New York (state) of the state's geographic area is dominated by meadows, forests, rivers, farms, mountains, and lakes. Most of the southern part of the state rests on the Allegheny Plateau, which extends from the southeastern United States to the Catskill Mountains; the section in New York State is known as the Southern Tier. The rugged Adirondack Mountains, with vast tracts of wilderness, lie west of the Lake Champlain Valley. The Great Appalachian Valley dominates eastern New York and contains the Lake Champlain Valley as its northern half and the Hudson Valley as its southern half within the state. The Tug Hill region
Samuel de Champlain growth of New France in the St. Lawrence River valley until his death in 1635. Champlain is memorialized as the "Father of New France" and "Father of Acadia", and many places, streets, and structures in northeastern North America bear his name, or have monuments established in his memory. The most notable of these is Lake Champlain, which straddles the border between northern New York and Vermont, extending slightly across the border into Canada. In 1609 he led an expedition up the Richelieu River and explored a long, narrow lake situated between the Green Mountains of present-day Vermont and the Adirondack