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Geography

Syracuse is located at 43°2′49″N 76°8′40″W (43.046899, -76.144423). It is located about 87 miles east of Rochester, 150 miles east of Buffalo, and 145 miles west of the state capital Albany. It is also the halfway point between New York City and Toronto, about 245 miles from each, Toronto to the northwest and NYC to the southeast.

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According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 25.6 square miles, of which 25.1 square miles is land and 0.6 square miles (2.15%) water.

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The city developed at the northeast corner of the Finger Lakes region. The city has many neighborhoods that were originally independent villages, which joined the city over the years. Although the central part of Syracuse is flat, many of its neighborhoods are on small hills such as University Hill and Tipperary Hill. Land to the north of Syracuse is generally flat, while land to the south is hilly.

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About 27 percent of Syracuse's land area is covered by 890,000 trees — a higher percentage than in Albany, Rochester or Buffalo. The Labor Day Storm of 1998 was a derecho that destroyed approximately 30,000 trees. The sugar maple accounts for 14.2 percent of Syracuse's trees, followed by the Northern white cedar (9.8 percent) and the European buckthorn (6.8 percent). The most common street tree is the Norway maple (24.3 percent), followed by the honey locust (9.3 percent).

The densest tree cover in Syracuse is in the two Valley neighborhoods, where 46.6 percent of the land is covered by trees. The lowest tree cover percentage is found in the densely developed downtown, which has only 4.6 percent trees.

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Syracuse's main water source is Skaneateles Lake, one of the country's cleanest lakes, located 15 miles southwest of the city. Water from nearby Onondaga Lake is not drinkable due to the industrial dumping that spanned many decades, leaving the lake heavily polluted. Incoming water is left unfiltered, and chlorine is added to prevent bacterial growth. Most of the environmental work to achieve lake cleanup is scheduled to be completed by 2016; the county is scheduled to finish its work by 2018. For periods of drought, there is also a backup line which uses water from Lake Ontario.

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Onondaga Creek, a waterway that runs through downtown, flows northward through the city. The Onondaga Creekwalk borders it, connecting the Lakefront, Inner Harbor, Franklin Square and Armory Square neighborhoods. The creek continues through the Valley and ultimately to the Onondaga Nation. The creek is navigable but it can be a challenge. Its channelized nature speeds up its flow, particularly in the spring, when it may be dangerous. After some youngsters drowned in the creek, some residential areas fenced off the creek in their neighborhoods.

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Wikipedia contributors. (2020, May 8). Syracuse, New York. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracuse,_New_York