 It is named for the rise atop which the road was built, a mound of sand and gravel that was formed when it was the shoreline of ancient Glacial Lake Iroquois (now Lake Ontario).The ridge is often confused with the nearby Niagara Escarpment, which is much taller, geologic in origin, and lies a few miles to the south.Most of the road is maintained by either the New York State Department of Transportation as a touring route or by county highway departments as a county road.