Molly Ann Brook Molly Ann's Brook | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | New Jersey |
Counties | Passaic, Bergen |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Franklin Lakes, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States |
• coordinates | 40°59′34.37″N74°11′34.15″W / 40.9928806°N 74.1928194°W |
• elevation | 495 ft (151 m) |
Mouth | Passaic River |
• location | Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey, United States |
• coordinates | 40°54′47.26″N74°11′18.60″W / 40.9131278°N 74.1885000°W Coordinates: 40°54′47.26″N74°11′18.60″W / 40.9131278°N 74.1885000°W |
• elevation | 117 ft (36 m) |
Length | 6.75 mi (10.86 km) |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• left | Squaw Brook |
Molly Ann Brook (sometimes Molly Ann's Brook) is a tributary of the Passaic River which flows south between the northern ranges of First Watchung Mountain and Second Watchung Mountain in Passaic County and Bergen County, New Jersey. Traveling north from its confluence with the Passaic River, Molly Ann Brook passes through the city of Paterson and the boroughs of Haledon, Prospect Park, North Haledon and Franklin Lakes.
Molly Ann Brook, like its neighboring Passaic River tributaries, played host to General Lafayette's troops during the American Revolutionary War. Known as Krakeel Val in 1780, the brook passed along the western edge of Lafayette's Grand Parade, running through the area where General St Clair's troops were stationed in October and November. [1]
In the late 18th century, the area of Westside Park, at the mouth of the brook in Paterson, was home to Dirck and Molly Van Houten and their children, one of the original pioneer families to settle the area. Adreyean, the ninth child of the family, distinguished himself from other Van Houtens in the area by calling himself Molly's Yawn (Dutch), or Molly's son. Living at his parents' homestead, the brook running through the property came to be known as Molly Yawn's Brook, which was later corrupted to the current Molly Ann's Brook. [2]
In the early 20th century, the brook became well known for its intense floods, particularly a massive flood affecting four towns in July, 1945. As a response, overflow tunnels were proposed in the late 1950s. [3] Ultimately, in 1999 the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District completed a flood control project in the lower reaches of the brook to protect against 50-year storm events. The project significantly deepened and widened the brook through the construction of concrete and rock-lined channels. [4]
Molly Ann Brook rises south of Franklin Ave in Franklin Lakes, about two thousand feet west of Goffle Pond, where the headwaters of the neighboring Goffle Brook are located. After flowing through High Mountain Golf Club, Molly Ann Brook joins two smaller tributaries to form Haledon Reservoir, an approximately three thousand foot by one thousand foot artificial lake. A second man made lake, Lower Basin Pond, exists directly below Haledon Reservoir, followed by a swimming hole about two thousand feet downstream.
In North Haledon, Molly Ann Brook is joined by its most significant tributary, First Brook, which extends north from its junction with Molly Ann Brook into the town of Wyckoff. Three quarters of a mile downstream of the confluence with First Brook, Molly Ann Brook is joined by the tiny Spring Brook just south of Overlook Ave. Another smaller brook paralleling Ballentine Drive and draining part of the western flank of First Watchung Mountain in North Haledon then merges with the brook before it reaches Oldham Pond. At Oldham Pond, Molly Ann Brook is joined by its second most significant tributary, a steeply graded stream draining the southwestern faces Mount Cecchino and High Mountain, the highest peaks of Second Watchung Mountain.
Beyond Oldham Pond, Molly Ann Brook is quickly joined by one other tributary flowing east off Second Watchung Mountain just south of the Haledon-North Haledon border. Here the brook transitions from the suburban environments of Franklin Lakes and North Haledon to the urbanized environments of Prospect Park, Haledon, and Paterson. Bound by concrete flood control walls, the brook takes on an artificial appearance for much of its lower reach. Ultimately, Molly Ann Brook joins the Passaic River in Paterson about three thousand feet west of the Great Falls, becoming the last tributary to reach the Passaic before the river's waters plunge over the imposing geologic barrier.
Haledon is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 9,052, an increase of 734 (+8.8%) from the 2010 census count of 8,318, in turn reflecting an increase of 66 (+0.8%) from the 8,252 counted in the 2000 census,.
Passaic River is a river, approximately 80 miles (130 km) long, in Northern New Jersey. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey, called the Great Swamp, draining much of the northern portion of the state through its tributaries. In its lower portion, it flows through the most urbanized and industrialized areas of the state, including along downtown Newark. The lower river suffered from severe pollution and industrial abandonment in the 20th century. In April 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $1.7 billion plan to remove 4.3 million cubic yards of toxic mud from the bottom of lower eight miles (13 km) of the river. It is considered one of the most polluted stretches of water in the nation and the project one of the largest clean-ups ever undertaken.
The Great Falls of the Passaic River is a prominent waterfall, 77 feet (23 m) high, on the Passaic River in the city of Paterson in Passaic County, New Jersey. The falls and surrounding area are protected as part of the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park, administered by the National Park Service. The Congress authorized its establishment in 2009.
Lake Passaic was a prehistoric proglacial lake that existed in northern New Jersey in the United States at the end of the last ice age approximately 19,000–14,000 years ago. The lake was formed of waters released by the retreating Wisconsin Glacier, which had pushed large quantities of earth and rock ahead of its advance, blocking the previous natural drainage of the ancestral Passaic River through a gap in the central Watchung Mountains. The lake persisted for several thousand years as melting ice and eroding moraine dams slowly drained the former lake basin. The effect of the lake's creation permanently altered the course of the Passaic River, forcing it to take a circuitous route through the northern Watchung Mountains before spilling out into the lower piedmont.
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 name is derived from the American Native Lenape name for them, Wach Unks. The Watchung Mountains are known for their numerous scenic vistas overlooking the skylines of New York City and Newark, New Jersey, 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 Pemigewasset River, known locally as "The Pemi", is a river in the state of New Hampshire, the United States. It is 65.0 miles (104.6 km) in length and drains approximately 1,021 square miles (2,644 km2). The name "Pemigewasset" comes from the Abenaki word bemijijoasek [bəmidzidzoasək], meaning "where side (entering) current is".
Green Brook is a tributary of the Raritan River in central New Jersey in the United States.
New Jersey's 9th congressional district is represented in Congress by Democrat Bill Pascrell, who resides in Paterson. Congressman Pascrell was first elected in 1996 from the old 8th district, defeating incumbent William J. Martini. The 9th district consists largely of municipalities in Bergen County and Passaic County.
Goffle Brook is a tributary of the Passaic River which flows south through a section of Passaic County and Bergen County in New Jersey and drains the eastern side of the First Watchung Mountain. Heading up the brook from the confluence with the Passaic River, one encounters the borough of Hawthorne, the village of Ridgewood, the borough of Midland Park, and the township of Wyckoff.
Campgaw Mountain is the northernmost ridge of the volcanically formed Watchung Mountains, along the border of Franklin Lakes, Oakland, and Mahwah in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. Located almost entirely within the bounds of Campgaw Mountain Reservation, the mountain offers numerous outdoor recreational opportunities, including the only ski slope in the Watchungs. Campgaw Mountain is commonly considered to be part of the greater Ramapo Mountains region, but the flora and geology of the mountain is quite different from the surrounding area and more closely resembles the nearby Preakness Range to the south.
Downtown Paterson is the main commercial district of Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. The area is the oldest part of the city, along the banks of the Passaic River and its Great Falls. It is roughly bounded by Interstate 80, Garret Mountain Reservation, Route 19, Oliver Street, and Spruce Street on the south; the Passaic River, West Broadway, Cliff Street, North 3rd Street, Haledon Avenue, and the borough of Prospect Park on the west; and the Passaic River also to the north.
Deep Voll Brook, also known as Deep Brook, is a tributary of Goffle Brook and part of the Passaic River watershed. The brook drains part of the eastern flank of First Watchung Mountain, cutting through portions of Bergen and Passaic county in New Jersey. Heading up the brook from its junction with Goffle Brook, one encounters the towns of Hawthorne and Wyckoff.
The Lenape Trail is a trail through Essex County, connecting many county parks and reservations, wooded spaces, and historical sites. It begins in Newark, New Jersey and ends in Millburn, New Jersey. It was established in 1982. It is the fifth longest trail in the state behind the Delaware and Raritan Canal Trail, the Appalachian Trail, the completed section of the Highlands Trail in the state and the Batona Trail. The Lenape trail traverses Newark and its suburbs, as well as the Watchung Mountains and Passaic Meadows. Because of the steepness of the Watchung Mountains and the flood-prone nature of the Passaic Meadows, the former basin of Glacial Lake Passaic, these areas have remained much less developed than the rest of the northeastern part of the state. This trail therefore offers hikers an opportunity to see cultural and historical sites of an urban trail, as well as large natural and undeveloped areas. The trail's proximity to New York City and the various ridges it traverses, including Forest Hill, Orange Mountain, and Second Watchung Mountain, offer many views of the skyline. The Lenape Trail forms a segment of the Liberty-Water Gap Trail and incorporates the West Essex Trail, the Lenape Trail's only rail-to-trail section. The Lenape Trail also connects with Morris County's Patriots Path trail system on its western terminus.
Slippery Rock Brook is a tributary of the Passaic River in Passaic County, New Jersey in the United States.
Goffle Brook Park is a public, county park spanning much of the length of Goffle Brook through the borough of Hawthorne in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. Since its designation and construction between 1930 and 1932, the park has served to protect the waters of Goffle Brook while at the same time providing recreational opportunities to the residents of Passaic County and nearby Bergen County. Goffle Brook Park has been included in the National Register of Historic Places since 2002.
Goffle Hill, also referred to as Goffle Mountain and historically known as Totoway Mountain and Wagaraw Mountain, is a range of the trap rock Watchung Mountains on the western edge of the Newark Basin in northern New Jersey. The hill straddles part of the border of Bergen County and Passaic County, underlying a mostly suburban setting. While hosting patches of woodlands, perched wetlands, and traprock glades, the hill is largely unprotected from development. Extensive quarrying for trap rock has obliterated large tracts of the hill in North Haledon, and Prospect Park. Conservation efforts seeking to preserve undeveloped land, such as the local Save the Woods initiative (2007–present), are ongoing.
McDonald's Brook is tributary of the Passaic River. It is a natural stream originating in Clifton, New Jersey, passing through Passaic, New Jersey. For most of its length, it runs underground in a culvert constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Prior to the construction of the culvert, larger parts of it ran through a ground-level stream bed, though parts of it ran underground even in its natural configuration.
Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve is a 147 acre public nature reserve located mostly within Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, with a tiny portion extending into North Haledon, New Jersey. Situated between the First and Second ridges of the northern Watchung Mountains, the preserve occupies the site of the former Haledon Reservoir, which previously supplied water to North Haledon, Haledon, and Prospect Park. Passive recreation opportunities include hiking, fishing, and bird watching.