The Ramapo River is a
tributary
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
of the
Pompton River
The Pompton River is a tributary of the Passaic River, approximately long, in Passaic County in northern New Jersey in the United States.
It is formed south of the borough of Pompton Lakes by the confluence of the Ramapo and Pequannock river ...
, approximately 30 mi (48 km) long, in southern
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
and northern
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
[Vecchioli, John, and E. G. Miller. ]
Water Resources of the New Jersey Part of the Ramapo River Basin
'. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1973. 1.
Course
The Ramapo River rises in Round Lake, a small freshwater lake in the Town of Monroe, New York, in a mountainous area of central
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a List of counties in New York, county located in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen (village), New York, Goshen. This count ...
. It flows southeast through the village, where the river was dammed in 1741 for a sawmill and grist mill. It continues to
Harriman, where a chemical plant, Nepera Chemical, was built. While the plant has been dismantled, a superfund site has been designated at the location where barrels of toxic chemicals were buried. At Harriman, the river turns south into western
Rockland County
Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population is 338,329, making it the state's ...
, where it flows through the hamlet and town of
Ramapo, New York
Ramapo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state)#Town, town in Rockland County, New York, United States. It was originally formed as New Hampstead, in 1791, and became Ramapo in 1828."Ramapo", in Peter R. Eisenstadt and Laura-Eve M ...
, then into northern
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the List of counties in New Jersey, most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[Ramapo Mountains
The Ramapo Mountains are a forested chain of the Appalachian Mountains in northeastern New Jersey and southeastern New York, in the United States. They range in height from in New Jersey, and in New York.
Several parks and forest preserves e ...]
. Following a course that runs above the
Ramapo Fault
The Ramapo Fault zone is a system of Fault (geology), faults between the northern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont areas to the east. Magma was able to seep through linear fractures along the fault during the late Triassic and early Jurassic, pr ...
for about 9 mi (14 km), the river then flows into Potash Lake in
Oakland
Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
, and from there into
Pompton Lake in
Pompton Lakes. The river then flows out of Pompton Lake, forming the border between
Pompton Lakes and
Wayne. The Ramapo forms a confluence with the Pequannock River along the border between
Pequannock and
Wayne, forming the
Pompton River
The Pompton River is a tributary of the Passaic River, approximately long, in Passaic County in northern New Jersey in the United States.
It is formed south of the borough of Pompton Lakes by the confluence of the Ramapo and Pequannock river ...
, which eventually flows into the Passaic River. A portion of the river's water is diverted to the nearby
Wanaque Reservoir
Wanaque Reservoir is a man-made lake located within Wanaque, New Jersey, Wanaque and Ringwood, New Jersey, Ringwood, New Jersey along the Wanaque River. The reservoir came into being in 1928 by the construction of the Raymond Dam along the river i ...
.

The river is a popular destination for
fly fishing
Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is in ...
of
trout
Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...
.
New York State Route 17
New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate New York, Downstate regions of New York (state), New York in the United States. It begins at the New York–Pennsylvani ...
, the
Port Jervis commuter railroad line, and the
New York State Thruway
The New York State Thruway (officially the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway and colloquially "the Thruway") is a system of controlled-access toll roads spanning within the U.S. state of New York. It is operated by the New York State Thruway ...
were all constructed in the valley of the river between Harriman and
Suffern, New York.
History
Areas along the Ramapo River were inhabited by bands of the
Lenape
The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada.
The Lenape's historica ...
tribe, a large group who inhabited much of the coastal areas of the mid-Atlantic region. Some of their people retreated to the mountains under pressure from Dutch and English colonists. The Lenape occupied western Long Island, the area of present-day metropolitan New York, northern and southern New Jersey, and the Delaware River Valley south through Pennsylvania into Delaware.
Many smaller
archeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
s in
Oakland, New Jersey were found to have been inhabited by prehistoric
indigenous peoples
There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
.
Fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...
ized
crustacean
Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...
s can be found along the banks of the river near Oakland.
Descendants of the Lenape include the Ramapough Lenape Indian Tribe (also known as the
Ramapough Mountain Indians), recognized in 1980 by the state of New Jersey. Many Ramapough Lenape people have lived in what is now Mahwah and
Ringwood, New Jersey and
Hillburn, New York
Hillburn, originally called "Woodburn" and incorporated in 1893, is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the town of Ramapo, New York, Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, Rockland County, New York (state), New York, United S ...
since the late colonial period. They also intermarried with people of other ethnicities.
Torne Mountain (; shown on topographic maps as "High Torne"), in
Harriman State Park, overlooks the Ramapo Pass and remnants of the once-thriving
Ramapo Iron Works. During the American Revolution, the Torne served as a lookout for British ship movements on the Hudson. Legend tells that Gen.
George Washington
George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
lost his watch on the mountain, and it may still be heard ticking up there in a crevice of rock.
See also
*
List of New Jersey rivers
This is a list of streams and rivers of the U.S. state of New Jersey.
The list of New Jersey rivers includes streams formally designated as rivers, as well as smaller streams such as branches, creeks, drains, forks, licks, runs, etc. found throu ...
*
List of New York rivers
Rivers in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York include:
By drainage basin
This list is arranged by drainage basin, with tributaries indented by order of confluence, from mouth to source.
New York Harbor
Block Island Sound
*Peconic Ri ...
External links
EPA: Ramapo Aquifer Systems*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060428112639/http://savetorne.home.att.net/wsb/html/view.cgi-home.html-.html Torne Valley Preservation AssociationU.S. Geological Survey: NJ stream gaging stations
References
{{authority control
Rivers of Bergen County, New Jersey
Rivers of Passaic County, New Jersey
Tributaries of the Passaic River
Ramapos
Rivers of New Jersey
Rivers of New York (state)
Rivers of Orange County, New York