The Ramapo Mountains are a forested

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

in northeastern

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 ...

and southeastern

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 * ...

, 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 ...

. They range in height from in New Jersey, and in New York. Several parks and forest preserves encompass parts of the Ramapos (see Points of interest, below), and many hiking trails are in the Ramapos, including sections of the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

, which is maintained and updated in the Ramapo Mountains by the

New York–New Jersey Trail Conference The New York – New Jersey Trail Conference (NYNJTC) is a volunteer-based federation of approximately 10,000 individual members and about 100 member organizations (mostly hiking clubs and environmental organizations). The conference coordin ...

. In New York, the mountains serve to divide

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

and Rockland Counties. The difficulty of crossing the mountains is what caused Rockland County to break away from Orange County in 1798. The mountains are named after 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 ...

, which trends northeast to southwest, and separates the eastern

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

geologic province from the Highland province. The Ramapos are composed of

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

gneiss Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...

, and

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

, as old as 1.3 billion years.

Points of interest

Arden Arden may refer to: Places Australia * Arden Street, North Melbourne, Victoria * Arden railway station, Melbourne Canada * Arden, Ontario Denmark * Arden, Denmark, a town ** Arden Municipality, a former municipality, including the town of Arden ...

, the former E.H. Harriman estate built atop 1,300' Mt. Orana *

Bear Mountain State Park Bear Mountain State Park is a state park located on the west bank of the Hudson River in Rockland County, New York, Rockland and Orange County, New York, Orange counties, New York (state), New York. The park offers biking, hiking, boating, pic ...

Doodletown, New York Doodletown was an isolated Hamlet (New York), hamlet in the Stony Point, New York, Town of Stony Point, Rockland County, New York, Rockland County, New York (state), New York, United States. Purchased by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission ...

* Harriman State Park * Kakiat County Park *

Long Path The Long Path is a long-distance hiking trail beginning in New York City, at the West 175th Street subway station near the George Washington Bridge and ending at Altamont, New York, in the Albany area. While not yet a continuous trail, relyi ...

Monksville Reservoir The Monksville Reservoir is an artificial lake created in 1987 by damming on the Wanaque River in Ringwood, New Jersey. It is named after the former community of Monksville, which was relocated and flooded upon its completion. History The res ...

Ramapo Mountain State Forest Ramapo Mountain State Forest is a state forest in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen and Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic Counties in New Jersey. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry. The par ...

Ramapo Valley County Reservation The Ramapo Valley County Reservation, also known as the Ramapo Reservation, is a county park located in Mahwah, New Jersey in Bergen County, bordering Ringwood State Park to the north and the Ramapo Mountain State Forest to the south. The park l ...

Ringwood Manor Ringwood Manor, located in Passaic County, New Jersey, was the site of an ironworks and home to a number of well-known ironmasters from the 1740s to the late 19th century. The current manor house was not built until 1807. History Scottish engi ...

Ringwood State Park Ringwood State Park is a state park in Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County in northeastern New Jersey, United States, USA. The Park is located in the heart of the Ramapo Mountains in Ringwood, New Jersey, Ringwood. Its forests are part ...

New Jersey State Botanical Garden Skylands is a Estate (land), estate property located in Ringwood State Park in Ringwood, New Jersey, a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County in the state of New Jersey. The Skylands property consists of the historic Skylands M ...

Sterling Forest State Park Sterling Forest State Park is a state park located in the Ramapo Mountains in Orange County, New York. Established in 1998, it is among the larger additions to the New York state park system in the last 50 years. History Sterling Forest was ...

* Kitty Ann Mountain, New Jersey

Flora and fauna

* Many types of plants, including

oak trees An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

, cover the mountains. * Diverse wildlife, including

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known Common name, commonly as the whitetail and the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized species of deer native to North America, North, Central America, Central and South America. It is the ...

and

pheasants Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera's native range is restricted to Euras ...

, inhabit the Ramapo Mountains.

Depiction In The Movies

Out of the Furnace ''Out of the Furnace'' is a 2013 American crime drama thriller film directed by Scott Cooper, from a screenplay by Cooper and Brad Ingelsby. Starring Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Forest Whitaker, Willem Dafoe, Zoë Sal ...

External links

Harriman Hikers

Palisades Interstate Park system Mountain ranges of New Jersey Mountain ranges of New York (state) Landforms of Orange County, New York Landforms of Rockland County, New York Landforms of Bergen County, New Jersey Landforms of Passaic County, New Jersey {{RocklandCountyNY-geo-stub

Points of interest

Flora and fauna

Depiction In The Movies

See also

External links