RELIEF

Topographic provinces of New Jersey

In a general way the surface of New Jersey may be described as mountainous in the northern part, undulating in the middle part, and low and sandy in the southern part. The state is divided into four provinces or zones; namely, the Appalachian zone, the Highlands, the Piedmont Plateau, and the Coastal Plain. These zones extend from southwest to northeast.

The Appalachian zone, which consists of Kittatinny Mountain and Kittatinny Valley, extends across the northwestern part of the state from the Delaware River in the vicinity of the Delaware Water Gap to the New York state line. The width of this belt varies from twelve to fourteen miles. The Kittatinny Mountain extends along the Delaware River for thirty miles in the northwestern corner of the state. It extends into Pennsylvania, where it is known as Blue Mountain. The height of this range varies from 1500 feet to 1800 feet. Its highest point and the highest in the state is High Point, which has an elevation of1804 feet. The Kittatinny Valley is on the southeast side of Kittatinny Mountain and runs parallel with it.

The Appalachian zone, with its rugged surface, extensive forests, and many lakes, is noted for its beautiful scenery, which attracts many summer visitors. The Delaware Water Gap is particularly noted on this account. This is a break in the Kittatinny Mountain through which the Delaware River flows. Because of the rough surface this section of the state is not adapted to agriculture, although on the bottom lands bordering on the streams and in the Kittatinny Valley there are many farms devoted to the raising of crops and to grazing.

The second zone, The Highlands, immediately southeast of the Appalachian zone, extends from the Delaware River into New York. Its southeastern boundary passes near Morristown and Boonton. This zone is from ten to twenty miles wide. Its height generally varies from 900 feet to 1400 feet. Hamburg Mountain and Wawayanda Mountain reach an altitude of 1469 feet. The Highlands, as well as the Appalachian zone, belong to the Appalachian region, but in New Jersey the term "Appalachian" is applied only to the region consisting of Kittatinny Mountain and Valley.

Relief map of New Jersey

The Highlands contain many irregular mountain masses, interspersed with fertile valleys, and much forest land. The zone contains, besides, many lakes, most of which are of glacial origin. The section is consequently one of great natural beauty, and is a popular resort for many who desire out-door recreation. There is much fertile farm land and land suitable for grazing. Parts of it are specially suitable for the raising of peaches and other fruits. It contains many valuable mineral deposits, including gravel, cement rock, zinc, and iron.

Next to the Highlands and parallel with it is the Piedmont Plateau. This extends from the Delaware River to the northeast corner of the state and is about thirty miles wide. Its southeastern boundary is a line running from Trenton to Woodbridge in Middlesex County, which represents in this state the Fall Line (Sec. 47). It comprises about one fifth of the area of the state. Its elevation varies from sea level to about 900 feet.

The Piedmont Plateau is characterized by the presence of red sandstone and shale. Its surface is very irregular. In its eastern part it is undulating or rolling. In the western, it contains higher lands which may be called plateaus. It contains also irregularridges such as the Watchung Mountains, the Palisades, and the mountains in Hunterdon County. The Watchung Mountains and the Palisades are composed of trap rock, which in a molten condition was forced up through overlying rock strata. The eastern sides of these trap ridges are steep slopes. The underlying sandstone has been worn away while the harder trap rock has resisted erosion.

The Palisades of the Hudson

The Falls of the Passaic River at Paterson are located in this section. These falls, which are seventy feet high, were formed by the water passing over the hard trap rock and wearing away the softer rock below.

Because of the nearness of the Piedmont Plateau to the great commercial centers of the country and the excellent facilities for transportation, most of the larger cities of the state are located in this zone.

Barnegat lighthouse>

The fourth zone, the Coastal Plain, includes the remainder of the state south and east of the Fall Line. The land of this zone is highest in the interior along a range of elevations extending from Atlantic Highlands in the northeast to Mount Holly in the southwest, and slopes outward from these elevations towards the margins of the zone. The greatest elevation is 390 feet, which is found in Monmouth County. About three fourths of this portion of the state has an elevation of less than 100 feet and about one third has an elevation of less than 50 feet. The Coastal Plain is bordered along Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Coast by salt marshes, or tidal marshes, often called salt meadows, whose elevation above sea level is rarely as much as four feet. The total area of these marshes, including those of the valley of the Hackensack River, is almost 660 square miles. Along the Atlantic coast the marshes are separated from the ocean by beaches. These are low ridges of sand, constructed in the shallow water by the action of the waves and wind. These beaches are absent along the shore of Delaware Bay and along the coast from Manasquan to Monmouth Beach. The water between the beaches and the mainland is shallow and is becoming more shallow because of the deposit of sediment which is washed down from the land by streams.

Although the coast line of the state along the Atlantic is 120 miles long, there are no good harbors on this line, because of the barrier beaches and the shallowness of the water between the beaches and the mainland.

Lake Drive, Greenwood Lake

The northern fourth of New Jersey was covered by ice during the Glacial Period (Sec. 32). It therefore contains many moraines, or deposits of material carried along by the glacier. These depositsconsist of clay, sand, gravel, and bowlders. In some places they take the form of hills or ridges, in others they are spread out as level sheets. Some valleys are partly filled by them. Many lakes in the northern part of the state occupy basins which were scooped out by the glacier, or were formed from river valleys whose outlets were blocked by glacial deposits. The terminal moraine which marks the southern limit of the glacier extends from Belvidere, through Morristown, to Perth Amboy. As the ice passed over the hard rocks of the mountains it polished their surfaces, and left in them scratches, which indicate the general southward movement of the glacier.

The Coastal Plain was once beneath the ocean and was part of the continental shelf which extends along the Atlantic. The ancient shore is now the Fall Line.

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