Albany, New York forming a continuous water route from the Great Lakes to New York City. Unlike the current Barge Canal, which ends at nearby Waterford, the original Erie Canal ended at Albany; Lock 1 was north of Colonie Street. The Canal emptied into a man-made lagoon called the Albany Basin, which was Albany's main port from 1825 until the Port of Albany-Rensselaer opened in 1932. In 1829, while working as a professor at the Albany Academy, Joseph Henry, widely regarded as "the foremost American scientist of the 19th century", built the first electric motor. Three years later, he discovered electromagnetic self-induction (the
Eastern Great Lakes and Hudson Lowlands (ecoregion) addition the World Wildlife Fund developed its own classification system, in which much of this region is called the Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests. Eastern Great Lakes and Hudson Lowlands (ecoregion) The Eastern Great Lakes and Hudson Lowlands region extends along the south shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River to Lake Champlain, and south down the Hudson River. It is primarily within the state of New York. In the north it meets the Mixedwood Plains Ecozone of Canada. It is mostly temperate deciduous forest and agricultural land. It is one of the 104 Level