City (pop., 2000: 292,648), western New York, U.S. Located at the northeastern point of Lake Erie on the Niagara River , it is the terminus of the New York State Barge Canal.
Settled by American Indians in 1780, the site was laid out as a town at the beginning of the 19th century. It was a military post in the War of 1812 and was burned by the British. Rebuilt in 1814–15, it became the western terminus of the Erie Canal , which brought an economic boom to the community. A major port on the St. Lawrence Seaway and the main U.S. gateway to Ontario's Toronto-Hamilton industrial region, it processes much of U.S.-Canadian trade. It is also an educational and medical research centre.