The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to Yonkers in Westchester County, bordering New York City.

[3] The Lenape people waited for the explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano onshore, traded with Henry Hudson, and sold the island of Manhattan.

One major fortress was called Navish, which was located at Croton Point, overlooking the Hudson River.

[3] In 1497, John Cabot traveled along the coast and claimed the entire country for England; he is credited with the Old World's discovery of continental North America.

In 1609, the Dutch East India Company financed English navigator Henry Hudson in his attempt to search for the Northwest Passage.

As he continued up the river, its width expanded, into Haverstraw Bay, leading him to believe he had successfully reached the Northwest Passage.

[7] The Dutch settled three major fur-trading outposts in the colony, along the river, south to north: New Amsterdam, Wiltwyck, and Fort Orange.

[8] Under British colonial rule, the Hudson Valley became an agricultural hub, with manors being developed on the east side of the river.

Landlords held immense political power in the colony due to driving such a large proportion of the agricultural output.

[10] In doing so, the British, under General John Burgoyne's strategy, would be able to cut off the patriot hub of New England (which is on the eastern side of the Hudson River) and focus on rallying the support of loyalists in the South and Mid-Atlantic regions.

The canal opened the Hudson Valley and New York City to commerce with the Midwest and Great Lakes regions.

[16] The Hudson Valley proved attractive for railroads once technology progressed to the point where it was feasible to construct the required bridges over tributaries.

The Hudson River Railroad was chartered the next year as a continuation of the Troy and Greenbush south to New York City, and was completed in 1851.

The North Tarrytown Assembly (later owned by General Motors), on the river in Sleepy Hollow, was a large and notable example.

With convenient steamboat connections in New York City and numerous attractive hotels in romantic settings, tourism became an important industry.

Middle-class people who read James Fenimore Cooper's novels or saw the paintings of the Hudson River School were especially attracted to the region.

[20] The Hudson River valley runs primarily north to south down the eastern edge of New York State, cutting through a series of rock types including Triassic sandstones and redbeds in the south and much more ancient Precambrian gneiss in the north (and east).

The region became the breadbasket of colonial America, given that the surrounding New England and Catskills areas were more mountainous and had rockier soils.

Dairy farms are predominant, though fruit, vegetable, poultry, meat, and maple syrup production are also common.

[27] The Hudson Valley is one of the oldest winemaking and grape-growing regions in the United States, with its first vineyards planted in 1677 in current-day New Paltz.

[29] Rhinebeck is home to the Hudson Valley Wine & Food Fest, hosted at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds.

[32] Tech Valley encompasses 19 counties straddling both sides of the Adirondack Northway and the New York Thruway,[31] and with heavy state taxpayer subsidy, has experienced significant growth in the computer hardware industry, with great strides in the nanotechnology sector, digital electronics design, and water- and electricity-dependent integrated microchip circuit manufacturing,[33] involving companies including IBM in Armonk and its Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown, GlobalFoundries in Malta, and others.

[37] The Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area promotes historic, natural, and cultural sites in 11 counties.

Commuter rail service in the region is provided by Metro-North Railroad (operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority).