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49-543: Today, the former lake basin is called Passaic Meadows and includes the Great Swamp , Black Meadows, Troy Meadows , Hatfield Swamp , Lee Meadows , Little Piece Meadows, Great Piece Meadows , Glenhurst Meadows, and Bog and Vly Meadows. These remnants of the ancient lake provide prime wetland habitat to a variety of plants and animals while at the same time offering recreational and outdoor opportunities to residents of northern New Jersey. The discovery of Glacial Lake Passaic

98-504: A donation to the federal government on November 3, 1960, setting them aside as a park for perpetual protection. The area given to the government has since become the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and now is watched over by citizens from the ten communities that ring the swamp, who have formed thirteen separate oversight organizations. Additions to the area have continued to the present day. Chronic flooding in

147-457: A lake. Twelve years later, field research conducted under State Geologist John C. Smock began to uncover wave-cut terraces and other shoreline features that more conclusively established the lake's existence. However, the boundaries of the lake were not completely understood until the following year, 1893, when geologists Rollin D. Salisbury and Henry B. Kümmel completed a study of wave cut terraces, shoreline platforms, and delta deposits within

196-568: A major donor to and participant in JJSA) the North American Wildlife Foundation established its Great Swamp Committee in 1960. Between the two organizations and, in less than a year, enough property in the core of the swamp was quickly purchased, assembled, and donated to the federal government to qualify for perpetual protection as a National Wildlife Refuge. As the representative from Arizona , Stewart Udall immediately championed

245-455: A natural ecological filter trapping sediments and contaminants. Numerous nonprofit organizations have arisen from the communities within the Great Swamp watershed and work closely in partnership with the refuge. The Great Swamp Watershed Association , founded in 1981, works to protect the entire 55-square-mile (140 km ) watershed that surrounds the swamp. Within the Great Swamp there also

294-578: A new outlet began to allow the water to exit at a much higher elevation. The plug altered the course of the Passaic River , which had drained a swamp that predated the lake. A range of mountains to the west of Morristown formed the western boundary of the new lake and the most easterly line of the Watchung Mountains became the eastern boundary. The tops of some of the Watchung range became islands in

343-692: A new shoreline elevation of the lake as ice or earthen moraine dams were built or gave way, often over brief spans of time. Approximately 20,000 years ago, the Wisconsin Glacier advanced across northern New Jersey, expanding differentially across the land as it encountered variable terrain. West of the Watchung Mountains and east of the Appalachians, the Passaic lobe of the great glacier was impeded by rugged terrain, slowing its southward advance. East of

392-522: A result of three separate eruptive events which laid down three closely spaced basalt ridges which combine to form the main section of the Preakness Range on the northern end of Second Watchung Mountain. These ridges decrease in height from east to west, which mirrors the order in which the ridges, really successive sheets of lava, were formed. Here, as in the rest of the Watchungs, the easternmost ridge

441-406: A wide variety of wildflowers and plants call the refuge home. Some of the animals hunted by the prehistoric native inhabitants and colonists, such as bear and beaver, are encountered occasionally. Its role in draining the region and absorbing flood water for gradual release can be critical during extreme weather conditions. The refuge also plays an important role in improving water quality by acting as

490-491: Is a migration-resting and feeding area or a permanent habitat for more than 244 species of birds. The major routes of birds migrating along the eastern portion of the United States follow the corridor that includes the Great Swamp as an important stopping place for rest and nutrition. Many species of birds reside permanently in the watershed. Deer, fish, fox, frogs, muskrat, raccoons, snakes, turtles, as well as many insects and

539-537: Is a nonprofit bird-rehabilitation center founded in 1977, called The Raptor Trust , mainly specializing in birds of prey , such as eagles , hawks , and owls . Lord Stirling Park is part of the Somerset County Park System. The park is entered from the community of Stirling that is named after a military officer of the American Revolution who lived in the community, William Alexander . The park

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588-574: Is credited to Professor George Hammell Cook , once the State Geologist of New Jersey and Vice President of Rutgers University . Cook's first official mention of the lake was in the New Jersey Annual Report of the State Geologist for the Year 1880 , in which he described flat-topped hills and drift-like deposits in the upper Passaic Valley that appeared to be created or modified by the waters of

637-503: Is located immediately adjacent to the southwestern boundary of the refuge on the west side of the Passaic River. The park offers excellent hiking facilities that include trails, boardwalks, observation blinds, and naturalist exhibits displayed in its park office that are related to the swamp and its wildlife. The Morris County Park Commission manages parks in the vicinity of the NWR, including

686-450: Is presently northern New Jersey. The lake was formed by the melting waters of the retreating Wisconsin Glacier at the end of the last ice age . The glacier had pushed a moraine ahead of its advance, a rubble of soil and rocks that plugged the existing outlet for the waters that drained into the area of the watershed. As the retreating glacier melted, the waters rose to create the lake before

735-481: The Great Swamp that is south of Morristown through Chatham Township , lying in extreme southern Morris County and northeastern Somerset County . The watershed of the Great Swamp entails 55 square miles (140 km). Within this watershed, Black Brook, Great Brook , Loantaka Brook , Primrose Brook, and the Upper Passaic River combine their waters in the Great Swamp to form the Passaic River, which exits

784-492: The Newark Basin , was filled with alternating layers of red bed sediment and flood basalts . Over millions of years, the rift valley was faulted, tilted, and eroded, until the edges of the hard flood basalt layers formed ridges. Prior to 20,000 years before the present, an ancestral Passaic River flowed through a gap in these ridges. This changed when the Wisconsin Glacier , a massive continental ice sheet which formed during

833-545: The Ramapo fault in Oakland, New Jersey . The three highest peaks of the Watchungs line the north-central part of Preakness Mountain in Wayne, New Jersey . Mount Cecchino, the southernmost of the three and also the lowest, rises to 755 ft (230m). Immediately to the north, High Mountain reaches 879 ft (268m), becoming the highest peak of the Watchungs. Northwest of High Mountain,

882-582: The trap rock crest of Long Hill. But even rock could not contain one of the last pieces of Glacial Lake Passaic. By about 14,000 years ago, water spilling through a gap in Long Hill carved the Millington Gorge, which lowered the level of the lake to form the present-day Great Swamp . The remnants of the Glacial Lake Passaic lake bed are found in several swamps in northern New Jersey, most notably,

931-533: The American Revolution. The land that would become the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was established by an Act of Congress on November 3, 1960, after a multi-year legal battle that pitted local residents against Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials wishing to turn the Great Swamp into a major regional airport to supplement Newark Airport's ability to accommodate large jet aircraft. The Jersey Jetport Site Association

980-745: The Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service . Preakness Range The Preakness Range is a range of the trap rock Watchung Mountains on the western edge of the Newark Basin in northern New Jersey . A large portion of this range is included in High Mountain Park Preserve , offering miles of hiking trails with vistas overlooking New Jersey and New York City. The peaks of

1029-422: The Preakness Range home, including a globally endangered species, Torrey's mountain mint ( Pycnanthemum torrei ). Twelve other rare plants survive in forested uplands and the range's perched wetlands. Some of the rare plants are reasoned to take root in the range due to the calcareous secondary minerals in the range's trap rock which may serve to increase soil alkalinity relative to the surrounding acidic soils of

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1078-412: The Preakness Range, the highest of the Watchung Mountains, shelter endangered ecosystems, including perched wetlands and rare trap rock glade communities. The Preakness Range generally refers to the peaks of Preakness Mountain, the section of Second Watchung Mountain north of the Passaic River . Packanack Mountain, a section of Third Watchung Mountain west of Preakness Mountain, is sometimes included in

1127-479: The Preakness Range. Goffle Hill , historically known as Totoway Mountain, flanks the Preakness Range in the east and is usually not included in the range, but it is mentioned in association with it, being part of the northern extent of First Watchung Mountain. Preakness Mountain begins in Totowa, New Jersey , forming a curve which bows to the north-northeast before sweeping back towards the northwest and terminating near

1176-541: The United States National Wildlife Refuge System . The first part of the Great Swamp that was assembled and donated for perpetual preservation by the park service of the federal government was declared a National Natural Landmark in May 1966. More land has been added several times. Its eastern half (3,660 acres (14.8 km )) was designated as a wilderness area by Congress in 1968, making it

1225-596: The Watchung Mountains, the Hackensack lobe of the glacier spread more easily over the piedmont lowlands, advancing on the Hobart /Short Hills Gap. Previously, an ancestral Passaic River flowed southeast toward Raritan Bay through the gap, but as the Hackensack lobe dammed it with ice, a lake began to form, reaching depths of nearly 200 feet. The resulting body of water formed the Chatham Stage, which initially found an outlet to

1274-590: The base of Preakness Mountain in Wayne to the northern slope of Second Watchung Mountain in Liberty Corner . During this time, it is believed that the ridges of Third Watchung Mountain formed a sinuous chain of islands running down the length of lake. The first major drop in the level of Glacial Lake Passaic occurred as the Wisconsin Glacier melted back to reveal the Great Notch, a significant gap present in

1323-580: The central Passaic basin, particularly around the confluence of the Passaic and Pompton rivers, has been severe enough to lead to government buyouts of private land. This section of the basin, upstream of the chokepoint created by the Little Falls and the Great Falls, occasionally fills with so much water that some of the Totowa Stage of Glacial Lake Passaic briefly reappears until enough time has gone by for

1372-516: The central and upper Passaic basin. The study was used to create a report, Lake Passaic – An Extinct Glacial Lake , which was included in the New Jersey Annual Report of the State Geologist for the Year 1893 . During the late Triassic and early Jurassic periods, when the North American plate separated from the African plate, an aborted rift system was created. The resulting rift valley, known as

1421-615: The efforts of these residents, whom he described as having mounted the greatest effort ever made by residents in America to protect a natural habitat, and later, on May 29, 1964, as the Secretary of the Interior , he oversaw its dedication as a refuge. The initial donation was 2,600 acres (11 km ), which assured its protection as a refuge and the acquisition of additional lands continued. In 1960, Representative Peter Frelinghuysen, Jr. , whose estate

1470-591: The first wilderness area within the Fish and Wildlife Service. The refuge is managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service , an agency within the United States Department of the Interior . Refuge lands lie within the townships of Chatham , Harding , and Long Hill . The Great Swamp is the remnant of the bottom of the once-mighty Glacial Lake Passaic that approximately 15,000 to 11,000 years ago stretched across 30 by 10 miles (48 by 16 km) in what

1519-513: The gap at Paterson saw the destruction of the last remaining ice dam holding back the lake. But topography and moraine deposits left in key chokepoints allowed the remains of the Great Notch Stage to split into three lakes of considerable size. These lakes would persist for another 3000 to 4000 years. The Totowa Stage was most northern of the three postglacial lakes, occupying an irregular basin extending from Oakland to Whippany . The lake

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1568-438: The great lake. Water that had vented through the Watchung range, or to its south, found a new path that altered the old drainage paths. When the plug collapsed, the river still was forced to travel north through the range before finding a new outlet near present-day Paterson where it could manage the eastern turn toward the sea. Some ten thousand years ago, Amerindians arrived in the area and established settlements shortly after

1617-514: The last ice age, advanced on the region and permanently plugged the gap. As the glacier eventually melted back, water pooled behind the ridges (known today as the Watchung Mountains), forming Glacial Lake Passaic. Glacial Lake Passaic was a dynamic water body during its five millennia of existence. At present, the lake is believed to have existed in four major stages, the final stage being split between three smaller sub-stages. Each stage saw

1666-472: The main ridge of Preakness Mountain. In the 1980s, when development began to threaten the remaining wilderness of the range, a push by local citizens to preserve the Preakness Range for the public interest was begun, ultimately resulting in the creation of High Mountain Park Preserve . The Preakness Range formed as molten rock extruded onto the surface 200 million years ago. At that time the range occupied

1715-597: The majority of the Watchungs, the Preakness Range saw use as a lookout during the American Revolutionary War . In October and November, 1780 General Arthur St Clair ’s men were camped at the base of the mountain. For most of modern history the Preakness Range remained a wilderness providing recreation to the inhabitants of surrounding towns. Only the southern section of the range was particularly built up, with William Paterson University acting as buffer to hold back development from encroaching northward across

1764-450: The north. With its outlet to the sea severed, Glacial Lake Passaic rose until it found a new escape point via a gap in the southwestern Watchung Mountains known as Moggy Hollow . The Moggy Hollow Stage came to be the deepest stage of the ancient lake, reaching a depth of about 300 ft. Eventually, it came to cover the greatest area too. As the Wisconsin Glacier melted back, the lake's waters ultimately submerged an area stretching from

1813-450: The northern section of an active rift valley running through northern and central New Jersey and part of Pennsylvania. After the rift failed in the early Jurassic, the range was elevated as erosion removed the sandstone and shale surrounding the basalt lava flows of Preakness Mountain and Packanack Mountain. An interesting trait of the Preakness Range is its alternating north-south valleys. These valleys, which form two major divisions, are

1862-565: The retreat of the glacier, hunting, fishing, and farming. In 1614, Dutch colonists claimed part of the area as New Netherlands and they traded with the natives. Later, British settlers came, establishing dominion over what they called the Province of New Jersey . The refuge includes about one-quarter of the Great Swamp 55-square-mile (140 km ) watershed that gives rise to the Passaic River . The watershed touches ten modern communities, many of which were settled by European colonists long before

1911-514: The ridge of First Watchung Mountain in Clifton . In a short span of time, the level of the lake fell approximately 80 feet, the resulting drainage carving a spillway that would eventually become the valley of the Third River . The Great Notch Stage, as it came to be called, produced a lake of similar depth to the Chatham Stage, although covering a greater area. It is believed that Hook Mountain, one of

1960-551: The ridges of Third Watchung Mountain, was still an island at this time. The Great Notch Stage came to an end as the Wisconsin Glacier withered to reveal a gap in First Watchung Mountain in Paterson . The gap's initial opening likely caused a flood which carved the valley of Weasel Brook, but the outflow eventually migrated further north, forming the course of the Passaic River as it exists today. The release of water through

2009-526: The sea via the Blue Brook Valley, between the ridges of First and Second Watchung Mountain south of the Short Hills Gap. This outlet, however, was cut off as the Hackensack lobe continued to push south. The Hackensack lobe of the Wisconsin Glacier piled a massive moraine into the Short Hills Gap and northern Blue Brook Valley, effectively creating a permanent dam even after the ice began retreating to

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2058-519: The second highest peak of the Watchungs, Beech Mountain, rises to 869 ft (265m). The Preakness Range was originally inhabited by the Munsee (Minsi) Lenape . Today, this Native American heritage lives on in the range's name. Preakness appears to be a modernized form of per-ukunees , a Lenape term thought to mean young buck . For a time, Dutch settlers referred to the range as Harteberg , which appropriately translates to Deer Mountain . As with

2107-506: The swamp via the Millington Gorge . Following the largest American conservation effort by residents in response to a proposal to build a huge fourth regional airport that would have destroyed the ecosystem, a major portion of this watershed was acquired through assembling purchases made during a year-long effort that began in 1959. Those properties, entailing 7,600 acres (31 km) or just under twelve square miles, were preserved through

2156-477: The water to drain out. The Passaic River Flood Tunnel , a floodwater diversion system, has been proposed to create a new escape route for water trapped behind the Watchung Mountains. Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is located in Morris County , New Jersey , United States. Established in 1960, it is among what has grown to be more than 550 refuges in

2205-580: Was extruded first. The Preakness Range may be the most environmentally sensitive section of the Watchungs, hosting a variety of ecologically diverse areas of wilderness. The New Jersey National Heritage Program has given the Preakness Range a rating of B2, meaning it has priority as a site with very high biodiversity significance. Nine different ecological communities have been cited in the Preakness Range, including globally imperiled trap rock glade communities and increasingly rare hickory-ash red cedar woodlands. Seven state-listed endangered plant species call

2254-533: Was held back by a dam of glacial sediment in Totowa that slowly eroded until the surface of the lake fell to its present-day level, leaving behind the Hatfield Swamp, Black Meadows, Great Piece Meadows, and Bog and Vly Meadows. Upstream of the Totowa Stage, and lying between Second and Third Watchung Mountain, was the Stanley Stage. The lake occupied an area between Stanley (near Summit ) and Millington , and

2303-520: Was held back by moraine deposits. As with the Totowa stage, the lake's earthen dam eroded away until the lake reached its modern level, forming Glenhurst Meadows. The most upstream of three lakes, the Millington Stage was probably 50 feet deep at maximum, occupying the basin west of Long Hill, the southernmost ridge of Third Watchung Mountain. Unlike the other two lakes, the Millington Stage drained over

2352-485: Was in the area targeted for development also joined the effort. By the end of 2010, the extent of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge had grown to nearly 7,800 acres (32 km ) of varied habitats . It lies within the Northeastern coastal forests ecoregion . When the remainder of the area donated was dedicated on September 9, 1968, it was the first refuge to receive wilderness designation. The Great Swamp

2401-603: Was the first to form in opposition. Their efforts to prevent the development of an airport in the swamp became public knowledge on December 3, 1959, when four of its members ( Kafi Benz , Joan Kelly, Esty Weiss, and Betty White ) were expelled from a meeting at the Essex House in Newark that had been organized to generate support for its construction. The JJSA activity was followed closely by an influential sister organization when (because of connections with Marcellus Hartley Dodge, Sr. ,

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