The Hudson River

I am from Brooklyn, so I see the Hudson River in it's final form (and the way most people think of the Hudson River)--a river (estuary) with a very strong current that empties into the New York Harbor. However, the headwaters of the Hudson River are located in the Adirondacks! There are a few rivers and brooks that feed into the Adirondacks: the longest source of the Hudson River is the "Opalescent River" on the west slopes of Marcy in the High Peaks, "Felspar Brook," and, most well-known, Lake Tear of the Clouds. I've been to Lake Tear of the Clouds, and it's amazing to think it could turn into the rushing Hudson River. 

The Hudson River connects New York City and the Adirondacks--A major urban area and the wilderness. The Hudson River is a main mode of transportation, both in boats, and because roads and railroads tend to be built along rivers. When traveling from the Adirondacks to NYC (or vice versa), it is likely that one will go along the Hudson at some point. The Hudson River is a powerful connection between the wilderness and metropolitan life. 

Like most of the Adirondacks, the Hudson River has suffered from human activities. In the mid-20th century, something called PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyl) were widely used as dielectric and coolant fluids. General Electric manufacturing facilities at Hudson Falls and Fort Edward discharged tons of PCBs into the river from 1947 to 1977. PCBs settle at the bottom of the river, so the sediment at the bottom of the Hudson River is especially toxic. The PCBs caused extensive contamination of fish in the river, so in 1976 the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation banned all fishing in the upper Hudson due to health concerns with PCBs. 

Like the Adirondacks, there have been many recent efforts to clean up the Hudson River. In 1983, the EPA declared a 200-mile stretch of the river, from Hudson Falls to New York City, to be a superfund site requiring cleanup. This shows growing concern for the effects of human activity all over NYS. The concern for the health of the Hudson River helps extend environmental awareness from New York City to the Adirondacks.