This glaciated region of irregular plains bordered by hills generally contains less surface irregularity and more agricultural activity and population density than the adjacent Northeast Highlands (10D) and Allegheny Plateau (10E).

Although orchards, vineyards, and vegetable farming are important locally, a large percentage of the agriculture is associated with dairy operations.

The portion of this ecoregion that is in close proximity to the Great Lakes experiences an increased growing season, more winter cloudiness, and greater snowfall.

Joktan′s Journey On describes how after traveling across the continent with his family, Joktan′s son Ophir, departs company from his father together with the remaining family members to travel to the Saint Lawrence river valley where he and his family made his new home.

Ophir′s first born son was Mahica who was to become a great chief among his people and was a skilled hunter in the nearby mountains. However, in time, after the arrival of the Iroquois, the Mahicans choose to move into the highland to the southeast and then later move to live in the lands east of the Hudson River.

When the Mohicans departed from the Saint Lawrence river valley, the entire area from south of Lake Ontario up through the eastern great lakes lowlands along the Lawrence River came to be known as the land of the Iroquois, which included five tribes: the Cayuga, the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Onondaga, and the Seneca. Later, Iroquois were joined by the Tuscarora tribe.