The erie canal opened up the great lakes and which two cities to the international port of new york city?

The Erie Canal opened up the Great Lakes and the cities of Buffalo and Rochester to the international port of New York City.

Explanation:

Erie Canal is a historic 584 km long waterway opened in 1825, part of the inland waterway between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic. The old water connection system begins in Buffalo on the Niagara River and ends in Albany on the Hudson River.  

The channel operated until 1918, when it was officially replaced by a more modern, parallel New York State Barge Canal, today the largest element of the US shipping channel system. The newer channel, in turn, lost its economic significance in the second half of the 20th century and in the 1990s it was officially closed for freight transport. In recent years, it has been gradually adapted to recreational sailing, and many of its sections have been renamed Erie Canal. Larger cities along the canal route are Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo.

north east because it has more forest

explanation:

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