A few points on the Erie Canal page
1) The page says that the canal parralels Wood Creek which flows "from" Onieda Lake. However, Wood Creek actually flows into Onieda Lake. The flow of Wood Creek is westward. Wood Creek actually represents an earlier version of the Mohawk River which formerly drained west from Rome.
2) While the lower Mohawk River is between the Adirondacks and the Catskills, it doesn't separate two ranges of the Appalachains. The Adirondacks are actually part of the Canadian shield. The Hudson - Champlain Valley is actually one valley formed by contenental plate collision. The Hudson "falls" into this valley at Hudson and Glens Falls. The Mohawk "falls" into the valley at Cohoes Falls. The tidal Hudson River breaches the Appalachains at Bear Mountain. The unique situation of New York State is that Albany is west of the Appalachains. Thus there is no mountain barrier to the route west to the Great Lakes.