First Welland Canal 1818, when the flow was especially low, Merritt pursued the idea of bringing water to his mills from the Welland River. On a bigger scale, the Erie Canal, dug from the Hudson River through northern New York, was about to reach Lake Erie. The impending completion meant the cargo from upper Great Lakes was about to head down the canal and Hudson River to New York City, bypassing its previous destination, Montreal. At the time, a considerable rivalry existed between Montreal and New York for cargo headed to Europe via ocean-going vessels. All of these factors contributed to the construction
Great Lakes Megalopolis Great Lakes Megalopolis The Great Lakes Megalopolis consists of the group of metropolitan areas in North America largely in the Great Lakes region and along the Saint Lawrence Seaway. To its south and west, it lies in the Midwestern United States, extending east into western Pennsylvania and Upstate New York, as well as north to Southern Ontario and the southern part of Quebec in Canada. It is the largest and most populated megalopolis in North America. At its most inclusive, the region cuts a wide swath from the Twin Cities in Minnesota to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Rochester, New York. On