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Newark Bay

Newark Bay

, 3. Long Island Sound, 4. Newark Bay, 5. Upper New York Bay, 6. Lower New York Bay, 7. Jamaica Bay, 8. Atlantic Ocean]] Atlantic Ocean] Newark Bay is a body of water, a tidal back bay of New York Harbor formed at the confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers. On its south end, it is connected to Upper New York Bay by the Kill Van Kull, as well as to Raritan Bay by the Arthur Kill. It contains the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal. It is enclosed on the west by the New Jersey cities of Newark and Elizabeth, and on the east by Jersey City and Bayonne. It is enclosed on the south by Staten Island. It contains Shooters Island, which is part of the borough of Staten Island. Although a shallow tidal estuary, it is periodically dredged to accommodate ocean-going container ship access to Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal along its western side. It is spanned by the Newark Bay Bridge connecting Jersey City and Newark. Category:Geography of New Jersey Category:Newark, New Jersey

Long Island Sound

, 3. Long Island Sound, 4. Newark Bay, 5. Upper New York Bay, 6. Lower New York Bay, 7. Jamaica Bay, 8. Atlantic Ocean]] Atlantic Ocean Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean and various rivers in the United States. It lies between the coast of Connecticut to the north and Long Island to the south. It is also known as "THE GOLD COAST" due to its breathtaking properties along the shoreline. Many mansions along with wealthy neighborhoods characterize a good portion of the sound from the cityline of New York out to Setauket and Port Jefferson. The towns of Orient, Greenport, East Marion, Southold, and Mattituck have smaller populations are are located on the extreme eastern tip of the Long Island Sound. They offer great property value as well. On the extreme western end, it is bounded on the north side by Westchester County, New York and the Bronx, and connects to the East River. On its eastern end it is connected to Block Island Sound. The sound is considered by some to be the natural border between New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. The Sound is 110 miles (177 km) long and 21 miles (34 km) wide at its widest point. It has an average depth of 78 feet (24 m), with the deepest point being 300 feet (90 m). The volume of water in the Sound is 8 trillion US gallons (30 km³). Including all islands, the Long Island Sound has a shoreline of 548 miles (882 km). The first European to record the existence of Long Island Sound was the Dutch navigator Adriaen Block, who entered the sound from the East River in 1614. Several major cities are situated along the Long Island Sound, resulting in a total of more than 8 million people living within its watershed. Major Connecticut cities on the Sound include Bridgeport, New London, Stamford, Norwalk, and New Haven. New York cities on the Sound include New York City (the Bronx borough). Ferries provide service between Long Island and Connecticut, notably between Port Jefferson, New York and Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Orient Point, New York and New London, Connecticut. Some of the ferries that cross the Long Island Sound carry automobiles as well as passengers. Underwater cables transmit electricity under the Long Island Sound, most notably the controversial Cross-Sound Cable that runs from New Haven in western Connecticut, to Brookhaven in central Long Island. Scientists debate whether or not these cables are safe for the fragile Long Island Sound environment, especially the underwater lifeforms. The Long Island Sound side differs from the Atlantic Ocean side of Long Island because the shorelines here are rocky. The Atlantic Ocean side remains sandy with no rocks. This is due to the formation of Long Island nearly 10,000 years ago as glaciers formed the fish-shaped island. Many attempts have been made to build a bridge over the sound, including a bridge from Rye, New York to Oyster Bay, New York, from New Haven, Connecticut to Shoreham, New York on Long Island and from Orient Point, New York to Rhode Island. Long Island Sound has historically had a rich fishery, but in recent years the western part of the sound has become increasingly deficient of marine life. The fishing and lobstering industries have encouraged efforts to identify the cause of the dead water and rectify the problem. Major environmental problems currently affecting the Sound include hypoxia, toxic substance and pathogen contamination, debris and other man-made pollution, and overdevelopment.[http://www.epa.gov/ecoplaces/part2/region2/site15.html]

See also


- Sound (geography)

External links

Sound (geography)]]
- [http://www.epa.gov/region01/eco/lis/index.html What Makes Long Island Sound So Special?] - EPA website
- [http://www.savethesound.org/ Save The Sound] - non-profit preservation group
- [http://www.lisfoundation.org/ Long Island Sound Foundation] - non-profit preservation group
- [http://www.crosssoundcable.com/ Cross-Sound Cable] - official CSC website
- [http://www.nytimes.com/ref/nyregion/LISOUND-INDEX.html Human Nature] - New York Times series on Long Island Sound Category:Estuaries Category:Geography of Connecticut Category:Geography of New York Category:Long Island

Newark Bay

, 3. Long Island Sound, 4. Newark Bay, 5. Upper New York Bay, 6. Lower New York Bay, 7. Jamaica Bay, 8. Atlantic Ocean]] Atlantic Ocean] Newark Bay is a body of water, a tidal back bay of New York Harbor formed at the confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers. On its south end, it is connected to Upper New York Bay by the Kill Van Kull, as well as to Raritan Bay by the Arthur Kill. It contains the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal. It is enclosed on the west by the New Jersey cities of Newark and Elizabeth, and on the east by Jersey City and Bayonne. It is enclosed on the south by Staten Island. It contains Shooters Island, which is part of the borough of Staten Island. Although a shallow tidal estuary, it is periodically dredged to accommodate ocean-going container ship access to Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal along its western side. It is spanned by the Newark Bay Bridge connecting Jersey City and Newark. Category:Geography of New Jersey Category:Newark, New Jersey

Lower New York Bay

and Swinburne islands.]]
Lower New York Bay is the section of New York Bay outside of the Narrows and open directly to the Atlantic Ocean. Roughly triangular in shape, it is bounded on the north by Staten Island and Long Island and on the south by mainland New Jersey. Besides the Hudson River (which empties in to the Lower Bay through the Narrows), the bay is fed by the Arthur Kill and the Raritan River, as well as by several smaller streams. The section of the bay near the confluence of the Arthur Kill and the Raritan is called Raritan Bay. The bay opens out to the ocean between two spits of land, Sandy Hook in New Jersey and Rockaway Point, Queens on Long Island. Historically, the Lower Bay has been the primary means of marine access to New York Harbor, and more recently to Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal. Since the time of the Lenape Native Americans, the Lower Bay has provided a rich fishing ground, but in the 20th century it was restricted due to pollution. In the 19th century, the shallow shoals on the south shore of Staten Island were a rich oyster bed. The bay contains several popular beaches at Brighton Beach on Coney Island in Brooklyn, as well as at Gateway National Recreation Area on Staten Island. Category:New York City geography

Jamaica Bay

, 3. Long Island Sound, 4. Newark Bay, 5. Upper New York Bay, 6. Lower New York Bay, 7. Jamaica Bay, 8. Atlantic Ocean]] Jamaica Bay is a bay that lies in the shadow of New York City's skyscrapers and is adjacent to one of the nation's busiest airports. The salt marshes of Jamaica Bay offer prime habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife. The marshes have been protected since 1972, as part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. Pollution is a problem and the marshlands are vanishing. Jamaica Bay is located on the southwestern tip of Long Island in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, and the town of Hempstead, New York. The bay connects with Lower New York Bay to the west through Rockaway Inlet and is the westernmost of the coastal lagoons on the south shore of Long Island. Maps of the city as late as 1910 identify the bay as Grassy Bay. The location of Jamaica Bay combined with the rich food resources found there make it a regionally important fish, wildlife, and plant habitat complex. Jamaica Bay is located adjacent to the confluence of the New York Bight and New York Bay, and is at the turning point of the primarily east-west oriented coastline of New England and Long Island and the north-south oriented coastline of the mid- Atlantic coast. This geographic location acts to concentrate marine and estuarine species migrating between the New York Bight portion of the North Atlantic and the Hudson-Raritan Estuary. Shorebirds, raptors, waterfowl, landbirds, and various migratory insects are concentrated by the coastlines in both directions. These migratory species are further concentrated by the surrounding urban development into the remaining open space and open water of Jamaica Bay. Jamaica Bay and nearby Breezy Point support seasonal or year-round populations of 214 species of special emphasis and listed species, incorporating 48 species of fish and 120 species of birds, and including the following federally listed and state-listed species.

Area description

Jamaica Bay is a saline to brackish, eutrophic (nutrient-rich) estuary covering about 101 km² (25,000 acres), with a mean depth of 4 meters (13 ft), a semidiurnal tidal range averaging 1.5 meters (5 ft), and a residence time of about 33 days. The bay communicates with Lower New York Bay and the Atlantic Ocean via Rockaway Inlet, a high current area that is one kilometre (0.63 mile) wide at its narrowest point, with an average depth of 7 meters (23 ft). Measurements taken during recent surveys in Jamaica Bay indicate average yearly ranges for temperature of 1 to 26 °C (34 to 79 °F), salinity of 20.5 to 26 parts per thousand, dissolved oxygen of 3.5 to 18.5 milligrams/liter, and pH of 6.8 to 9. Loadings of nutrients and organic matter into the bay from sewage treatment plants and runoff result in phytoplankton blooms and high suspended-solid concentrations which, in turn, result in turbid water and low bottom dissolved-oxygen concentrations. Jamaica Bay is in the middle of the New York metropolitan area, and the uplands around the bay, as well as much of the Rockaway barrier beach, are dominated by urban residential, commercial, and industrial development. The bay itself has been disturbed by dredging, filling, and development, including the construction of Floyd Bennett Field and John F. Kennedy Airport. About 49 of the original 65 km² (12,000 of the original 16,000 acres) of wetlands in the bay have been filled in, mostly around the perimeter of the bay. Extensive areas of the bay have been dredged for navigation channels and to provide fill for the airports and other construction projects. airport The center of the bay is dominated by subtidal open water and extensive low-lying islands with areas of salt marsh, intertidal flats, and uplands important for colonial nesting waterbirds. The average mean low tide exposes 1.4 km² (350 acres) of mudflat, 3.8 km² (925 acres) of low salt marsh dominated by low marsh cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), and 2.1 km² (526 acres) of high marsh dominated by high marsh cordgrass (Spartina patens). The extensive intertidal areas are rich in food resources, including a variety of benthic invertebrates and macroalgae dominated by sea lettuce (Ulva latuca). These rich food resources attract a variety of fish, shorebirds, and waterfowl. In addition, two freshwater impoundments were created on Rulers Bar Hassock in the Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge; the smaller 0.2 km² (54-acre) freshwater West Pond is kept as open water, and the larger 0.5 km² (120 acre) slightly brackish East Pond is controlled to expose mudflats. Some of the islands in the bay have upland communities, including grasslands consisting of little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), and seaside goldenrod (Solidago sempivirens); scrub-shrub containing bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica), beach plum (Prunus maritima), sumac (Rhus spp.), and poison ivy (Toxidendron radicans); developing woodland consisting of hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), willow (Salix spp.), black cherry (Prunus serotina), and tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima); and beachgrass (Ammophila breviligulata) dune. Species introduced in the Refuge to attract wildlife include autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii), and Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii).

Ownership/protection status

The majority of land within this complex is publicly owned by the United States federal government and the city of New York. Most of Jamaica Bay proper and portions of the uplands and barrier beach are part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. Administered by the National Park Service, it includes the 37 km² (9,155 acre) Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Breezy Point, and Floyd Bennett Field. There are several city parks within the bay complex, including Marine Park and Edgemere Park, and numerous smaller parcels of city-owned land. Portions of the wetlands and uplands are part of John F. Kennedy International Airport, owned by the city of New York and operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Small areas in the upland buffer around the bay and on the Rockaway Peninsula remain in private residential or commercial ownership. Jamaica Bay has been designated and mapped as an otherwise protected beach unit pursuant to the federal Coastal Barrier Resources Act, prohibiting incompatible federal financial assistance or flood insurance within the unit. The New York State Natural Heritage Program, in conjunction with The Nature Conservancy, recognizes two Priority Sites for Biodiversity within the Jamaica Bay and Breezy Point habitat complex: Breezy Point (B2 - very high biodiversity significance) and Fountain Avenue Landfill (B3 - high biodiversity significance). Jamaica Bay and Breezy Point have been designated as Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitats by the New York Department of State, and the bay up to the high tide line was designated as a Critical Environmental Area by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. Jamaica Bay was also designated as one of three special natural waterfront areas by New York City's Department of City Planning. A comprehensive watershed management plan for the bay was completed in 1993 by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection in order to better protect and restore habitats and improve water quality. Wetlands are regulated in New York under the state's Freshwater Wetlands Act of 1975 and Tidal Wetlands Act of 1977; these statutes are in addition to federal regulation under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, Section 404 of the Clean Water Act of 1977, and various Executive Orders.

Status of wetlands

As of Spring 2003, marshland is being lost at the rate of approximately 40 acres/year. The reasons for this loss are still unclear, but one hypothesis is that the loss is the result of rising sea levels. To test this, in the hope of preventing further losses, the National Park Service plans to dredge a small area of the bay in order to build up the soil in about an acre of marsh. Opponents are concerned that the dredging may be harmful, perhaps leading to greater loss of marshland than the area saved.

Reference


- http://training.fws.gov/library/pubs5/web_link/text/jb_form.htm (public domain text)

External link


- http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/intro/hartig_01/ Category:Bays

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is Earth's second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of its surface. The ocean's name, derived from Greek mythology, means the "Sea of Atlas". This ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending in a north-south direction and is divided into the North Atlantic and South Atlantic by equatorial counter currents at about 8° north latitude. Bounded by the Americas on the west and Europe and Africa on the east, the Atlantic is linked to the Pacific Ocean by the Arctic Ocean on the north and the Drake Passage on the south. An artificial connection between the Atlantic and Pacific is also provided by the Panama Canal. On the east, the dividing line between the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean is the 20° east meridian. The Atlantic is separated from the Arctic Ocean by a line from Greenland to northwestern Iceland and then from northeastern Iceland to southernmost tip of Spitsbergen and then to North Cape in northern Norway. Norway on a fair day.]] Covering approximately 20% of Earth's surface, the Atlantic Ocean is second only to the Pacific in size. With its adjacent seas it occupies an area of about 106,400,000 km² (41,100,000 square miles); without them, it has an area of 82,400,000 km² (31,800,000 mi²). The land area that drains into the Atlantic is four times that of either the Pacific or Indian oceans. The volume of the Atlantic Ocean with its adjacent seas is 354,700,000 km³ (85,100,000 mi³) and without them 323,600,000 km³ (77,640,000 mi³). The average depth of the Atlantic, with its adjacent seas, is 3,332 m (10,932 ft); without them it is 3,926 m (12,881 ft). The greatest depth, 8,605 m (28,232 ft), is in the Puerto Rico Trench. The width of the Atlantic varies from 2,848 km (1,770 miles) between Brazil and Liberia to about 4,830 km (3,000 miles) between the United States and northern Africa. The Atlantic Ocean has irregular coasts indented by numerous bays, gulfs, and seas. These include the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, North Sea, Labrador Sea, Baltic Sea, and Norwegian-Greenland Sea. Islands in the Atlantic Ocean include Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Rockall, Great Britain, Ireland, Fernando de Noronha, the Azores, the Madeira Islands, the Canaries, the Cape Verde Islands,Sao Tome e Principe, Newfoundland, Bermuda, the West Indies, Ascension, St. Helena, Trindade, Martin Vaz, Tristan da Cunha, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia Island. South Georgia Island

Ocean bottom

The principal feature of the bottom topography of the Atlantic Ocean is a great submarine mountain range called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It extends from Iceland in the north to approximately 58° south latitude, reaching a maximum width of about 1,600 km (1,000 miles). A great rift valley also extends along the ridge over most of its length. The depth of water over the ridge is less than 2,700 m (8,900 ft) in most places, and several mountain peaks rise above the water, forming islands. The South Atlantic Ocean has an additional submarine ridge, the Walvis Ridge. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge separates the Atlantic Ocean into two large troughs with depths averaging between 3,700 and 5,500 m (12,000 and 18,000 ft). Transverse ridges running between the continents and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge divide the ocean floor into numerous basins. Some of the larger basins are the Guiana, North American, Cape Verde, and Canaries basins in the North Atlantic. The largest South Atlantic basins are the Angola, Cape, Argentina, and Brazil basins. The deep ocean floor is thought to be fairly flat, although numerous seamounts and some guyots exist. Several deeps or trenches are also found on the ocean floor. The Puerto Rico Trench, in the North Atlantic, is the deepest. The Laurentian Abyss is found off the eastern coast of Canada. In the south Atlantic, the South Sandwich Trench reaches a depth of 8,428 m (27,651 ft). A third major trench, the Romanche Trench, is located near the equator and reaches a depth of about 7,454 m (24,455 ft). The shelves along the margins of the continents constitute about 11% of the bottom topography. In addition, a number of deep channels cut across the continental rise. Ocean sediments are composed of terrigenous, pelagic, and authigenic material. Terrigenous deposits consist of sand, mud, and rock particles formed by erosion, weathering, and volcanic activity on land and then washed to sea. These materials are largely found on the continental shelves and are thickest off the mouths of large rivers or off desert coasts. Pelagic deposits, which contain the remains of organisms that sink to the ocean floor, include red clays and Globigerina, pteropod, and siliceous oozes. Covering most of the ocean floor and ranging in thickness from 60 m to 3,300 m (200 ft to 11,000 ft), they are thickest in the convergence belts and in the zones of upwelling. Authigenic deposits consist of such materials as manganese nodules. They occur where sedimentation proceeds slowly or where currents sort the deposits.

Water characteristics

sediment The salinity of the surface waters in the open ocean ranges from 33 to 37 parts per thousand by mass and varies with latitude and season. Although the minimum salinity values are found just north of the equator, in general the lowest values are in the high latitudes and along coasts where large rivers flow into the ocean. Maximum salinity values occur at about 25° north latitude. Surface salinity values are influenced by evaporation, precipitation, river inflow, and melting of sea ice. Surface water temperatures, which vary with latitude, current systems, and season and reflect the latitudinal distribution of solar energy, range from less than −2 °C to 29 °C (28 °F to 84 °F). Maximum temperatures occur north of the equator, and minimum values are found in the polar regions. In the middle latitudes, the area of maximum temperature variations, values may vary by 7 °C to 8 °C (13 °F to 15 °F). The Atlantic Ocean consists of four major water masses. The North and South Atlantic central waters constitute the surface waters. The sub-Antarctic intermediate water extends to depths of 1,000 m (3,300 ft). The North Atlantic deep water reaches depths of as much as 4,000 m (13,200 ft). The Antarctic bottom water occupies ocean basins at depths greater than 4,000 m (13,200 ft). Within the North Atlantic, ocean currents isolate a large elongated body of water known as the Sargasso Sea, in which the salinity is noticeably higher than average. The Sargasso Sea contains large amounts of seaweed, and is also the spawning ground for the European eel. Due to the Coriolis effect, water in the North Atlantic circulates in a clockwise direction, whereas water circulation in the South Atlantic is counter clockwise. The South tides in the Atlantic Ocean are semi-diurnal; that is, two high tides occur during each 24 lunar hours. The tides are a general wave that moves from south to north. In latitudes above 40° north some east-west oscillation occurs.

Climate

diurnal The climate of the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent land areas is influenced by the temperatures of the surface waters and water currents as well as the winds blowing across the waters. Because of the oceans' great capacity for retaining heat, maritime climates are moderate and free of extreme seasonal variations. Precipitation can be approximated from coastal weather data and air temperature from the water temperatures. The oceans are the major source of the atmospheric moisture that is obtained through evaporation. Climatic zones vary with latitude; the warmest climatic zones stretch across the Atlantic north of the equator. The coldest zones are in the high latitudes, with the coldest regions corresponding to the areas covered by sea ice. Ocean currents contribute to climatic control by transporting warm and cold waters to other regions. Adjacent land areas are affected by the winds that are cooled or warmed when blowing over these currents. The Gulf Stream, for example, warms the atmosphere of the British Isles and northwestern Europe, and the cold water currents contribute to heavy fog off the coast of northeastern Canada (the Grand Banks area) and the northwestern coast of Africa. In general, winds tend to transport moisture and warm or cool air over land areas. Hurricanes develop in the southern part of the North Atlantic Ocean.

History and economy

The Atlantic Ocean appears to be the second youngest of the world's oceans, after the Southern Ocean. Evidence indicates that it did not exist prior to 180 million years ago, when the continents that formed from the breakup of the ancestral supercontinent, Pangaea, were being rafted apart by the process of seafloor spreading. The Atlantic has been extensively explored since the earliest settlements were established along its shores. The Vikings, Portuguese, and Christopher Columbus were the most famous among its early explorers. After Columbus, European exploration rapidly accelerated, and many new trade routes were established. As a result, the Atlantic became and remains the major artery between Europe and the Americas (known as transatlantic trade). Numerous scientific explorations have been undertaken, including those by the German Meteor expedition, Columbia University's Lamont Geological Observatory, and the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office. The ocean has also contributed significantly to the development and economy of the countries around it. Besides its major "transatlantic" transportation and communication routes, the Atlantic offers abundant petroleum deposits in the sedimentary rocks of the continental shelves and the world's richest fishing resources, especially in the waters covering the shelves. The major species of fish caught are cod, haddock, hake, herring, and mackerel. The most productive areas include the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, the shelf area off Nova Scotia, Georges Bank off Cape Cod, the Bahama Banks, the waters around Iceland, the Irish Sea, the Dogger Bank of the North Sea, and the Falkland Banks. Eel, lobster, and whales have also been taken in great quantities. All these factors, taken together, tremendously enhance the Atlantic's great commercial value. Because of the threats to the ocean environment presented by oil spills, marine debris, and the incineration of toxic wastes at sea, various international treaties exist to reduce some forms of pollution.
- In 1858, the first Transatlantic telegraph cable was laid by Cyrus Field.
- In 1919, the American NC-4 became the first airplane to cross the Atlantic (though it made a couple of landings on islands along the way).
- Later in 1919, a British airplane piloted by Alcock and Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic flight from Newfoundland to Ireland.
- In 1921, the British were the first to cross the North Atlantic in an airship.
- In 1922, the Portuguese were the first to cross the South Atlantic in an airship.
- The first transatlantic telephone call was made on January 7, 1927.
- In 1927, Charles Lindbergh made the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight in an airplane (between New York City and Paris).
- After rowing for 81 days and 2,962 miles, on December 3, 1999 Tori Murden became the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean by rowboat alone when she reached Guadeloupe from the Canary Islands. Location: body of water between Africa, Europe, the Southern Ocean, and the Americas Geographic coordinates: Map references: World Area:
- total: 76.762 million km²
- note: includes the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, part of the Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Labrador Sea, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, almost all of the Scotia Sea, and other tributary water bodies Area - comparative: slightly less than 6.5 times the size of the US Coastline: 111,866 km Climate: Tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop anywhere from off the coast of Africa near Cape Verde to the Windward Islands and move westward into the Caribbean Sea or up the east coast of North America; hurricanes can occur from May to December, but are most frequent from late July to early November. Storms are common in the North Atlantic during northern winters, making ocean crossings more difficult and dangerous.

Terrain

The surface is usually covered with sea ice in the Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and Baltic Sea from October to June. There is a clockwise warm-water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the northern Atlantic, and a counter-clockwise warm-water gyre in the southern Atlantic. The ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin, first discovered by the Challenger Expedition.

Elevation extremes


- lowest point: Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench -8,605 m
- highest point: sea level 0 m

Natural resources

Petroleum and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, precious stones

Natural hazards

Icebergs are common in the Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have been spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands. Ships are subject to superstructure icing in extreme northern Atlantic from October to May. Persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to September. So can hurricanes north of the equator (May to December). The Bermuda Triangle is popularly believed to be the site of numerous aviation and shipping incidents, due to unexplained and supposedly mysterious causes, but coastguard records do not support this belief.

Current environmental issues

Endangered marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales. Drift net fishing is killing dolphins, albatrosses and other seabirds (petrels, auks), hastening the decline of fish stocks and contributing to international disputes. There is municipal sludge pollution off eastern US, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina, oil pollution in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea, and industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in the Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea.

Notes on geography

Major chokepoints include the Strait of Gibraltar and the Panama Canal; strategic straits include the Strait of Dover, Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and Windward Passage; the Equator divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean (previously known as the Ethiopic Ocean). During the Cold War the so called Greenland-Iceland-UK (GIUK) Gap was a major strategic concern, the seabed in that area was laid with extensive hydrophone systems to track Soviet submarines.

Ports and harbours


- A Coruña (Spain)
- Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire)
- Accra (Ghana)
- Amsterdam (Netherlands)
- Antwerp (Belgium)
- Bahia Blanca (Argentina)
- Baltimore (US)
- Banjul (The Gambia)
- Belfast (Northern Ireland)
- Bergen (Norway)
- Bissau (Guinea-Bissau)
- Bodø (Norway)
- Bordeaux (France)
- Boston (US)
- Bremen (Germany)
- Brest (France)
- Bristol (England)
- Cadiz (Spain)
- Cape Town (South Africa)
- Casablanca (Morocco)
- Cayenne (French Guiana)
- Charleston (US)
- Cherbourg (France)
- Conakry (Guinea)
- Cork (Republic of Ireland)
- Cotonou (Benin)
- Dakar (Senegal)
- Douala (Cameroon)
- Dublin (Republic of Ireland)
- Dunkirk (France)
- Edinburgh (Scotland)
- Fortaleza (Brazil)
- Georgetown (Guyana)
- Glasgow (Scotland)
- Gothenburg(Sweden)
- Hamburg (Germany)
- Halifax (Canada)
- Jacksonville (US)
- Lagos (Nigeria)
- Las Palmas (Spain)
- Le Havre (France)
- Libreville (Gabon)
- Lisbon (Portugal)
- Liverpool (England)
- Lomé (Togo)
- London (England)
- Luanda (Angola)
- Maceió (Brazil)
- Malabo (Equatorial Guinea)
- Miami (US)
- Monrovia (Liberia)
- Montréal (Canada)
- Morehead City (US)
- Nantes (France)
- Nantucket (US)
- Narvik (Norway)
- New Haven (US)
- New London (US)
- New York (US)
- Newcastle upon Tyne (England)
- Newport News (US)
- Norfolk (US)
- Nouakchott (Mauritania)
- Oslo (Norway)
- Ostend (Belgium)
- Paramaribo (Suriname)
- Philadelphia (US)
- Port Harcourt (Nigeria)
- Portland (US)
- Porto (Portugal)
- Porto-Novo (Benin)
- Portsmouth (England)
- Portsmouth (US)
- Providence (US)
- Puerto Cortes (Honduras)
- Québec (Canada)
- Rabat (Morocco)
- Recife (Brazil)
- Reykjavík (Iceland)
- Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
- Rotterdam (Netherlands)
- Salvador (Brazil)
- Saint-Nazaire (France)
- Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Spain)
- Santander (Spain)
- Santos (Brazil)
- Savannah (US)
- Seville (Spain)
- Saint John (Canada)
- St. John's (Canada)
- Southampton (England)
- Stavanger (Norway)
- Tangier (Morocco)
- Tromsø (Norway)
- Trondheim (Norway)
- Vigo (Spain)
- Vitória (Brazil)
- Walvis Bay (Namibia)
- Wilmington (US)
- Yarmouth (Canada)
- Ålesund (Norway)

Note on transportation

The Saint Lawrence Seaway is an important waterway.

References


- Much of this article comes from the public domain site http://oceanographer.navy.mil/atlantic.html (dead link). It is now accessible from the Internet Archive at http://web.archive.org/web/20020221215514/http%3a//oceanographer.navy.mil/atlantic.html.
  - Disclaimers for this website, including its status as a public domain resource, are recorded on the Internet Archive at http://web.archive.org/web/20020212021049/http%3a//oceanographer.navy.mil/warning.html.

External links


- [http://dapper.pmel.noaa.gov/dchart/ NOAA In-situ Ocean Data Viewer] Plot and download ocean observations
- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/zh.html CIA – The World Factbook – Atlantic Ocean] Category:Atlantic Ocean Category:Oceans als:Atlantik zh-min-nan:Tāi-se-iûⁿ ko:대서양 ja:大西洋 simple:Atlantic Ocean th:มหาสมุทรแอตแลนติก

New York Harbor

New York Harbor is a geographic term that refers collectively to the bays and tidal estuaries near the mouth of the Hudson and adjacent rivers in the vicinity of New York City. In a narrower sense, the term is sometimes taken to refer specifically to Upper New York Bay. Upper New York Bay in Upper New York Bay in front of the Lower Manhattan skyline. The Statue of Liberty was from 1886 until the jet age often the first sight of the city for European immigrants to the United States.]] In the broad sense, the term may be loosely taken to include the following bodies of water:
- Upper New York Bay
- Lower New York Bay
- Newark Bay
- The Narrows
- North River (i.e., the lower Hudson River)
- East River
- Arthur Kill
- Kill Van Kull
- Jamaica Bay
- Raritan Bay
- Harlem River In socioeconomic terms, the phrase has historically implied the commercial activity of the port of New York City, including the waterfronts of the five boroughs and nearby cities in New Jersey on the Hudson River. Throughout most of its history, the harbor has been the most important port in the United States and furnished one of the principal means by which passengers and goods were transported to and from New York City and the rest of the country, particularly after the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825. 1825 Since the 1950s, New York City proper as a commercial port has been almost completely eclipsed by the container ship facility at nearby Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal in Newark Bay, which is the largest such port on the Eastern Seaboard. New York City is still serviced by several cruise lines, commuter ferries, and tourist excursion boats. ferries shore at Liberty Park.]] A persistent misconception holds that the harbor is largely devoid of marine life. In reality, it supports a great variety of thriving aquatic species.

See also


- Marine life of New York Harbor
- Geography of New York Harbor
- Staten Island Ferry
- NY Waterway Category:New York City Category:Ports and harbors of the United States

Hackensack River

is in the background.]] The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 mi (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban area outside New York City just west of the lower Hudson River, which it roughly parallels, separated from it by the Palisades. It also flows through and drains the New Jersey Meadowlands. The lower river, which is navigable as far as the community of Hackensack, is heavily industrialized and forms a commercial extension of Newark Bay. Once believed to be the among the most polluted water courses in the United States, it is has staged a modest revival in recent decades. The river is sometimes affectionately nicknamed the "Hacky" for short.

Description

The Hackensack River rises in southeastern New York, in Rockland County, just west of the Hudson River and approximately 1 mi (1.6 km) south of West Haverstraw. It flows briefly southeast, into the DeForest Lake reservoir, separated form the Hudson by less than 3 mi (5 km). South of the dam, it then flows south, diverging from the Hudson. Just across the New Jersey state line, in northern Bergen County, it is impounded to form the reservoir Lake Tappan. South of Lake Tappan, it flows in a meandering course southward through the suburban communities of New Jersey. Near Oradell, it is impounded to form Oradell Reservoir, where it is joined by several streams, including the Dwars Kill and Pascack Brook. South of the reservoir, it flows past River Edge, Hackensack, Teaneck, and Ridgefield Park, once again approaching within 3 mi (5 km) of the Hudson, and separated from it by the ridge of the Palisades. At Little Ferry, it is joined by the broad Overpeck Creek, then flows southward, widening in a broad meandering tidal estuary through the Meadowlands, forming extensive side streams and wetlands. South of North Bergen, it forms the boundary between Bergen County to the west and Hudson County to the east. Opposite Secaucus it is joined by Berrys Creek, then flows past the western edge of Jersey City, which overlooks the river's valley from the ridge of the Palisades, before forming Newark Bay at its confluence with the Passaic River between Jersey City and Kearny. As it flows through the Meadowlands it is traversed by numerous rail and road bridges. Going downstream they are:
- Route 3 (twin span)
- HX draw (NJ Transit Bergen County Line)
- Upper Hack Lift (NJ Transit Main Line)
- DB draw-Norfolk Southern Railway, former NJ Transit Boonton Line (abandoned)
- New Jersey Turnpike (eastern spur)
- Portal Bridge-Amtrak Northeast Corridor
- Lower Hack Draw-NJ Transit Morristown Line
- Wittpenn Bridge-New Jersey State Highway 7
- Harsimus Branch Lift-Conrail
- PATH lift bridge-Port Authority Trans-Hudson
- Pulaski Skyway
- US 1-9 Truck

History

The name of the river comes from the Lenape word Ackingsack. Conflicts with the Lenape prevented the early Dutch settlers of the New Netherland colony from expanding westward into the valley into late in the 17th century. The river furnished both the Native Americans and the European settlers with abundant runs of herring, shad and striped bass. In the colonial era, the river and the surrounding Meadowlands presented a formidable difficulty in transportation and communication. The wetlands helped allow the escape of the Continental Army under George Washington in 1776 after several defeats at the hands of the British army on the east side of the Hudson. It later served as a protective barrier that allowed Washington's army to encamp in the nearby hills near Morristown. In the last two centuries, the river has suffered from extremely severe pollution. The construction of the Oradell Reservoir dam in 1921 essentially changed the lower river from a free-flowing stream into a brackish estuary, allowing the encroachment of marine species. By the 1960s, however, much of the lower river was essentially a turbid oxygen-less dead zone, with only the hardiest of species such as the mummichog able to survive in its waters. Berrys Creek was once thought to be the most polluted stream in the United States. The river has recovered somewhat in recent decades following the decline in manufacturing in the area, as well as from enforcement of such regulations as the Clean Water Act and from the efforts of local conservancy groups. Recreational fishing has staged a modest comeback, despite continuing health advisories against the consumption of catch. The future of the wetlands around the lower river has been an ongoing controversy between development and preservation groups in recent decades. The controversial Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission (now the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission) was formed by the state in 1968 to manage development and habitat preservation.

Tributaries


- Berrys Creek
- Overpeck Creek
- Pascack Brook

See also


- List of New Jersey rivers
- List of New York rivers

External links


- [http://geocities.com/hrckc/links/hackensack/map.htm Map of the Hackensack River watershed]
- [http://www.hackensackriverkeeper.org/ Hackensack Riverkeeper] an environmental organization
- [http://www.fdu.edu/visitorcenter/thtides.html Farleigh Dickinson University: Hackensack River tides]
- [http://www.eorthe.com/02a_e_hack/00_hack_home.htm Hackensack River bridges]
- [http://www.wildnj.com/gest2.htm Wild New Jersey: Fishes of the Hackensack River]
- [http://www.bergenswan.org/ Bergen SWAN]
- [http://www.teaneckgreenway.org/ Friends of the Hackensack River Greenway through Teaneck]
- [http://www.meadowlands.state.nj.us/ New Jersey Meadowlands Commission]
- [http://www.meadowlands.state.nj.us/ec/ Meadowlands Environment Center]
- [http://meri.njmeadowlands.gov/ Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute (MERI)]
- [http://www.njnm.com/ New Jersey Naval Museum] Home of the W.W. II Submarine USS Ling (SS-297)
- [http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nj/nwis/current/?type=flow U.S. Geological Survey: NJ stream gaging stations] Category:Bergen County, New Jersey Category:Hudson County, New Jersey Category:Rivers of New Jersey Category:Rivers of New York

Kill Van Kull

Image:Wpdms_terra_killvankull.jpg
The Kill Van Kull is shown here in red, connecting Newark Bay with Upper New York Bay
The Kill Van Kull is a tidal strait approximately 3 miles long and 1000 feet wide separating Staten Island and Bayonne, New Jersey, USA. The name kill comes from an old Dutch word for "water channel" It connects Newark Bay with Upper New York Bay. Historically it has been one of the most important channels in commerce throughout the region, providing a passage for marine traffic between Manhattan and the industrial towns of New Jersey. It currently provides the principal access for ocean-going container ships to Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, the busiest port facility in the eastern United States and the principal marine terminal for New York Harbor. The strait is spanned by the Bayonne Bridge.

See also


- List of New Jersey rivers
- List of New York rivers Category:Rivers of New Jersey Category:Rivers of New York Category:Staten Island Category:Straits

Arthur Kill

The Arthur Kill (from the Middle Dutch word kille, meaning "riverbed" or "water channel") is a tidal strait separating Staten Island from mainland New Jersey, USA. Throughout history, it has also been known as Staten Island Sound. The channel is approximately 10 miles long and connects Raritan Bay on its south end with Newark Bay on the north. Along the New Jersey side it is primarily lined with industrial sites, whereas on the Staten Island side, it is primarily lined with salt marshes. A heavily used marine channel, it provides access for ocean-going container ships to Port Newark and to industrial facilities along the channel itself. It also provides the primary marine access to the now-closed Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island. The channel is dredged periodically to a depth between 35 and 37 feet and a width of 600 feet to maintain its usefulness for commercial ship passage. Because of the complex nature of the tides in New York Harbor near the mouth of the Hudson River, the hydrology of the Arthur Kill is still an open subject. In particular, the net flow of the channel is not well established. It is spanned by the Goethals Bridge and the Outerbridge Crossing, as well as by the longest vertical-lift railroad drawbridge in the United States. It contains two small uninhabited islands, Prall's Island and the Isle of Meadows, both of which belong to the borough of Staten Island.

Tributaries


- Rahway River

See also


- List of New Jersey rivers

References


- [http://216.239.39.104/search?q=cache:Qa2LIGNgYWcJ:www.nan.usace.army.mil/project/newyork/factsh/pdf/AKOM.pdf+Arthur+Kill&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Dredging Report, Dec. 2003] Category:Rivers of New Jersey Category:Rivers of New York Category:Staten Island Category:Straits

Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal

] Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal is the name for the port facility in Newark Bay that serves as the principal container ship facility for goods entering and leaving the metropolitan region of New York City and the northeastern quadrant of North America. It consists of two components (Port Newark and the Elizabeth Marine Terminal, sometimes called "Port Elizabeth") which exist side-by-side and are run conjointly by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The facility is located within the boundaries of the two cities of Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, just east of the New Jersey Turnpike and Newark Liberty International Airport. The Port is fifteenth busiest in the world today, but was number one as recently as 1985. Planned and built during the 1950s by the Port Authority, it is the largest container port in the eastern United States and the third largest in the country. Container goods typically arrive on container ships through the Narrows and the Kill Van Kull before entering Newark Bay, a shallow body of water which is dredged to accommodate the larger ships (some ships enter Newark Bay via the Arthur Kill). The port facility consistes of two main dredged slips and multiple loading cranes. Metals containers are stacked in large arrays visible from the New Jersey Turnpike before being loaded onto rail cars and trucks. The building of the port facility antiquated most of the waterfront port facilities in New York Harbor, leading to a steep decline in such areas as Manhattan, Hoboken, and Brooklyn. The automated nature of the facility requires far fewer workers and does not require the opening of containers before onward shipping. Since 1998 the Port has seen a 65 percent increase in traffic volume. In 2003 the Port moved over $100 billion in goods. Plans are underway for billions of dollars of improvements - larger cranes, bigger railyard facilities, deeper channels, and expanded wharves. New longshoremen are being hired as well.

External links


- [http://www.panynj.gov/commerce/nemain.HTM Port Authority - Port Newark/Elizabeth Marine Terminal]
- [http://www.pnct.net/ Port Newark Container Terminal] Newark-Elizabeth Maine Terminal Category:Transportation in New Jersey Category:Newark, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is the fourth smallest and most densely populated state of the United States of America; the U.S. postal abbreviation is NJ. The state is named after the island of Jersey in the English Channel.

History

Once inhabited by the tribes of the Lenape Native Americans, New Jersey was settled by the Dutch in the early 1630s, who formed a settlement at present-day Jersey City. At the time, much of what is now New Jersey was claimed as part of the Dutch colony of New Netherland, which also included parts of present-day New York State and had its capital at New Amsterdam, now known as New York City. Some of southwestern New Jersey also was settled by the Swedes in the mid-1600s as part of the Swedish colony of New Sweden, which included parts of Delaware and southeastern Pennsylvania. These territories were taken by the Dutch in 1654 and incorporated into New Netherland. The entire region became a territory of Britain in 1664 when a British fleet under the command of Colonel Richard Nicolls sailed into what is today New York Harbor and took over the colony. They met minimal resistance, perhaps because of the unpopularity of the Dutch colonial governor, Peter Stuyvesant. The newly taken lands were divided by King Charles II of England, who gave his brother, the Duke of York (later King James II) the region between New England and Maryland as a proprietary colony (as opposed to a royal colony). James then granted the land between the Hudson River and the Delaware River (the land that would become New Jersey) to two friends who had been loyal through the English Civil War: Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley of Stratton. During the English Civil War the Channel Isle of Jersey remained loyal to The English Crown and gave sanctuary to the King. It was from the Royal Square in St. Helier that Charles II of England was first proclaimed King of England in 1649, following the execution of his father, Charles I of England. In 1663 in recognition of his loyalty to the English Crown Sir George Carteret, Jersey's Royalist Governor, was gifted a large tract of land in North America henceforth known as New Jersey. Settlement for the first 10 years of English rule was in the Hudson River region and came primarily from New England. The first permanent English settlement was Elizabethtown, now Elizabeth. On March 18, 1673 Berkeley sold his half of New Jersey to Quakers in England (with William Penn acting as trustee for a time) who settled the Delaware Valley region as a Quaker colony. New Jersey was governed as two distinct provinces, West Jersey and East Jersey, for the 28 years between 1674 and 1702. In 1702, the two provinces were united under a royal, rather than a proprietary, governor.

Revolutionary War era

New Jersey was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. During the American Revolutionary War, British and American armies crossed New Jersey numerous times and several pivotal battles took place in the state. Today, New Jersey is often referred to as "The Crossroads of the Revolution" because of that. On Christmas, 1776, the Continental Army under George Washington crossed the Delaware River and engaged the unprepared Hessian troops in the Battle of Trenton. The river crossing has become an iconic moment in the early history of the United States of America, having been immortalized in Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze's painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. Slightly more than a week after victory at Trenton, on January 3, 1777, the American forces scored an important victory by making a surprise attack on Princeton, evading the British under Charles Cornwallis. Later on, the American forces underneath George Washington engaged the forces underneath General Henry Clinton at the Battle of Monmouth. The result of the battle was indecisive. In the summer of 1783, the Continental Congress met in Nassau Hall at Princeton University, making Princeton the nation's capital for four months. It was there that the Continental Congress learned of the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1783) which ended the war. On November 20, 1789, the state became the first in the newly-formed Union to ratify the Bill of Rights. Ironically, on February 15, 1804 New Jersey became the last northern state to abolish slavery by enacting legislation that slowly phased out slavery. However, by the close of the Civil War, about a dozen African-Americans in New Jersey were still apprenticed freedmen. New Jersey initially refused to ratify the Constitutional Amendments banning slavery and granting rights to America's Black population.

Women's suffrage

The [http://www.state.nj.us/njfacts/njdoc10a.htm New Jersey Constitution of 1776] gives the vote to "all inhabitants of this Colony, of full age, who are worth fifty pounds proclamation money." This included blacks, spinsters, and widows. (Married women could not own property under the common law.) It used to be held that this was an accident of hasty drafting: the British were at Staten Island when the constitution was proclaimed, and it declares itself temporary, void if there was reconciliation with Great Britain. Klinghoffer and Elkis ("The Petticoat Electors: Women’s Suffrage in New Jersey, 1776–1807." Journal of the Early Republic 12, no. 2 (1992): 159–193.) show that it was a considered decision, and enforced by later law. Both sides in elections mocked the other for relying on "petticoat electors"; both accused each other of letting unqualified women (including married women) vote. A Federalist legislature passed a voting rights act which applied only to those counties where the Federalists were strong; a Democratic legislature extended it to the entire state. In 1807, as a side-effect of a reconciliation within the Democratic Party, the legislature reinterpreted the constitution (which had been an ordinary act of the Provincial Congress) to mean universal white male suffrage, with no property requirement; but they disenfranchised paupers, to keep down the Irish.

Law and government

The state capital of New Jersey is Trenton. Jon Corzine was elected Governor of New Jersey on November 8, 2005, and will take office on January 17, 2006. Currently, Richard Codey (Democrat) is the Acting governor, because he is (and concurrently serves as) President of the State Senate. Former Governor James E. McGreevey resigned on November 15, 2004, and New Jersey (along with Arizona, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wyoming) had no position of Lieutenant Governor at the time. However, on Election Day, November 8, 2005, the voters passed an amendment to the state constitution that creates the position of Lieutenant Governor, effective with the 2009 elections. The amendment also provides that in the event of a permanent vacancy in the office of Governor after January 17, 2006 (when the next Governor is sworn in) and before the first Lieutenant Governor takes office in 2010, the President of the Senate, followed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, would become Governor (rather than Acting Governor) but will now be required to vacate his or her Senate (or Assembly) seat. The New Jersey governor is considered one of the most powerful governorships in the nation, as it is the only state-wide elected office in the state and appoints many government officials. Additionally, an acting governor is even more powerful as he simultaneously serves as president of the senate, thus directing the entire legislative and executive process. Current Acting Governor Codey will likely be the last Acting Governor to serve simultaneously as Senate President, as a result of the Constitutional amendment approved by the voters in 2005 (as the current dual role would remain in effect if Codey were to step down before the new Governor takes office). The state's two U.S. Senators are Frank R. Lautenberg (Democrat) and Jon Corzine (Democrat). As governor-elect, Corzine will appoint his own replacement after he steps down from the Senate and is sworn in as Governor in January. New Jersey has 13 Congressional Districts. New Jersey is a politically competitive state; the Governorship has alternated between the parties since the election of Richard J. Hughes in 1961; the legislature has also switched hands, and one house was evenly divided from 1999–2001. Three of the last four gubernatorial elections have been close. The Congressional seats have also been as evenly divided as thirteen seats can be. In national elections, the state now tends to lean towards the national Democratic Party. It was, however, a Republican stronghold for years in the past, having given comfortable margins of victory to the Republican candidate in the close elections of 1948, 1968, and 1976. New Jersey was a crucial swing state in the elections of 1960, 1968, and 1992. In national elections, the state gave large victories to Democrats in the 1990's, while in the 2004 presidential election, John F. Kerry defeated George W. Bush by about 6%. The last elected Republican to hold a Senate seat from New Jersey was Clifford P. Case in 1979. (Nicholas Brady was appointed a U.S. Senator by Governor Thomas Kean in 1982 after Harrison A. Williams resigned the Senate seat following the Abscam investigations. Brady served eight months. The state's Democratic strongholds include Mercer County around the cities of Trenton and Princeton; Essex County and Hudson County, the state's two most urban counties, around the state's two largest cities, Newark and Jersey City; as well as in Camden County and most of the other urban communities just outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York City. More suburban northern counties in the orbit of New York, such as Union and Middlesex, also trend Democratic. The more suburban northwestern and southeastern counties of the state are reliably Republican: Republicans have strong backing along the coast in Ocean County and in the mountainous northwestern part of the state, especially Sussex County, Morris County and Warren County. Somerset and Hunterdon counties, more suburban counties in the region, are also Republican in local elections, but can be competitive in national races. In the 2004 General Election, Bush received about 51% in Somerset and 56% in Hunterdon, while up in rural Republican Sussex County, Bush won with 64% of the vote. About half of the counties in New Jersey, however, are considered swing counties, but some go more one way than others. For an example, Bergen County, which leans Republican in the northern half of the county, is mostly Democratic in the more populated southern parts, causing it to usually vote slightly Democratic (same with Passaic County, with a highly populated Hispanic Democratic south and a rural, Republican north), other "swing" counties like Cape May tend to go Republican, as they also have population in conservative areas. The governor's mansion is Drumthwacket.

New Jersey State Constitution

The [http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/lawsconstitution/constitution.asp constitution] was adopted in 1947. It provides for a bicameral Legislature consisting of a Senate of 40 members and an Assembly of 80 members. Each of the 40 legislative districts elects one Senator and two Assembly members. Assembly members are elected by the people for a two-year term in all odd-numbered years; Senators are elected in the years ending in 1, 3, and 7 and thus serve either four or two year terms.

The New Jersey Supreme Court

The New Jersey Supreme Court [http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/supreme/index.htm] consists of a chief justice and six associate justices. All are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of a majority of the membership of the state senate. Justices serve an initial seven-year term, after which they can be reappointed to serve until age 70.

Geography

New Jersey is broadly divided into three geographic regions: North Jersey, Central Jersey, and South Jersey. North Jersey is within New York City's general sphere of influence, with many of its residents commuting into the city for work. Central Jersey is a largely suburban area. South Jersey is within Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's general sphere of influence. Such geographic definitions are broad, however, and there is often dispute over where one region begins and another ends. High Point Mountain, in Montague Township, Sussex County has the highest elevation in New Jersey. Sussex County, in North Jersey, and its Gold Coast featuring Goldman Sachs Tower.]] New Jersey is bordered on the north and northeast by New York, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania (the latter two across the Delaware River.) Prominent geographic features include:
- Delaware Water Gap
- Musconetcong River
- New Jersey Meadowlands
- The Palisades
- Passaic River
- Pine Barrens
- Rancocas River
- Raritan River
- Sandy Hook
- South Mountain

Economy

[http://www.bea.gov/ The Bureau of Economic Analysis] estimates that New Jersey's total state product in 2003 was $397 billion. New Jersey's per capita income is the highest in the nation. Its per capita personal income in 2003 was $40,427, 4th in the United States of America. Its median household income is also the highest in the nation with $55,146. It is also ranked 2nd in the nation by the number of places with per capita incomes above national average with 76.4%. Nine of New Jersey's counties are also in the wealthiest 100 of the country. Women in New Jersey earn the highest per capita income as stated in a 2002 article in the Newark Star-Ledger. Its agricultural outputs are nursery stock, horses, vegetables, fruits and nuts, seafood, and dairy products. In particular, cranberries and eggplant are two of the state's largest crops. Hammonton in the southern part of the state is known as the blueberry capital of the world. Its industrial outputs are pharmaceutical and chemical products, food processing, electric equipment, printing and publishing, and tourism. New Jersey's economy has a large base of industry and chemical manufacturing. Additionally, New Jersey is home to the largest petroleum containment system in the world, outside of the Middle East. Although the state is certainly not defined by these activities, their existence and visibility to those passing through the state along some of its major highways does contribute to many jokes about pollution and ironic plays on the state's nickname, the "Garden State." In terms of quantity and quality, New Jersey ranks ninth in the union, in the number of manufactured goods that come from this state's factories. New Jersey is also a leader in the number of businesses that have their headquarters or do business here. 50 Fortune 500 companies alone have headquarters or do business in Morris County alone. Nearly 100 Fortune 500 companies have headquarters or conduct business in New Jersey. This allows New Jersey to have the largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the world. Paramus is long noted for having one of the highest business per person ratio in the nation, because of the huge number of shops in that town and the surrounding area. Several New Jersey counties such as Essex, Morris, Middlesex, Union, and Bergen counties have been ranked in the World Almanac 2002, as being among the top 15 highest per person per capita income areas in the country. New Jersey has the nation's most diverse economy, with its major industries being agriculture, tourism, nursery products, electronics, manufacturing equipment, pharmacuticals, etc. It is for this reason, New Jersey is able to weather severe economic declines in the national economy and it is why New Jersey's unemployment rate is well below the national average. New Jersey's location between Philadephia and New York City, has allowed New Jersey to grow and thrive since the time of its creation as a state in 1702. Another of New Jersey's great strengths is its large and well-educated labor pool that allow the myriad of industries to exist today. The Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal is the world's largest container ports. Newark Liberty International Airport is ranked as number 7 in the top ten list of the nation's busiest airports and among the top 20 busiest airports in the world. Six Flags Great Adventure is one of the largest theme parks in the world. It is home to the largest wild safari out of Africa and is now home to the world's tallest and fastest coaster, Kingda Ka. As of 2001, New Jersey makes $30 billion each year from tourism as stated in the Star-Ledger's article The Best Of New Jersey. New Jersey is one of the top ten most visited states in the nation.

Demographics

As of 2004, the population of New Jersey was estimated to be 8,698,879. There are 1.6 million foreign-born living in the state (accounting for 19.2% of the state population). New Jersey is the tenth most populous state, but the most densely populated, at 1,134.4 residents per square mile. [http://www.njfaq.com/njfaq4.shtml].

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

The racial makeup of New Jersey is:
- 66.0% White Non-Hispanic
- 13.6% Black
- 13.3% Hispanic
- 5.7% Asian
- 0.2% Native American (U.S. Census)
- 2.5% Mixed race New Jersey has the 15th largest percentage of minority residents of any state and the 2nd highest percentage in the North. Race/ethnicity citation with state percentages: [http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t6/tab02.pdf](Adobe PDF) Diversity index citation with state percentages: [http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/atlas/divers