Pochuck Mountain
Encyclopedia
Pochuck Mountain is a ridge
in the New York-New Jersey Highlands region of the Appalachian Mountains
. Pochuck Mountain's summit and most of its peaks lie within Vernon Township
, Sussex County
, New Jersey
, although the south-western portion of the ridge lies within Hardyston Township
, and the north-eastern tip of the ridge extends over the New York
state line into Orange County
. The ridge marks the eastern edge of the Great Appalachian Valley
, and it divides the watersheds of the Wallkill River
and its tributary Pochuck Creek
. The two rivers meet at Pochuck Neck, marking the terminus of the ridge.
word meaning "out-of-the-way place." It may have named so because it is an outlier
of the New York-New Jersey Highlands, separated from the rest of the region by the Vernon Valley
. This separation gives Pochuck Mountain an unusually high prominence of approximately 695 feet.
to the east form the borders of the Vernon Valley, an important farming and mining area of New Jersey drained by Pochuck Creek. Immediately to the northwest of the ridge lies the Black Dirt Region
, which is drained by the Wallkill River
. Both valleys are part of an elongated lowland region known as the Great Appalachian Valley that divides the Appalachian Mountains for hundreds of miles. Due to the unusual positioning of Pochuck Mountain relative to the neighboring mountains, the Vernon Valley is somewhat of an isolated prong of the rest of the Great Appalachian Valley.
near Rifton
, New York. Rondout Creek then tributes the Hudson River
in Kingston
, New York. The Hudson River ultimately drains into the Atlantic Ocean
via the New York Harbor
.
Lakes on Pochuck Mountain include Lake Glenwood, Lake Pochung, Lake Wallkill, Pleasant Valley Lake, Tall Timbers Lake, Lake Panorama, Louemma Lake, and Scenic Lakes (2 manmade lakes in the Scenic Lakes community). Their waters are used for a variety of recreational purposes including fishing
, swimming, boating
and ice skating
.
runs over the top of the ridge within Wawayanda State Park
, north of the summit.
of the New England Uplands subprovince of the New England province
of the Appalachian Highlands. In fact, it is the northernmost ridge of the Reading Prong in New Jersey. The rocks that form Pochuck Mountain are comprised from the same belt that make up nearby Wawayanda Mountain. This belt consists of ancient crystalline metamorphic rock
s. As such, the New England province as a whole, along with the similarly composed Blue Ridge province
further south, are often together referred to as the Crystalline Appalachians.
The Crystalline Appalachians extend as far north as the Green Mountains
of Vermont
and as far south as the Blue Ridge Mountains
, although a segment of the belt between the Reading Prong and South Mountain
in Pennsylvania
does not break the Earth's surface. The Crystalline Appalachians are distinct from the parallel Sedimentary Appalachians which run from Georgia
to New York. The nearby Kittatinny Mountains
are representative of these sedimentary formations.
Portions of the Reading Prong in New Jersey are known to contain Uranium
deposits, linked to reported Radon
contamination in certain residential areas developed on the prong. The naturally occurring Radon (226Ra) is a product of the decay chain
of the Uranium isotope 238U
.
s inhabiting Pochuck Mountain include black bear
, white-tailed deer
, opossum, fox
es, raccoon
s, squirrel
s, skunk
, bat
s, chipmunk
s, groundhog
s and field mice
.
. In 1871, the South Vernon extension of the Sussex Railroad
from Hamburg
to McAfee
(paralleling present-day Route 94) serviced iron ore mining operations on the east side of the ridge in Vernon Township. Today, a substantial portion of the southwestern face of the ridge near Scenic Lakes is being used by Raia Industries to support gneiss
mining, which has raised substantial concern among local residents with regard to environmental degradation
and habitat loss for native and migratory species.
Ridge
A ridge is a geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size. There are several main types of ridges:...
in the New York-New Jersey Highlands region of the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
. Pochuck Mountain's summit and most of its peaks lie within Vernon Township
Vernon Township, New Jersey
-Communities and neighborhoods:Communities and neighborhoods in Vernon Township include the following sections:*Vernon Village "Town Center"*Vernon Valley a.k.a...
, Sussex County
Sussex County, New Jersey
The County of Sussex is the northernmost county in the State of New Jersey. It is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 Federal decennial census, 149,265 persons resided in Sussex County...
, 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...
, although the south-western portion of the ridge lies within Hardyston Township
Hardyston Township, New Jersey
Hardyston Township is a Township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 6,171.-Geography:...
, and the north-eastern tip of the ridge extends over the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
state line into Orange County
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...
. The ridge marks the eastern edge of the Great Appalachian Valley
Great Appalachian Valley
The Great Valley, also called the Great Appalachian Valley or Great Valley Region, is one of the major landform features of eastern North America. It is a gigantic trough — a chain of valley lowlands — and the central feature of the Appalachian Mountain system...
, and it divides the watersheds of the Wallkill River
Wallkill River
The Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson, drains Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey, flowing from there generally northeasterly to Rondout Creek in New York, near Rosendale, with the combined flows reaching the Hudson at Kingston....
and its tributary Pochuck Creek
Pochuck Creek
Pochuck Creek is an tributary of the Wallkill River in Sussex County, New Jersey, in the United States.Pochuck Creek is called Wawayanda Creek above its confluence with the tributary Black Creek....
. The two rivers meet at Pochuck Neck, marking the terminus of the ridge.
Etymology
The name Pochuck is a LenapeLenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
word meaning "out-of-the-way place." It may have named so because it is an outlier
Outlier
In statistics, an outlier is an observation that is numerically distant from the rest of the data. Grubbs defined an outlier as: An outlying observation, or outlier, is one that appears to deviate markedly from other members of the sample in which it occurs....
of the New York-New Jersey Highlands, separated from the rest of the region by the Vernon Valley
Vernon Valley, New Jersey
Vernon Valley is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Vernon Township, in Sussex County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 1,737.-Geography:Vernon is located at ....
. This separation gives Pochuck Mountain an unusually high prominence of approximately 695 feet.
Geography
Pochuck Mountain and Wawayanda MountainWawayanda Mountain
Wawayanda Mountain is a ridge in the New York-New Jersey Highlands region of the Appalachian Mountains. The summit lies within Sussex County, New Jersey.-Geography:...
to the east form the borders of the Vernon Valley, an important farming and mining area of New Jersey drained by Pochuck Creek. Immediately to the northwest of the ridge lies the Black Dirt Region
Black Dirt Region
The Black Dirt Region is located in southern Orange County, New York, USA and northern Sussex County, New Jersey. It is mostly located in the western section of the Town of Warwick, centered around the hamlet of Pine Island...
, which is drained by the Wallkill River
Wallkill River
The Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson, drains Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey, flowing from there generally northeasterly to Rondout Creek in New York, near Rosendale, with the combined flows reaching the Hudson at Kingston....
. Both valleys are part of an elongated lowland region known as the Great Appalachian Valley that divides the Appalachian Mountains for hundreds of miles. Due to the unusual positioning of Pochuck Mountain relative to the neighboring mountains, the Vernon Valley is somewhat of an isolated prong of the rest of the Great Appalachian Valley.
Watershed
As the entire mountain is drained by the Wallkill River and its tributary Pochuck Creek, the region lies completely within the Wallkill River watershed. The Wallkill River flows northeast until it joins Rondout CreekRondout Creek
Rondout Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River in Ulster and Sullivan counties, New York, USA. It rises on Rocky Mountain in the eastern Catskills, flows south into Rondout Reservoir, part of New York City's water supply network, then into the valley between the Catskills and the Shawangunk...
near Rifton
Rifton, New York
Rifton is a hamlet in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 501 at the 2000 census.Rifton is near the west town line of the Town of Esopus on Route 213.-History:...
, New York. Rondout Creek then tributes 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...
in Kingston
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
, New York. The Hudson River ultimately drains into the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
via the New York Harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
.
Lakes on Pochuck Mountain include Lake Glenwood, Lake Pochung, Lake Wallkill, Pleasant Valley Lake, Tall Timbers Lake, Lake Panorama, Louemma Lake, and Scenic Lakes (2 manmade lakes in the Scenic Lakes community). Their waters are used for a variety of recreational purposes including fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, swimming, boating
Boating
Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...
and ice skating
Ice skating
Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
.
Mountain Passes
- Lake Pochung Road separates the summit from the ridge's southwestern peaks.
- CR 565County Route 565 (New Jersey)County Route 565, abbreviated CR 565, is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends from U.S. Route 206 / Route 15 in Frankford Township to McAfee Glenwood Road in Vernon Township.-Route description:...
(Glenwood Road) separates the summit from the ridge's northern peaks. - CR 641 (Drew Mountain Road) separates the summit from the ridge's northeastern peaks.
- Glenwood Mountain Road separates several of the ridge's northeastern peaks.
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian TrailAppalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
runs over the top of the ridge within Wawayanda State Park
Wawayanda State Park
Wawayanda State Park is a 34,350 acre state park in Sussex County and Passaic County in northern New Jersey. The park is in Vernon Township on the Sussex side, and West Milford on the Passaic side. There are 60 miles of hiking trails in the park, including a 20-mile stretch of the Appalachian...
, north of the summit.
Geology
Pochuck Mountain is part of the Reading ProngReading Prong
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.-Location:...
of the New England Uplands subprovince of the New England province
New England province
The New England province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division of eastern North America. The province consists of the Seaboard Lowland, New England Upland, White Mountain, Green Mountain, and Taconic sections.-Geology:...
of the Appalachian Highlands. In fact, it is the northernmost ridge of the Reading Prong in New Jersey. The rocks that form Pochuck Mountain are comprised from the same belt that make up nearby Wawayanda Mountain. This belt consists of ancient crystalline metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock is the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure causing profound physical and/or chemical change...
s. As such, the New England province as a whole, along with the similarly composed Blue Ridge province
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
further south, are often together referred to as the Crystalline Appalachians.
The Crystalline Appalachians extend as far north as the Green Mountains
Green Mountains
The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont. The range extends approximately .-Peaks:The most notable mountains in the range include:*Mount Mansfield, , the highest point in Vermont*Killington Peak, *Mount Ellen,...
of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
and as far south as the Blue Ridge Mountains
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
, although a segment of the belt between the Reading Prong and South Mountain
South Mountain (Maryland and Pennsylvania)
South Mountain is the northern extension of the Blue Ridge Mountain range in Maryland and Pennsylvania. From the Potomac River near Knoxville, Maryland in the south, to Dillsburg, Pennsylvania in the north, the long range separates the Hagerstown and Cumberland valleys from the Piedmont regions of...
in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
does not break the Earth's surface. The Crystalline Appalachians are distinct from the parallel Sedimentary Appalachians which run from Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
to New York. The nearby Kittatinny Mountains
Kittatinny Mountains
The Kittatinny Mountains are a long ridge traversing across northwestern New Jersey running in a northeast-southwest axis. It is the first major ridge in the far northeastern extension of the Ridge and Valley province of the Appalachian Mountains...
are representative of these sedimentary formations.
Portions of the Reading Prong in New Jersey are known to contain Uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
deposits, linked to reported Radon
Radon
Radon is a chemical element with symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas, occurring naturally as the decay product of uranium or thorium. Its most stable isotope, 222Rn, has a half-life of 3.8 days...
contamination in certain residential areas developed on the prong. The naturally occurring Radon (226Ra) is a product of the decay chain
Decay chain
In nuclear science, the decay chain refers to the radioactive decay of different discrete radioactive decay products as a chained series of transformations...
of the Uranium isotope 238U
Uranium-238
Uranium-238 is the most common isotope of uranium found in nature. It is not fissile, but is a fertile material: it can capture a slow neutron and after two beta decays become fissile plutonium-239...
.
Wildlife
MammalMammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s inhabiting Pochuck Mountain include black bear
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
, white-tailed deer
White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
, opossum, fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
es, raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
s, squirrel
Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
s, skunk
Skunk
Skunks are mammals best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul odor. General appearance varies from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored. Skunks belong to the family Mephitidae and to the order Carnivora...
, bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s, chipmunk
Chipmunk
Chipmunks are small striped squirrels native to North America and Asia. They are usually classed either as a single genus with three subgenera, or as three genera.-Etymology and taxonomy:...
s, groundhog
Groundhog
The groundhog , also known as a woodchuck, whistle-pig, or in some areas as a land-beaver, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but...
s and field mice
Vole
A vole is a small rodent resembling a mouse but with a stouter body, a shorter hairy tail, a slightly rounder head, smaller ears and eyes, and differently formed molars . There are approximately 155 species of voles. They are sometimes known as meadow mice or field mice in North America...
.
Industry
While the developed portions of Pochuck Mountain have largely been put to residential use, the mountain and its foothills have historically been a center for miningMining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
. In 1871, the South Vernon extension of the Sussex Railroad
Sussex Railroad
The Sussex Railroad was a short-line railroad in northwestern New Jersey. It replaced its predecessor, the Sussex Mine Railroad, in 1853 and operated under the Sussex Railroad Company until 1945 when it was fully merged into the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad system...
from Hamburg
Hamburg, New Jersey
Hamburg is a Borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 3,277.In 1753, when Sussex County was formed, Hamburg was part of New Town; on February 25, 1762, it became part of the newly established Hardyston Township...
to McAfee
McAfee, New Jersey
McAfee is an unincorporated area within Vernon Township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 07428....
(paralleling present-day Route 94) serviced iron ore mining operations on the east side of the ridge in Vernon Township. Today, a substantial portion of the southwestern face of the ridge near Scenic Lakes is being used by Raia Industries to support gneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
mining, which has raised substantial concern among local residents with regard to environmental degradation
Environmental degradation
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife...
and habitat loss for native and migratory species.