The Brau Kettle is a geological feature known as a
karst
Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a national recreation area administered by the National Park Service in northwest New Jersey and northeast Pennsylvania. It is centered around a stretch of the Delaware River designated the ...
in
Sandyston Township, New Jersey
Sandyston Township is a small rural Township (New Jersey), township in Sussex County, New Jersey, Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located in the northwestern part of the state near the Pennsylvania border. The township is s ...
. Its name derives from the Dutch for "brewing kettle" or "boiling kettle" which describes how water suddenly bubbles up from the ground. This site is referenced in early French Jesuit and Dutch colonial manuscripts as a landmark near which colonial traders exchanged goods with the
Munsee
The Munsee () are a subtribe and one of the three divisions of the Lenape. Historically, they lived along the upper portion of the Delaware River, the Minisink, and the adjacent country in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They were prom ...
sinkhole
A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are also known as shakeholes, and to openings where surface water ...
in dry times during the year. It is known to flow at random, after periods of precipitation, and is thought to be fed by a sinking stream that vanishes in the forest roughly 1,800 feet away.Unearthing New Jersey (Newsletter) Vol. 2 No. 1 Winter 2006 (Trenton: New Jersey Geological Survey, Department of Environmental Protection, 2006).
See also
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Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a national recreation area administered by the National Park Service in northwest New Jersey and northeast Pennsylvania. It is centered around a stretch of the Delaware River designated the ...
*
Geology of New Jersey
New Jersey is a very geologically and geographically diverse region in the United States' Middle Atlantic region, offering variety from the Appalachian Mountains and the Highlands in the state's northwest, to the Atlantic Coastal Plain region th ...