Buffalo is an American city in western New York State. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 292,648. It is the state's second-largest city, after New York City, and is the county seat of Erie County. It is also the economic and cultural center of the Buffalo-Niagara Region, a diverse metropolitan area with a population of 1.2 million people. Buffalo is also part of the Golden Horseshoe, an international metropolitan area of over 9.7 million people, extending from Toronto, Ontario to Rochester, New York. Buffalo lies at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the southern head of the Niagara River which connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and leads to one of the natural wonders of the world - Niagara Falls. Buffalo is currently struggling to redefine itself in a post heavy industrial age, where its status as a port and a transportation center has diminished. A new economy in bio-tech, education, and tourism is emerging.