The New York State canal completed in 1825 that links Lake Erie to the Hudson River is the Erie Canal.
The canal runs east–west across upstate New York, connecting the Great Lakes with the Hudson River and, through it, the Atlantic Ocean. Construction was authorized by the New York legislature in 1817, strongly supported by Governor DeWitt Clinton, and completed on October 26, 1825.
The Erie Canal made transportation across the Appalachian region far cheaper and faster. Its success helped New York City become a major commercial center while accelerating settlement and economic growth around the Great Lakes. The original canal was roughly 363 miles long and used locks to overcome changes in elevation.
The canal is sometimes confused with the Champlain Canal, which links the Hudson River with Lake Champlain, or the Welland Canal, which bypasses Niagara Falls between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The Erie Canal's defining route is the connection between Lake Erie and the Hudson.