[4] The Buffalo River flows eastward from the point of confluence, passing through residential and heavily industrialized parts of the city.

[5] Because of this designation, bridges in the navigable part of the river are required to allow for passage of high vessels, and many of them are drawbridges.

Much of the shoreline is hardened by riprap, bulkhead Towns of Arcade, Java, and Sheldon, before flowing into Erie County.

The land adjacent to these two branches is primarily agricultural and wooded areas, with the exception of several small residential communities.

On July 8, 1788, Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham met with Indians of the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy (including Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca) at Buffalo Creek to execute a deed or treaty for rights to their lands in New York State east of the Genesee River (see Phelps and Gorham Purchase).

[7] In 1838, the Treaty of Buffalo Creek dealt with the disposition of the remaining land in New York held by the nations of the Iroquois Confederation.

The Buffalo River and to a lesser degree its tributaries have been the site of heavy industry, although this has declined in recent decades.

This, along with large combined sewer overflows along the river, has resulted in highly contaminated sediments and impaired water quality.

According to a statement by the Army Corps of Engineers in the spring of 2012, the project will result in the Buffalo River being removed from the list of Areas of Concern in three to five years.