The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States. It drains an area of 14,119 square miles (36,570 km2) in five U.S. states: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania. Rising in two branches in New York state's Catskill Mountains, the river flows 419 miles (674 km) into Delaware Bay where its waters enter the Atlantic Ocean near Cape May in New Jersey and Cape Henlopen in Delaware. Not including Delaware Bay, the river's length including its two branches is 388 miles (624 km). The Delaware River is one of nineteen "Great Waters" recognized by the America's Great Waters Coalition.
The Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. The gap constitutes the southern portion of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, which is used primarily for recreational purposes, such as rafting, canoeing, swimming, fishing, hiking, and rock climbing.
The Watchung Mountains are a group of three long low ridges of volcanic origin, between 400 and 500 feet high, lying parallel to each other in northern New Jersey in the United States. The Watchung Mountains are known for their numerous scenic vistas overlooking New York City, Newark and New Jersey skylines, as well as their isolated ecosystems containing rare plants, endangered wildlife, rich minerals, and globally imperiled trap rock glade communities. The ridges traditionally contained the westward spread of urbanization, forming a significant geologic barrier beyond the piedmont west of the Hudson River; the town of Newark, for example, once included lands from the Hudson to the base of the mountains. Later treaties moved the boundary to the top of the mountain, to include the springs. The Watchungs are basalt uplifts, geologically similar to the Palisades along the Hudson river. In many places, however, the mountains have become sinuous islands of natural landscape within the suburban sprawl covering much of contemporary northeastern New Jersey. Parks, preserves, and numerous historical sites dot the valleys and slopes of the mountains, providing recreational and cultural activities to one of the most densely populated regions of the nation.
South Mountain Reservation, covering 2,110 acres (8 km2), is a nature reserve on the Rahway River that is part of the Essex County Park System in northeastern New Jersey, United States. It is located in central Essex County, New Jersey, within portions of Maplewood, Millburn and West Orange, and borders South Orange, between the first and second ridges of the Watchung Mountains.
Blue Mountain Ridge, Blue Mountain, or the Blue Mountains of Pennsylvania is part of the geophysical makeup of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is a ridge that forms the southern and eastern edge of the Appalachian mountain range spanning over 255 miles (410 km) from the Delaware Water Gap as it cuts across the eastern half of the state on a slight diagonal from New Jersey tending southerly until it turns southerly curving into Maryland, and beyond.
The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a 70,000 acres (28,000 ha) protected area designated a National Recreation Area administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service. It is located along the middle section of the Delaware River in New Jersey and Pennsylvania stretching from the Delaware Water Gap northward in New Jersey to the state line near Port Jervis, New York, and in Pennsylvania to the outskirts of Milford. A 40-mile (64 km) section of the Delaware River, entirely within the National Recreation Area, has been granted protected status as the Middle Delaware National Scenic River under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System and is also administered by the National Park Service. This section of the river is the core of the historical Minisink region.
Interstate 80 (I-80) is a major Interstate Highway in the United States, running from the New York City Metropolitan Area westward to San Francisco, California. The New Jersey Department of Transportation also identifies I-80 as the Christopher Columbus Highway. I-80 in New Jersey runs 68.54 miles (110.30 km) from the Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge over the Delaware River at the Delaware Water Gap to its eastern terminus at I-95 in Teaneck, Bergen County. I-95 continues from the end of I-80 to the George Washington Bridge for access to New York City; access is also provided via the I-280 spur towards the Holland Tunnel and US 46 to Route 3, or I-95, towards the Lincoln Tunnel. Throughout New Jersey, I-80 runs parallel to US 46. The highway heads through rural areas of Warren and Sussex counties before heading into more suburban surroundings in Morris County. As the road continues into Passaic and Bergen counties, it heads into more urban areas.
The Skylands Region is a region and marketing area of the State of New Jersey located in the Northern and Central part of the state. It is one of six tourism regions established by the New Jersey State Department of Tourism, the others being the Gateway Region, Greater Atlantic City Region, the Southern Shore Region, the Delaware River Region and the Shore Region. The area officially encompasses Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties; the northwestern part of the Passaic County fits in with the Skylands Region, but it is part of the Gateway Region and not the Skylands Region. One could also say that the western most part of Bergen is also part of the skylands. The area features uplifted land, rolling hills and mountains characteristic of North Jersey. The region contains 60,000 acres of state parkland, and a diverse geography filled with lakes, rivers and picturesque hills.
Stokes State Forest is a state park located in Sandyston, Montague and Frankford in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. Stokes comprises 16,447 acres (66.56 km2) of mountainous woods in the Kittatinny Mountains, extending from the southern boundary of High Point State Park southwestward to the eastern boundary of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail spans fourteen U.S. states during its roughly 2,200 miles (3,500 km)-long journey: Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. It begins at Springer Mountain, Georgia, and follows the ridgeline of the Appalachian Mountains, crossing many of its highest peaks and running with only a few exceptions almost continuously through wilderness before ending at Mount Katahdin, Maine.
New Jersey is a very geologically and geographically diverse region in the United States' Middle Atlantic region, offering variety from the Appalachian Mountains and the Highlands in the state's northwest, to the Atlantic Coastal Plain region that encompasses both the Pine Barrens and the Jersey Shore. The state's geological features have impacted the course of settlement, development, commerce and industry over the past four centuries.
The Reading Prong is a physiographic subprovince of the New England Uplands section of the New England province of the Appalachian Highlands. The prong consists of mountains made up of crystalline metamorphic rock.
The Minisink or Minisink Valley is a loosely defined geographic region of the Upper Delaware River valley in northwestern New Jersey, northeastern Pennsylvania and New York.
Marble Mountain is a mountain in Warren County, New Jersey. The summit rises to 771 feet (235 m), and is located in Harmony and Lopatcong Townships, overlooking the Delaware River; along with Chestnut Hill on the Pennsylvania side, Marble Mountain forms Weygadt Gap or the Little Water Gap.
Oxford Mountain is a mountain in Warren County, New Jersey. The main peak rises to 955 feet (291 m), and is located in Oxford, Washington and Mansfield Townships. Oxford Mountain is separated from County House Mountain to the northeast at Sykes Gap, and forms a part of the divide between Pohatcong Creek and the Pequest River. It is part of the New York–New Jersey Highlands of the Appalachian Mountains.
Paradise Mountain, or Mount Paradise is a peak of the Kittatinny Mountains in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. The mountain is 1,606 feet (490 m) tall. It lies along the Appalachian Trail in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
Culver Ridge, or Normanook is a peak of the Kittatinny Mountains in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. The mountain is 1,500 feet (457 m) tall. It lies along the Appalachian Trail in Stokes State Forest, overlooking Culver's Lake to the south, and Culvers Gap, a wind gap, to the southwest.
Bird Mountain is a peak of the Kittatinny Mountains in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. The mountain is 1,500 feet (457 m) tall. It lies near the Appalachian Trail in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and overlooks Quick's Pond to the east.
Catfish Mountain is a peak of the Kittatinny Mountains in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. The mountain stands 1,560 feet (475 m) in height. It lies along the Appalachian Trail in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Catfish Pond is to the southwest; it is drained by Yards Creek, which flows through Catfish Pond Gap.
