Ramapo River
Encyclopedia
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the Pompton River
Pompton River
The Pompton River is a tributary of the Passaic River, approximately 8 mi long, in northern New Jersey in the United States....
, approximately 30 mi (48 km) long, in southern New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and 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...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Course
It rises in a mountainous area of central Orange County, New YorkOrange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...
, near Monroe
Monroe, New York
Monroe, New York may refer to two municipalities in Orange County, New York in the United States:*Monroe , New York*Monroe , New York, located entirely within the town...
and flows southeast to Harriman
Harriman, New York
Harriman is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 2,252 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined...
, then south into western Rockland County
Rockland County, New York
Rockland County is a suburban county 15 miles to the northwest of Manhattan and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area, in the U.S. state of New York. It is the southernmost county in New York west of the Hudson River, and the smallest county in New York outside of New York City. The...
, then into northern Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...
. In New Jersey, it flows SSW, along the east side of the ridge of the Ramapo Mountains
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...
. It flows into Potash Lake in Oakland
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...
and officially ends at Pompton Lake in Pompton Lakes
Pompton Lakes, New Jersey
Pompton Lakes is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 11,097....
, although the river which flows out of Pompton Lake is still called the Ramapo River until it makes a junction with the Pequannock River, whereupon the two tributaries are then called the Pompton River.
The river is a popular destination for fly fishing
Fly fishing
Fly fishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting...
of trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
. The New York State Thruway
New York State Thruway
The New York State Thruway is a system of limited-access highways located within the state of New York in the United States. The system, known officially as the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway for former New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, is operated by the New York State Thruway Authority and...
follows the valley of the river between Harriman and Suffern
Suffern, New York
Suffern is a village in the Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of the State of New Jersey; east of Hillburn; south of Montebello and west of Airmont...
.
History
There are areas noted along the Ramapo that were inhabited by the 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...
tribes of the area. Of particular note was a large "encampment" of the native tribe across from what is now Ramapo College
Ramapo College
Ramapo College of New Jersey is a public liberal arts and professional studies institution of the New Jersey system of higher education.- Location :...
in Mahwah, New Jersey
Mahwah, New Jersey
Mahwah is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 25,890. The name Mahwah is derived from the Lenni Lenape word "mawewi" which means "Meeting Place" or "Place Where Paths Meet".The area that is now Mahwah was...
.
There are also many smaller archeological sites in Oakland that were inhabited by the early tribes. Areas of Oakland also contain many areas where fossilized
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s can be found along the banks of the river.