Wyoming County

Wyoming County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, located in the state’s western area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 42,155. The county seat is Warsaw. The name is from a modified Delaware Indian word meaning “broad bottom lands”. Wyoming County was formed from Genesee County in 1841.

Wyoming County is in the western part of New York State, east of Buffalo and slightly west of due south of Rochester. The county is in the Holland Purchase Region.

The county is largely rural, dotted with small towns. Even the county seat, Warsaw is quite small. The land surface is generally broken and hilly, and the soil fertile. Much of the area is wooded, used for timber. Some that are predominantly maple are tapped each spring for the production of maple syrup. Agriculture is mostly small family dairy farms, or hobby farms for people who work in Buffalo or Batavia. Apple orchards were once a major agricultural endeavor, but only a few are left. The area is well known for outdoor sports, being an excellent area for fishing, hunting, and snowmobiling.

An active geologic fault runs down the Dale valley through Linden, to the east of Batavia and out into Lake Ontario. Movement of the fault is an occasional source of minor earthquakes, which, at most, have toppled a couple chimneys. The Dale Valley has been developed as a source of salt by way of brine wells, for the chemical industry. A pipeline moves the brine to Niagara Falls.

Letchworth State Park, on the Genesee River forms part of the southeastern boundary of the county. A deep gorge with three major waterfalls characterize this scenic and historic area, created when the last Ice age glacier diverted the river and forced it to cut a new valley. It is the home area of Mary Jemison, the White Woman of the Genesee, who was captured as a young person by the Seneca tribe and became an important figure in negotiations between the tribe and the land companies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming_County,_New_York

Middle Falls.

The roar of Middle Falls at Letchworth State Park when I was there last autumn.

Upper Falls at Letchworth State Park

Viewing the Upper Falls at Letchworth State Park last Thursday. There was a fair amount of water coming over the falls after the rain we had on Monday.