Preakness Range
Encyclopedia
The Preakness Range is a range of the trap rock Watchung Mountains
on the western edge of the Newark Basin
in northern New Jersey
. A large portion of this range is included in High Mountain Park Preserve
, offering miles of hiking trails with vistas overlooking New Jersey and New York City. The peaks of the Preakness Range, the highest of the Watchung Mountains, shelter endangered ecosystems, including perched wetlands and rare trap rock glade communities.
. Packanack Mountain, a section of Third Watchung Mountain west of Preakness Mountain, is sometimes included in the Preakness Range. Goffle Hill
, historically known as Totoway Mountain, flanks the Preakness Range in the east and is usually not included in the range, but it is mentioned in association with it, being part of the northern extent of First Watchung Mountain.
Preakness Mountain begins in Totowa, New Jersey
, forming a curve which bows to the north-northeast before sweeping back towards the northwest and terminating near the Ramapo fault
in Oakland, New Jersey
. The three highest peaks of the Watchungs line the north-central part of Preakness Mountain in Wayne, New Jersey
. Mount Cecchino, the southernmost of the three and also the lowest, rises to 755 ft (230m). Immediately to the north, High Mountain reaches 879 ft (268m), becoming the highest peak of the Watchungs. Northwest of High Mountain, the second highest peak of the Watchungs, Beech Mountain, rises to 869 ft (265m).
. Today, this Native American heritage lives on in the range's name. Preakness appears to be a modernized form of per-ukunees, a Lenape term thought to mean young buck.The Origin of New Jersey Place Names. Federal Writer’s Program of the Work Progress Administration of New Jersey. Reissued by the New Jersey Public Library Commission, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ, 1945. Available Online For a time, Dutch settlers actually referred to the range as Harteberg, which appropriately translates to Deer Mountain.
As with the majority of the Watchungs, the Preakness Range saw use as a lookout during the American Revolutionary War
. In October and November, 1780 General Arthur St Clair
’s men were camped at the base of the mountain.
For most of modern history the Preakness Range remained a wilderness providing recreation to the inhabitants of surrounding towns. Only the southern section of the range was particularly built up, with William Paterson University
acting as buffer to hold back development from encroaching northward across the main ridge of Preakness Mountain. In the 1980s, when development began to threaten the remaining wilderness of the range, a push by local citizens to preserve the Preakness Range for the public interest was begun, ultimately resulting in the creation of High Mountain Park Preserve
.
An interesting trait of the Preakness Range is its alternating north-south valleys. These valleys, which form two major divisions, are a result of three separate eruptive events which laid down three closely spaced basalt ridges which combine to form the main section of the Preakness Range on the northern end of Second Watchung Mountain. These ridges decrease in height from east to west, which mirrors the order in which the ridges, really successive sheets of lava, were formed. Here, as in the rest of the Watchungs, the easternmost ridge was extruded first.
Seven state-listed endangered plant species call the Preakness Range home, including a globally endangered species, Torrey’s mountain mint
(Pycnanthemum torrei). Twelve other rare plants survive in forested uplands and the range’s perched wetlands. Some of the rare plants are reasoned to take root in the range due to the calcareous secondary minerals in the range’s trap rock which may serve to increase soil alkalinity relative to the surrounding acidic soils of the piedmont region.
The mountains of the Preakness Range also provide significant habitat to wildlife. In particular, sixty species of birds are thought to breed in the range’s various environs.
Watchung Mountains
The Watchung Mountains are a group of three long low ridges of volcanic origin, between 400 ft. and 500 ft. high, lying parallel to each other in northern New Jersey in the United States...
on the western edge of the Newark Basin
Newark Basin
The Newark Basin is a sediment-filled rift basin located mainly in northern New Jersey but also stretching into south-eastern Pennsylvania and southern New York. It is part of the system of Eastern North America Rift Basins.-Geology:...
in northern New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. A large portion of this range is included in High Mountain Park Preserve
High Mountain Park Preserve
High Mountain Park Preserve is a protected area of the Preakness Range of the Watchung Mountains in Wayne, New Jersey, United States. Established in 1993, it comprises of woodlands and wetlands owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy....
, offering miles of hiking trails with vistas overlooking New Jersey and New York City. The peaks of the Preakness Range, the highest of the Watchung Mountains, shelter endangered ecosystems, including perched wetlands and rare trap rock glade communities.
Geography
The Preakness Range generally refers to the peaks of Preakness Mountain, the section of Second Watchung Mountain north of the Passaic RiverPassaic River
The Passaic River is a mature surface river, approximately 80 mi long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey,...
. Packanack Mountain, a section of Third Watchung Mountain west of Preakness Mountain, is sometimes included in the Preakness Range. Goffle Hill
Goffle Hill
Goffle Hill, also referred to as Goffle Mountain and historically known as Totoway Mountain and Wagaraw Mountain, is a range of the trap rock Watchung Mountains on the western edge of the Newark Basin in northern New Jersey. The hill straddles part of the border of Bergen County and Passaic...
, historically known as Totoway Mountain, flanks the Preakness Range in the east and is usually not included in the range, but it is mentioned in association with it, being part of the northern extent of First Watchung Mountain.
Preakness Mountain begins in Totowa, New Jersey
Totowa, New Jersey
Totowa is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the borough population was 9,892.Totowa was formed as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 15, 1898, from portions of the now-defunct Manchester Township and Wayne...
, forming a curve which bows to the north-northeast before sweeping back towards the northwest and terminating near the Ramapo fault
Newark Basin
The Newark Basin is a sediment-filled rift basin located mainly in northern New Jersey but also stretching into south-eastern Pennsylvania and southern New York. It is part of the system of Eastern North America Rift Basins.-Geology:...
in Oakland, New Jersey
Oakland, New Jersey
Oakland is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 12,754.Oakland was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 8, 1902, from portions of Franklin Township.-History:The Van Allen House...
. The three highest peaks of the Watchungs line the north-central part of Preakness Mountain in Wayne, New Jersey
Wayne, New Jersey
Wayne is a Township in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States, located less than from midtown Manhattan. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township had a total population of 54,069....
. Mount Cecchino, the southernmost of the three and also the lowest, rises to 755 ft (230m). Immediately to the north, High Mountain reaches 879 ft (268m), becoming the highest peak of the Watchungs. Northwest of High Mountain, the second highest peak of the Watchungs, Beech Mountain, rises to 869 ft (265m).
History
The Preakness Range was originally inhabited by the Munsee (Minsi) LenapeLenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
. Today, this Native American heritage lives on in the range's name. Preakness appears to be a modernized form of per-ukunees, a Lenape term thought to mean young buck.The Origin of New Jersey Place Names. Federal Writer’s Program of the Work Progress Administration of New Jersey. Reissued by the New Jersey Public Library Commission, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ, 1945. Available Online For a time, Dutch settlers actually referred to the range as Harteberg, which appropriately translates to Deer Mountain.
As with the majority of the Watchungs, the Preakness Range saw use as a lookout during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. In October and November, 1780 General Arthur St Clair
Arthur St. Clair
Arthur St. Clair was an American soldier and politician. Born in Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office...
’s men were camped at the base of the mountain.
For most of modern history the Preakness Range remained a wilderness providing recreation to the inhabitants of surrounding towns. Only the southern section of the range was particularly built up, with William Paterson University
William Paterson University
William Paterson University is a comprehensive public institution located in Wayne, New Jersey serving nearly 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students through five colleges: , , , , and ....
acting as buffer to hold back development from encroaching northward across the main ridge of Preakness Mountain. In the 1980s, when development began to threaten the remaining wilderness of the range, a push by local citizens to preserve the Preakness Range for the public interest was begun, ultimately resulting in the creation of High Mountain Park Preserve
High Mountain Park Preserve
High Mountain Park Preserve is a protected area of the Preakness Range of the Watchung Mountains in Wayne, New Jersey, United States. Established in 1993, it comprises of woodlands and wetlands owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy....
.
Geology
The Preakness Range formed as molten rock extruded onto the surface 200 million years ago. At that time the range occupied the northern section of an active rift valley running through northern and central New Jersey and part of Pennsylvania. After the rift failed in the early Jurassic, the range was elevated as erosion removed the sandstone and shale surrounding the basalt lava flows of Preakness Mountain and Packanack Mountain.An interesting trait of the Preakness Range is its alternating north-south valleys. These valleys, which form two major divisions, are a result of three separate eruptive events which laid down three closely spaced basalt ridges which combine to form the main section of the Preakness Range on the northern end of Second Watchung Mountain. These ridges decrease in height from east to west, which mirrors the order in which the ridges, really successive sheets of lava, were formed. Here, as in the rest of the Watchungs, the easternmost ridge was extruded first.
Ecology
The Preakness Range may be the most environmentally sensitive section of the Watchungs, hosting a variety of ecologically diverse areas of wilderness. The New Jersey National Heritage Program has given the Preakness Range a rating of B2, meaning it has priority as a site with very high biodiversity significance. Nine different ecological communities have been cited in the Preakness Range, including globally imperiled trap rock glade communities and increasingly rare hickory-ash red cedar woodlands.Seven state-listed endangered plant species call the Preakness Range home, including a globally endangered species, Torrey’s mountain mint
Pycnanthemum
Pycnanthemum is a genus of plants in the mint family . They are commonly known as mountain mints , though "the Mountain Mint" may also be any locally common species in particular. Some are known as koellias, after an obsolete genus name.All of the approximately 20 species in this genus are native...
(Pycnanthemum torrei). Twelve other rare plants survive in forested uplands and the range’s perched wetlands. Some of the rare plants are reasoned to take root in the range due to the calcareous secondary minerals in the range’s trap rock which may serve to increase soil alkalinity relative to the surrounding acidic soils of the piedmont region.
The mountains of the Preakness Range also provide significant habitat to wildlife. In particular, sixty species of birds are thought to breed in the range’s various environs.