he Hudson River is a 315-mile (507 km) river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. It rises at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains, flows past Albany, and finally forms the border between New York City and New Jersey at its mouth before emptying into Upper New York Bay. Its lower half is an estuary, experiencing tidal influence as far north as Troy. The river is named for Henry Hudson, an Englishman sailing for the Dutch East India Company, who explored it in 1609. bThe Hudson River was observed by Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazano in 1524 as he became the first European historically known to have entered Upper New York Bay. Early European settlement of the area clustered around the Hudson. The area inspired the Hudson River School of painting, an American pastoral style.