Buffalo (Buffalo) (eng. Buffalo [ˈbʌfəloʊ]) is a city in the northwestern part of the state of New York, the second most populated city in the state (after New York). It is located on the eastern shore of Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes, on the right bank of the Niagara River, bordering Canada, connecting Lake Erie with Lake Ontario. Population 261,310 inhabitants (2010). The county seat of Erie County. Economic and cultural center of the Buffalo-Niagara agglomeration (1.2 million inhabitants). Sometimes Buffalo is included in the “Golden Horseshoe” (Golden Horseshoe) – an almost ten millionth agglomeration covering Lake Ontario from the west and located mostly in Canada.
European settlement since the end of the 18th century. Explosive growth began in the 1840s after the appearance of the Erie Canal. By the end of the 19th century, Buffalo was one of the largest cities in the United States, the country’s largest inland port, and a center for heavy and food industries. By the middle of the 20th century, the importance of the Erie Canal trade route had declined, and with it the industrial importance of the city. Now Buffalo is primarily a cultural, financial, educational and medical center. The transfer of production has improved the ecological situation in the city; in 2005, the city entered the top three cleanest cities in the country.

Origin of the name
The most common version says that the name “Buffalo” comes from a modified French phrase “beau fleuve”, – “beautiful river”. Surely the French explorers said so at the sight of the Niagara River. But this assumption is refuted by official sources. French explorers marked the Niagara River on their maps as “Rivière aux Chevaux” – the river of horses.
Another theory of the origin of the name appeared in print in 1825; this is a story about stolen horse meat that was planted as buffalo meat. After this deceptive picnic, the name “Buffalo” appeared. It is worth noting that the author of this article himself expressed great skepticism towards what was written.
By the time Europeans entered Northeast America (from 1492) there were no bison. The small settlement of “Buffalo” took its name from “Buffalo Bay”. The name of the bay appeared on the maps in 1760. Although the “beautiful river” theory seems more plausible than the others, they all fail to explain the origin of the city’s name.

History
Small trade a settlement near Buffalo Bay appeared sometime in 1789. After the opening of the Erie Canal, in 1825, Buffalo began to grow very rapidly and intensively, as it was the eastern terminus of the canal. Already by 1900, Buffalo becomes the 8th city in America in terms of population, and begins to acquire the functions of a railway junction, the country’s largest flour milling center and the world’s largest steel center.
On May 1, 1901, the Pan American Exposition opened in Buffalo. For the first time, the general public was introduced to the recently discovered properties of X-rays and the inventions of engineer Nikola Tesla. Also in Buffalo, for the first time, the attraction “Journey to the Moon” was presented, during which visitors to the exhibition rode on a winged ship along the track, over which a huge moon shone. The first “journey to the moon” was made by US President William McKinley and inventor Thomas Edison. The attraction made such a strong impression on the public and the press that within two years all amusement parks in America began to be called “amusement parks.” During the Pan-American Exhibition, a tragic event also occurred: the anarchist Leon Frank Czolgosz mortally wounded President McKinley.
Between 1906 and 1912 electric vehicles were manufactured in the city by the Babcock Electric Carriage Company.
The second half of the 20th century radically changed the positive picture of the city’s development. By 1990, the city’s population had dropped to its 1900 level. Due to the opening of a navigable passage through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the development of the city began to decline. Many steelworking enterprises closed or moved, which also affected the development of the city for the worse.

Geography
Buffalo is located on the eastern end of Lake Erie, on the other side of Fort Erie (Ontario) in Canada, at the source of the Niagara River, which flows through the widest waterfall in the world and flows into Lake Ontario.
According to the US Bureau of Statistics, the total area of ​​the city is 136 square kilometers. Of these, 23% is water. Buffalo has a reputation for snowy winters, but it’s hardly the snowiest city in the state. The region has a humid climate of the continental type, and the proximity of the Great Lakes imposes a marine type. More than half of all snow falls due to the presence of lakes. This phenomenon is called the lake effect. It works when cold air crosses a relatively warm lake and becomes saturated with moisture, creating clouds and rushing winds. Due to the prevailing winds, areas south of Buffalo experience the lake effect much more strongly than those to the north. The natural “machine” for the production of snow “turns on” in October, reaches a peak in December, and then practically stops when ice rises on the lakes. The strongest snowstorm in Buffalo was recorded in 1977, and was called “Blizzard of ’77”. Buffalo has the sunniest and driest summers of any of the major cities in the Northeast, but there is enough rain to keep the vegetation green and lush.

Transport
Buffalo is served by the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. It serves approximately 5 million passengers a year, and this number is constantly increasing. This airport is one of the five cheapest from which you can fly within the country. In recent years, many Canadians have begun using this airport due to the inflated charges at Canadian airports. The length of metro lines in Buffalo is 10 km. The city has a well-developed bus network. A project called “Cars on Main Street” is currently being developed, which should significantly ease the load on the subway in Down Town.
Intercity communication is represented by two stations through which you can go to Canada too.
Since Buffalo stands on the eastern end of Lake Erie, this makes it possible for many residents to have yachts, sailboats, motor boats, and other floating facilities and quickly get to the beautiful sandy beaches of Ontario (Canada).
Major highways serving the Greater Buffalo area.
Interstate 90 transit freeway
Interstate 190, Road through Big Island to Niagara Falls
Interstate 290 (New York), road to Niagara Falls bypassing Buffalo.
Interstate 990, Interstate Highway
U.S. Route 62, Bailey Ave and South Park Ave.
NY Route 5, Main St.
NY Route 130, Broadway
NY Route 384, Delaware Ave.
NY Route 266, Niagara St.
NY Route 265, Military Rd. and Tonawanda St.
NY Route 198, Scajaquada Expressway
NY Route 33, Kensington Expwy.

Cultural life
The main educational institution is the State University of New York, which has three branches in the metropolitan area. Major cultural attractions include the nationally acclaimed theater district, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, and the Buffalo and Erie Counties Historical Society. In addition, thirty miles north of Buffalo is Niagara Falls, which attracts millions of tourists every year. The falls gained notoriety in 1678 when Father Louis Hennepin first saw it. It was here that, first of all, on the territory of the American continent, they began to use electricity generated by hydroelectric power plants. Niagara Falls is a tourist and industrial center.

City nicknames
Most commonly, when Buffalo is called the “city of the queen.” The name first appeared in print in 1840, referring to the city’s status as the second largest in New York State after New York City. Throughout the 19th century, this name stuck with the city also because Buffalo is the second largest city in America on the Great Lakes after Chicago (although it was later surpassed by Detroit and Cleveland).
Then it was called the “nickel city”. This is due to the appearance of a bison on the reverse side of the coin at the beginning of the 20th century. “The City of Good Neighbors” was nicknamed Buffalo because of the constant mutual assistance and friendly spirit of all its inhabitants. At the beginning of the 20th century, the inhabitants of the city themselves began to call it the “city of light.” There were two important reasons for this. Firstly, because of the construction of a hydroelectric power station on the Niagara Falls, which brought a huge amount of electricity. Secondly, Buffalo became the first American city to have a street with electrified lights. Another example of the city’s many nicknames is the “city of trees”. This name describes the abundance of greenery. There are more than 20 parks in Buffalo, and they are located in such a way that at least one of them is always within walking distance from any part of the city.

Economy
It is rather difficult to describe the economy of the region at the moment. This is a mixture of industrial, light industrial, high-tech and oriented to the service sector. Instead of pinning all hopes on one sector, the region is developing a multilateral economy in order to create opportunities for growth and development in the 21st century.

Sport
The city is home to the Buffalo Bills, a professional football (American football) club, and the Buffalo Sabers, a hockey club that plays in the National Hockey League. A fan of the team was the protagonist of the film Bruce Almighty – Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey).
Buffalo hosted the 2011 IIHF World Youth Championship and the 2015 IIHF World Championship.