List of National Natural Landmarks in New Jersey
Encyclopedia
From List of National Natural Landmarks, these are the National Natural Landmark
National Natural Landmark
The National Natural Landmark program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in...

s in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. There are 11 in total, many of them are related to the glacial geology, especially the Wisconsin Glacier and the Glacial Lake Passaic
Glacial Lake Passaic
Glacial 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...

 that it created over a large portion of northern New Jersey.
Name Image Date Location County Description
1 Great Falls of Paterson-Garrett Mountain ;
expanded
Paterson
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...

 40.916189°N 74.181597°W
Passaic
Passaic County, New Jersey
Passaic County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 501,226. Its county seat is Paterson...

The Great Falls of the Passaic River
Great Falls of the Passaic River
The Great Falls of the Passaic River is a prominent waterfall, high, on the Passaic River in the city of Paterson in Passaic County in northern New Jersey in the United States. The Congress authorized its establishment as a National Historical Park in 2009...

 and a later expansion including Garret Mountain help demonstrate how jointed basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...

ic lava flow shaped the geology of the area during the Early Mesozoic
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic era is an interval of geological time from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago. It is often referred to as the age of reptiles because reptiles, namely dinosaurs, were the dominant terrestrial and marine vertebrates of the time...

 era through both extrusion and intrusion
Intrusion
An intrusion is liquid rock that forms under Earth's surface. Magma from under the surface is slowly pushed up from deep within the earth into any cracks or spaces it can find, sometimes pushing existing country rock out of the way, a process that can take millions of years. As the rock slowly...

2 Great Swamp
Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is located in Morris County, New Jersey. Established in 1960, it is one of more than 550 refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System.The refuge was declared a National Natural Landmark in May 1966...

Green Village
Green Village, New Jersey
Green Village is an unincorporated area located within portions of both Harding Township and Chatham Township in Morris County, New Jersey. It is located just north of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. It is named after Dr...

 40.708333°N 74.466667°W
Morris
Morris County, New Jersey
Morris County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, about west of New York City. According to the United States 2010 Census, the population was 492,276. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Morristown....

 and Somerset
Somerset County, New Jersey
Somerset County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In 2010, the population was 323,444. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Somerville....

The remnant of the bottom of Glacial Lake Passaic
Glacial Lake Passaic
Glacial 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...

 which was formed by the melting waters of the retreating Wisconsin Glacier at the end of the last Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...

. It is now a 7600 acres (30.8 km²) National Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world's premiere system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants...

.
3 Manahawkin Bottomland Hardwood Forest
Manahawkin Bottomland Hardwood Forest
Manahawkin Bottomland Hardwood Forest is a wildlife management area near Manahawkin, Stafford Township, Ocean County, New Jersey. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in January 1976. It is known for its mature bottomland hardwood forest which contains examples of American sweetgum, red...

Manahawkin
Manahawkin, New Jersey
Manahawkin is a census-designated place and unincorporated area contained within Stafford Township, in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. Manahawkin translates to 'land of good corn' although this has been disputed by recent scholars claiming that it translate to “fertile land sloping into...

 39.685591°N 74.221745°W
Ocean
Ocean County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 510,916 people, 200,402 households, and 137,876 families residing in the county. The population density was 803 people per square mile . There were 248,711 housing units at an average density of 151/km²...

A 965 acres (391 ha)[1] wildlife management area known for its mature bottomland hardwood forest
Bottomland hardwood forest
The Bottomland hardwood forest is a type of deciduous hardwood forest found in broad lowland floodplains along large rivers and lakes. They are occasionally flooded, which builds up the alluvial soils required for the Gum, Oak and Bald Cypress trees that typically grow in this type of biome...

 which contains examples of American sweetgum
American Sweetgum
Liquidambar styraciflua, commonly called the American sweetgum, sweet-gum, alligator-wood, American-storax, bilsted, red-gum, satin-walnut, or star-leaved gum, is a deciduous tree in the genus Liquidambar native to warm temperate areas of eastern North America and tropical montane regions of Mexico...

, red maple
Red Maple
Acer rubrum , is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern North America. It ranges from the Lake of the Woods on the border between Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to near Miami, Florida, and southwest to east Texas...

 and black gum trees.
4 Moggy Hollow Natural Area
Moggy Hollow Natural Area
The Moggy Hollow Natural Area is a nature preserve near Far Hills, Somerset County, New Jersey. As the Wisconsin Glacier advanced, Glacial Lake Passaic formed eventually rising until it found an outlet at Moggy Hollow, draining to the Raritan River...

Far Hills
Far Hills, New Jersey
Far Hills is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 919.Far Hills was incorporated as a borough based on an Act of the New Jersey Legislature passed on April 7, 1921, from portions of Bernards Township, subject to the results...

 40.67351°N 74.614055°W
Somerset
Somerset County, New Jersey
Somerset County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In 2010, the population was 323,444. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Somerville....

This narrow ravine is where Glacial Lake Passaic
Glacial Lake Passaic
Glacial 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...

, pushed by the Wisconsin Glacier found an outlet, draining to the Raritan river
Raritan River
The Raritan River is a major river of central New Jersey in the United States. Its watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean.-Description:...

. It remains today a nature preserve and an example of glacial geography.
5 Pigeon Swamp South Brunswick 40.386893°N 74.473829°W Middlesex
Middlesex County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 750,162 people, 265,815 households, and 190,855 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,422 people per square mile . There were 273,637 housing units at an average density of 884 per square mile...

An undeveloped state park, it holds a mix of upland and lowland hardwood forests. It was a major nesting site for passenger pigeon
Passenger Pigeon
The Passenger Pigeon or Wild Pigeon was a bird, now extinct, that existed in North America and lived in enormous migratory flocks until the early 20th century...

s before they became extinct.
6 Riker Hill Fossil Site
Riker Hill Fossil Site
Riker Hill Fossil Site is a paleontological site in Roseland, New Jersey, located at the south western side of the borough at the border between Roseland and Livingston, New Jersey. It is one of the major sites in United States where a large number of dinosaur tracks are preserved...

Roseland
Roseland, New Jersey
Roseland is a borough in western Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 5,819...

 40.815705°N 74.326678°W
Essex
Essex County, New Jersey
Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 783,969, ranking it third in the state after Bergen County and Middlesex County; Essex County's population has declined from 786,147 as of the bureau's...

Over 1,000 Dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...

, animal and insect tracks from the Late Triassic
Late Triassic
The Late Triassic is in the geologic timescale the third and final of three epochs of the Triassic period. The corresponding series is known as the Upper Triassic. In the past it was sometimes called the Keuper, after a German lithostratigraphic group that has a roughly corresponding age...

 and Early Jurassic
Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic epoch is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic period...

 periods were discovered here in 1968 in an former stone quarry.
7 Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary
Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary
Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary is a bird sanctuary and nature preserve in Stone Harbor, Cape May County, New Jersey. It was created in 1947 by local ordinance. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in October 1965, the first in New Jersey.-History:...

Stone Harbor
Stone Harbor, New Jersey
Stone Harbor is a borough in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. It shares the barrier island Seven Mile Island with its northern neighbor Avalon...

 39.04164°N 74.76879°W
Cape May
Cape May County, New Jersey
-Climate:Being the southernmost point in New Jersey, Cape May has fairly mild wintertime temperatures. Contrary to that, the summertime has lower temperatures than most places in the state, making the county a popular place to escape the heat. It is in zone 7a/7b, which is the same as parts of...

A 21.5 acres (8.7 ha) bird sanctuary and nature preserve which used to host annually returning heron
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....

s and egret
Egret
An egret is any of several herons, most of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season. Many egrets are members of the genera Egretta or Ardea which contain other species named as herons rather than egrets...

s for nesting season until they started disappearing in the late 1990s.
8 Sunfish Pond
Sunfish Pond
Sunfish Pond is a glacial lake surrounded by a hardwood forest located on the Kittatinny Ridge within Worthington State Forest, adjacent to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Warren County, New Jersey. The Appalachian Trail runs alongside the western and northern edges of the...

Columbia
Columbia, New Jersey
Columbia is a census-designated place within Knowlton Township in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 07832.As of the United States 2010 Census, the population for Columbia was 229....

 41.003043°N 75.073099°W
Warren
Warren County, New Jersey
Warren County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 108,692. Its county seat is Belvidere...

This glacial pond is a favorite hiking destination in orthington State Forest, adjacent to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, administered by the National Park Service, preserves almost of land along the Delaware River's New Jersey and Pennsylvania shores, stretching from the Delaware Water Gap northward almost to the New York state line...

. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas
William O. Douglas
William Orville Douglas was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. With a term lasting 36 years and 209 days, he is the longest-serving justice in the history of the Supreme Court...

 mentioned the pond in his dissenting opinion in the Sierra Club v. Morton case.
9 Troy Meadows
Troy Meadows
Troy Meadows is a nature preserve in Parsippany-Troy Hills, Morris County, New Jersey. Along with the Great Swamp, it is one of the remnants of Glacial Lake Passaic. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1967...

Parsippany-Troy Hills
Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey
Parsippany-Troy Hills Township, commonly called Parsippany, is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 50,649. The name Parsippany comes from the Lenape Native American word parsipanong, which means "the place where...

 40.846026°N 74.37928°W
Morris
Morris County, New Jersey
Morris County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, about west of New York City. According to the United States 2010 Census, the population was 492,276. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Morristown....

The last unpolluted freshwater marsh of large size in the region.
10 William L. Hutcheson Memorial Forest
Hutcheson Memorial Forest
The William L. Hutcheson Memorial Forest is a natural preserve at 2150 Amwell Rd. about 3/4 of a mile east of East Millstone in Franklin Township, Somerset County, NJ. It is known for its untouched stand of old growth forest...

Somerset
Somerset, New Jersey
Somerset is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located at the easternmost section within Franklin Township, in Somerset County, New Jersey. At the 2000 United States Census, the CDP population was 23,040...

 40.500405°N 74.567245°W
Somerset
Somerset County, New Jersey
Somerset County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In 2010, the population was 323,444. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Somerville....

A 500 acres (202.3 ha) nature preserve which includes a 65 acres (26.3 ha) virgin old growth forest
Old growth forest
An old-growth forest is a forest that has attained great age , and thereby exhibits unique ecological features. An old growth forest has also usually reached a climax community...

. It's jointly managed by Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...

 and the Nature Conservancy.
11 Palisades of the Hudson
Fort Lee
Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 35,345. Located atop the Hudson Palisades, the borough is the western terminus of the George Washington Bridge...

 to Rockleigh
Rockleigh, New Jersey
Rockleigh is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 531.Rockleigh was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 13, 1923 from portions of Northvale.New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked...

40.964507°N 73.908591°W
Bergen
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...

Listed in New York, this dramatic geologic ridge runs along the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...

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