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The valley formed by the Mohawk River is the longest east-west valley along the Appalachian chain. There was no suitable route for a canal stretching anywhere from the Appalachian foothills of Alabama to the St Lawrence River in Canada. Rome, situated at the intersection of the Mohawk and Black River, which headed to the rich forests to the north, was selected as the spot where canal construction would begin. Similarly, the first segment of the canal was dug between Rome and Utica as Utica was at the junction with the Chenango which lead south to the rich coal fields of Northwest Pennsylvania.