The Tappan Zee (; also Tappan Sea or Tappaan Zee) is a natural widening of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...

, about across at its widest, in southeastern

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It stretches about along the boundary between Rockland and Westchester counties, downstream from

Croton Point Croton Point Park is a Westchester County park in the village of Croton-on-Hudson. The park has several public attractions including a miniature aircraft airport, boat launch, tent and RV camping, cabin rental, cross-country skiing, fishing, gro ...

to Irvington. It derives its name from the Tappan Native American sub-tribe of the Delaware/Lenni Lenape, and the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

word ' , meaning a sea.Melvin, Tessa
"If You're Thinking of Living In/Tarrytown; Rich History, Picturesque River Setting"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', August 21, 1994. Accessed December 30, 2007. "The Dutch called this point, the river's widest, the Tappan Zee — Tappan probably for a group of Indians and Zee meaning "sea" in Dutch." Flanked to the west by high steep bluffs of the Palisades, it forms something of a natural lake on the Hudson about north of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Communities along the Tappan Zee include Nyack on the western side as well as Ossining and

Tarrytown Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North Hu ...

on the eastern side. It was formerly crossed by the Governor Malcolm Wilson Tappan Zee Bridge, opened in 1955 and about long, connecting Nyack and Tarrytown. Today, it is crossed by the

new Tappan Zee Bridge New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

(officially the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge), which opened in 2017 (north or westbound span) and 2018 (south or eastbound span) at about the same length as the old bridge. On September 14, 1609, the explorer

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States. In 1607 and 16 ...

entered the Tappan Zee while sailing upstream from

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in ...

. At first, Hudson believed the widening of the river indicated that he had found the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the ...

. He proceeded upstream as far as present-day

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

before concluding that no such

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean chan ...

existed there. Francis Augustus Silva - The Hudson at the Tappan Zee - Google Art Project

The Tappan Zee is mentioned several times in

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

's famous short story, "

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a gothic story by American author Washington Irving, contained in his collection of 34 essays and short stories titled '' The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.'' Written while Irving was living abroad in Bi ...

." The tale is set in the vicinity of Tarrytown, in the area near Irving's own home at Sunnyside. In Frederik Pohl's 1977 Hugo award-winning novel '' Gateway'', the main character Robinette Broadhead has "a summer apartment overlooking the Tappan Sea and The Palisades Dam." Pohl lived in the area while writing the book. Jazz pianist Bob James named one of the tracks from his 1977 album

BJ4 ''BJ4'' is the fourth album by jazz pianist Bob James. Released in 1977, the album charted at number three on the Jazz Album Charts. This would be his last CTI album before starting his label Tappan Zee Records, named for one of the tracks on t ...

, in addition to his record label he founded, after the Tappan Zee.

References

External links

Tappan Zee Bridge

{{authority control Hudson River Lakes of Rockland County, New York Transportation in Westchester County, New York Lakes of New York (state)

See also

References

External links