The Buffalo River drains a watershed in Western New York state, emptying into the eastern end of Lake Erie at the City of Buffalo. The river has three tributaries: Cayuga Creek, Buffalo Creek, and Cazenovia Creek. The Buffalo River has been important to the development of western New York, including as the terminus for the Erie Canal beginning in 1825, and later as an industrial area with uses including grain elevators, steel mills and chemical production. When shipping began to bypass the Erie Canal in the 1950s, and later heavy industry declined, the transportation and industrial uses of the river were greatly reduced. Many adjacent factories and grain mills were abandoned. The river and adjacent sites have been the focus of efforts over several decades to improve water quality and restore habitat, most recently in 2011 with the commencement of the Buffalo River Restoration Project. Geography The Buffalo River flows eastward from the point of confluence, passing through residential and heavily industrialized parts of the city. The river includes a federal navigation channel maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers at a depth of below lake level (along with an additional of the City Ship Canal). Because of this designation, bridges in the navigable part of the river are required to allow for passage of high vessels, and many of them are drawbridges. The very low hydraulic gradient of the river, along with the dredging, gives the river an estuarine-like character. Much of the shoreline is hardened by riprap, bulkhead Towns of Arcade, Java, and Sheldon, before flowing into Erie County. The creek flows through Elma and West Seneca, before its confluence with Cayuga Creek in West Seneca. Cayuga Creek is the northernmost tributary in the watershed. This creek begins in primarily farmland/wooded areas and passes through several residential communities, including Cheektowaga, Lancaster, and Depew, before its confluence with Buffalo Creek. The East Branch of Cazenovia Creek begins in Sardinia, and the West Branch begins in Concord. The land adjacent to these two branches is primarily agricultural and wooded areas, with the exception of several small residential communities. The two branches meet near East Aurora, after which Cazenovia Creek flows through the towns of Aurora, Elma, and West Seneca, and the city of Buffalo until its confluence with the Buffalo River. History The Buffalo Creek area is believed to have been held by the Neutral Nation prior to