The Mohawk River is a 149-mile-long (240 km) river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River, flowing into it in Cohoes, a few miles north of the state capital of Albany. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy. A significant portion of the river's valley served as the path of the Erie Canal, key to developing both New York state and the Great Lakes area. The Mohawk's largest tributary, the Schoharie Creek, accounts for over one quarter (26.83%) of the river's watershed, with West Canada Creek contributing another 16.33% of total.