| Hudson Highlands |
Article Index for Hudson |
Articles about Hudson Highlands |
Website Links For Hudson |
Information AboutHudson Highlands |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT HUDSON HIGHLANDS | |
| mountain ranges of new york | |
| hudson river | |
| dutchess county, new york | |
| geography of orange county, new york | |
| putnam county, new york | |
| rockland county, new york | |
|
The Hudson Highlands are the Mountain s on both sides of the Hudson River in New York between Newburgh Bay and Haverstraw Bay . They are generally accepted as starting in the south at Dunderberg Mountain on the west side of the river near Stony Point and ending to the north at Sour Mountain near Fishkill . They have played important parts in America's military, cultural and environmental history. Formed when Glacier s cut through the Appalachian Mountains here, the Highlands are among the lowest summits in that range (indeed, the Appalachian Trail reaches its lowest elevation in the Trailside Zoo between Bear Mountain State Park and Bear Mountain Bridge . Conversely, the river becomes narrower and deeper through the Highlands, reaching depths of around 200 feet (60 m), near Garrison . Many stretches are challenging to Navigate , earning nicknames like "World's End." HISTORY Henry Hudson and his crew on the '' Half Moon '' were the first European s to see the Highlands when they explored the river in 1609 . The mountains became strategically important during the American Revolutionary War , when it was important for the Continental Army to hold the river valley and prevent the British from cutting New England off from the rest of the colonies. The Hudson River Chain was cast from nearby Iron mines and stretched across the river from the Fort at West Point to prevent British ships from going upriver. The fort is today the site of the United States Military Academy . Several decades after independence, some Painter s in the new country showed interest in depicting its wild and rugged landscapes, especially, at first, the Highlands with the stark contrasts and shadows they offered, in a way that suggested raw nature, a world reborn. A critic derisively referred to them as the Hudson River School ; the name stuck and became the new nation's first homegrown artistic movement. In the early 20th Century , local Conservationist s began to press for public ownership of the woods and mountains of the Highlands as development pressures loomed. Their efforts paid off in the first of several State Park s that now blanket the chain. Later that century, an ambitious power-generating plan that would have dug into Storm King Mountain led to a landmark Lawsuit by Environmental groups that made history when the judge ruled that aesthetic impacts of such large projects could be considered. MOUNTAINS OF THE HUDSON HIGHLANDS ''East'' (north to south)
''West'' (north to south) SEE ALSO |
|
|