Canajoharie Creek in Mohawk Valley 5

Canajoharie Creek in Mohawk Valley 5

Limetone has broken and erroded over eras to create a round pothole that the Canajoharie Creek runs into. Canajoharie Creek flows into the Mohawk River in the Village of Canajoharie in New York. Mohawk leader Konwatsi'tsiaienni Molly Brant translated the name Canajoharie as meaning, "the pot that washes itself," refering to this point on the creek where there is a round pothole formation in the bedrock.In 1945, Kosti Ruohomaa produced a photo essay for LIFE Magazine titled "Mohawk Valley." The accompanying article begins: "Along its 150-mile course from Rome, N.Y. to Cohoes, where it flows into the Hudson, the Mohawk River lies in a fertile rolling valley which, since before remembered history, has been a vital corridor through the eastern mountains” p. 103.The article is a history lesson, touching on Mohawk Native Peoples, brutal 17th and 18th century wars, and the construction of the Eerie Canal. Kosti Ruohomaa took over 500 photographs for this assignment for LIFE Magazine. Ruohomaa's images include rolling farmland, historic structures,  memorial monuments, and dramatic natural wonders. Over 20 of Kosti Ruohomaa’s photographs were published in the November 12, 1945 issue of LIFE Magazine on pages 103-111.