-Valley province, which in turn is part of the larger Appalachian physiographic division. The northern portions of the Hudson Valley fall within the Eastern Great Lakes and Hudson Lowlands Ecoregion.
During the last ice age, the valley was filled by a large glacier that pushed south as far as Long Island. Near the end of the last ice age, the Great Lakes drained south down the Hudson River, from a large glacial lake called Lake Iroquois.Lake Ontario is the remnant of that Lake. Large sand deposits remain from where Lake Iroquois drained into the Hudson; these are now part of the Rome Sand Plains.
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Wikipedia