Watchung Mountains
The Watchung Mountains are a group of three long low ridges of volcanic origin, between 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. In the 18th century, the Euro-American settlers also called them the Blue Mountains or Blue Hills. 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 city 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.
Geography
The two most prominent ridges, known as First Watchung Mountain and Second Watchung Mountain, stretch for more than forty miles from Somerville in the southwest through Morris County, Union County, Essex County, and Passaic County to Mahwah in the northeast. Sometimes the less prominent and discontinuous ridge formed by Long Hill, Riker Hill, Hook Mountain, and Packanack Mountain is referred to as Third Watchung Mountain and lies on the northwestern side of Second Watchung Mountain. A parallel series of gaps through all three mountain ridges extends to the west from near Springfield to the northern boundary of Chatham where the Passic River flows through the Third Watchung Mountain.Often the entireties of First Watchung Mountain and Second Watchung Mountain are erroneously referred to as Orange Mountain and Preakness Mountain. Historically, the names ‘Orange’ and ‘Preakness’ have only been applied to specific sections of these ridges. The confusion appears to have arisen from the fact that First Watchung Mountain is said to be composed of Orange Mountain basalt, while Second Watchung Mountain is composed of Preakness Mountain basalt. The names applied to the basalts are geologic type localities, that is to say, the type of rock found at Orange Mountain is exclusive to all of First Watchung Mountain, while the type of rock found at Preakness Mountain is exclusive to all of Second Watchung Mountain. Similarly to this misinformation about First Watchung Mountain and Second Watchung Mountain, sometimes the Third Watchung Mountain is confused with its basalt type locality, as on some occasions its entire length is erroneously referred to as Hook Mountain.
In addition to the three main ridges of the Watchungs, a smaller fourth ridge exists south of Morristown and west of Third Watchung Mountain. While attaining elevations more than above sea level, the ridge lacks topographic prominence, only rising to approximately above the surrounding terrain. Only one portion of the ridge is named, a southern section underlying Harding Township known as Lees Hill.
All of the ridges lie to the east of the higher Appalachian Mountains, which in northern New Jersey often are referred to as the New York - New Jersey Highlands. Together with the Appalachian Mountains to the west, the Watchungs pen in an area formerly occupied by the prehistoric Glacial Lake Passaic. The Great Swamp, a large portion of which is designated as the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, is a remnant of this glacial lake and presently is retained by Third Watchung Mountain.
Although the Watchungs commonly are described in terms of their east-west ridge arrangement, they also are divided into smaller mountain ranges, as well as various named ridges.
Notable ranges and ridges of the Watchungs from north to south include:
- Campgaw Mountain is the northernmost ridge of the Watchungs, formed by a combination of First Watchung Mountain and Second Watchung Mountain. Its northern terminus is the Ramapo Mountains, near the New York border. A shallow gap separates its southern end from Preakness Mountain and Goffle Hill.
- Preakness Mountain comprises part of the northern extent of Second Watchung Mountain between the Passaic River and Campgaw Mountain. Along with Packanack Mountain to the west, Preakness Mountain forms the Preakness Range. The three highest peaks of the Watchungs are located in this range.
- Goffle Hill, part of First Watchung Mountain, flanks the eastern side of Preakness Mountain. Its northern end is broken by a shallow gap separating it from Campgaw Mountain, while its southern end is divided from Garret Mountain by the Passaic River in Paterson.
- Third Watchung Mountain begins with Packanack Mountain, part of the Preakness Range. The Pompton River separates the south end of Pakanack from the beginning of Towakhow Mountain or Hook Mountain, which runs west-northwest and then turns south to form a curve encircling the Great Piece Meadows along the Passaic River, ending near Pine Brook. To the south, the Rockaway River, the Whippany River, and the Passaic River flow east through a gap in the range that resumes south of Beaufort, New Jersey as Riker Hill. The Passaic River flows west through another gap north of Chatham, below which Long Hill stretches southwest and then west to Millington, where the Passaic River drains the Great Swamp and cuts through the range. Third Watchung extends a short distance west of Millington to Liberty Corner, with a spur, Cedar Hill, jutting northeast at Lyons.
- The Newark Mountains are a historical range, encompassing the ridges of First and Second Watchung Mountain south of the Passaic River. First Watchung Mountain in this range begins in the north as Garret Mountain. South of Garret Mountain is Orange Mountain, which is separated from Garret Mountain by a gap known as the Great Notch. The Hobart Gap, near Springfield, then divides Orange Mountain from the remaining southern part of First Watchung Mountain, which stretches south and then west before terminating near Far Hills. Second Watchung Mountain begins in the northern portion of the Newark Mountains as what is historically known as Caldwell Mountain. The northern terminus of Caldwell Mountain is the Passaic River, while the southern terminus is at the Hobart Gap. South of that gap, Second Watchung Mountain parallels First Watchung Mountain to Far Hills. There, a gap known as Moggy Hollow incises the ridge before it makes a turn to the north. The remaining section of Second Watchung Mountain, known as Pill Hill, then continues a short distance before terminating along the Ramapo Mountains.
History
The Watchung Mountains formed millions of years ago when the continent of Africa collided with North America. The original inhabitants of the Watchungs, the Lenape, referred to the mountains as the Wach Unks, or ‘high hills’. Evidence of the Lenape presence in the Watchungs can be seen in numerous camps sites that have been uncovered, mainly along the rivers coursing through mountains and in the small caves abundant in the volcanic rock. It is thought that the Lenape favored the Watchungs for their profusion of natural resources, including abundant freshwater rivers and streams, a variety of forests, and plentiful fish and game. They took advantage of the rich soils and maintained many farm areas where they raised a variety of seasonal crops. The Lenape Trail goes along the edge of the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains and the Lenape used the overlooks there as smoke signal locations.With the arrival of Europeans, the same resources that sustained the indigenous peoples served settlers. Trade in furs to European markets, a bounty of game and fish, and native garden produce for the traders was important during the Dutch colonial period when few settlements occurred. Perhaps most importantly with the settlements established during the English colonial period, the rivers and streams of the Watchungs also supported grain, grist, and saw mills. Later, the energy of these rivers would be harnessed for industry, most notably at the Great Falls of the Passaic River, where mechanical and hydroelectric systems exploited the energy of water falling over the face of First Watchung Mountain.
Outside of providing gradation to rivers and streams, the height of the Watchungs has proven useful for other reasons. In the French and Indian War, the military reused the Lenape signal points, as did Washington later.
- During the Revolutionary War, General George Washington used the protection of the Watchung mountains to erect the first and second Middlebrook encampments in the Washington Valley between the ridges. This position on the high ground also allowed him to monitor the area between Perth Amboy and New Brunswick as well as to identify and disturb British movements between Manhattan and Philadelphia. During the revolution the signaling beacons along the Watchungs were extended far up the Hudson and to Boston.
- In the twentieth century, the Hilltop in Verona, the highest point in Essex County, served as the site of a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. The county hospital was built there because the high elevation provided clean, mountain air away from the cities to the east.
- At the height of the Cold War, Campgaw Mountain was selected to house a Nike missile base. Installed on the mountain between 1955 and 1971, the base's missiles served to guard New York City air space, standing by to intercept nuclear armed Soviet bombers. The facility ultimately was abandoned with the advent of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Two other missile sites were nestled into the forests atop peaks in Mountainside and Morris Township, creating a strategic triangle of redundant sites.