Southern Tier
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Southern Tier is a geographical term that refers to the counties of New York State west of the Catskill Mountains along the northern border of Pennsylvania.
The region is bordered to the south by the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania, and together these regions are known as the Twin Tiers.
The counties (and major cities and towns) generally included in the Southern Tier are:
Also occasionally included in the "Southern Tier" designation less frequently are Schuyler County, Chautauqua County (primarily the region in the Conewango Creek watershed, other areas are part of the Niagara Frontier), Yates County, Cortland County, Tompkins County, and (rarely) Schoharie County, Chenango County, and Otsego County.
The Southern Tier makes up the northernmost portion of Appalachia.
Much of the Southern Tier, except for Allegany and Cattaraugus Counties, is in area code 607. The westernmost portion of the Southern Tier is also located in New York's 29th congressional district as of 2007.
The Southern Tier is generally hilly without being mountainous. Both the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers flow through the Southern Tier in their upper reaches, as does the Allegheny River in the western Southern Tier.
The largest city in the region is Binghamton, where Binghamton University (the State University of New York-Binghamton), one of the SUNY system's four University Centers, is located.
The Southern Tier Expressway - Interstate 86 and New York State Route 17 - serves the Southern Tier.
Greater Binghamton Airport is the largest airport in the area and has flights to Detroit,Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. Elmira-Corning Regional Airport also serves the area with flights to DC and areas in Connecticut. Bus service is provided along the entire I-86/NY 17 corridor by Coach USA's Shortline/Erie services from Jamestown to New York City, and Trailways connects each end of the Southern Tier with Buffalo (at the western end in Salamanca), Sunbury/Lock Haven (at Elmira), and Syracuse, Albany and Harrisburg (at Binghamton).
