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| Above: Aerial Photo of New Island 1998 |
| Left: Aerial Photo of the City of Oneonta 1998 |
New
Island: A Landscape in Transition
David Fyfe
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Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyze the
changes in the Susquehanna River near the City of Oneonta and determine when and
how New Island was formed and to illustrate how the land-use/ land-cover of New Island has
changed since 1937.
Study Area
The
study area for this research is the Susquehanna River corridor in the city of
Oneonta, NY. The area is
approximately 2 ½ miles by 1 mile. The
study area starts on the east with the junction of the Charlotte Creek and the
Susquehanna River. The southern
limit of the study area is the intersection of Old Southside Drive and Swart
Hollow Road. The western limit is
the bridge on Route 23 that crosses the Susquehanna on the west side of Neahwa
Park. To the north, the limit is
the intersection of Route 7 and East End Avenue. This study area shows the
area in which major changes in the Susquehanna River have taken place.
To illustrate the changes in land-use/land-cover since 1937 the focus
will be the area of New Island.
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1871 Atlas of Otsego County NY |
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1915 USGS Topographic Map City of Oneonta |
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1982 USGS Topographic Map City of Oneonta |
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1937 Aerial Photo of New Island |
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1998 Aerial Photo of New Island |
Introduction
As the Map of 1871
shows, the Susquehanna River historically followed a course roughly parallel to
the Albany & Susquehanna Railroad. The
first major bend in the river within this study area occurred where the Oneonta
Creek flows into the river. Today,
this location would be where Lettis Highway passes over the railroad tracks on
the way into the City of Oneonta. The
USGS topographic map of 1915 shows a large body of water between the Susquehanna
River and The Delaware and Hudson Railroad.
This body of water is Electric Lake.
Electric Lake was created in 1897 when , used to provide electric for the
city of Oneonta from 1898 to 1954.
The island that is located between the river and Electric Lake is New
Island. The 1915 map also shows
that the course of the Susquehanna River is different from that of 1871. The 1982 USGS topographic map shows the present course of the
Susquehanna River, which is approximately the same as in 1915.
However, there are a few significant changes in the landscape.
For example, Electric Lake no longer exists, the railroad running through
New Island is no longer in service, and an interstate has been built through the
island. This study will show when
these changes occurred, and how these changes have impacted New Island.
The terms land-cover and land-use are often used together to classify earth’s surface features that are depicted in aerial photographs. Land-cover describes the features that are found on earth’s surface such as water bodies, forests, and grasslands. Land-use is the human activity that is associated with these features such as urban or agricultural land (Anderson, 1976). Aerial photographs from 1937 and 1998 show very different land-use and land-cover patterns on New Island. This study will identify these uses and show how the uses on and around New Island have changed over the past 60 years.