Harriman State Park
Harriman State Park encompasses a strangely shaped, rugged but not quite mountainous upland in the southeastern New York. Part of the Hudson Highlands section of the Crystalline Appalachian Mountains, its bedrock is a block of ancient, highly deformed precambrian gneisses and other metamorphic rocks, with some granite intrusive structures mixed in. A long history of uplift, erosion and glaciation has shaped it into a peneplain: the tops of the hills are generally flat slabs of bedrock 1100-1300 feet above sea level, higher north and the lower south. Glacial scouring has left little to no soil on the summits. In between them is a gnarly landscape of short but steep cliffs and mountain slopes, talus-strewn valleys, fast-running streams, and swamps.
The central and southeastern parts of the park are an area of relatively high elevation and low relief. Extensive wetlands occur in bottomlands as high as 1000 feet, surrounded by gentle slopes. Many historical marshes have been converted into artificial lakes. This landscape is cut off abruptly at its southeastern edge, where the Ramapo Fault divides the highlands from the sedimentary Newark Basin, along a straight SW-NE line, for most of the park. Along the fault, steep slopes drop from the 1100-1300 foot level to 350 feet in as little as half a mile. I think the the elevation change is just caused by differential erosion. The Park's boundary follows the foot of these slopes.
To the west, fast-moving streams descend for several miles into the Ramapo River valley, which cuts diagonally across the highlands. The Ramapo River flows due south from its headwaters in the NW corner of Harriman and marks the park's western boundary. Erosion of the bedrock around these drainages has created some of the most interesting hiking terrain in the park. Ramapo Torne and Dater Mountain are examples of dramatic south-facing ledges that occur when the Ramapo River's valley bisects NE-SW trending erosion-resistant ridges. Elsewhere, a confusing array of ledges, ridges and rock formations are exposed, making most routes of travel across the park indirect and difficult.
The northeastern part of the park has the highest relief, both because of deep interior valleys and the immediate proximity of the Hudson River. Bear Mountain, West Mountain and Bald Mountain all rise to over 1200 feet, with steep slopes descending east to the Hudson at sea level and west to Beech Bottom at about 500 feet.
Forest-wise, mixed oaks predominate. Red oak, chestnnt oak and black oak are common species. Mountain laurel breaks are common, but not everywhere. A favorable environment for sugar maple - a rocky slope with moist soil below a bedrock outcrop - can be found scattered throughout the region. In riparian areas, beech and yellow birch intermingle with hemlock stumps, the wolly adelgid having made its mark a while ago. Less common but still conspicuous are white pine, tulip popular and shagbark history.
Some of the dry, rocky slopes with thin soils support an extensive grass layer below an open oak forest. Somewhat better sites have a robust understory of blueberry species. Many of the wetlands are home to high-bush blueberries. Richer soils have some interesting subcanopy species growing on them, like hop hornbeam, ironwood, and witch hazel.
The upper slopes and hilltops with their thin to non-existent soil have an interesting community of shade intolerant trees that never get too tall, including hickories, black cherry, chestnut oak, scrub oak, sweet birch and serviceberry shrubs. A fragrant woody shrub with fern-shaped leaves whose name I've never known grows up here.
 |
| View east from Claudius Smith Den |
The central and southeastern parts of the park are an area of relatively high elevation and low relief. Extensive wetlands occur in bottomlands as high as 1000 feet, surrounded by gentle slopes. Many historical marshes have been converted into artificial lakes. This landscape is cut off abruptly at its southeastern edge, where the Ramapo Fault divides the highlands from the sedimentary Newark Basin, along a straight SW-NE line, for most of the park. Along the fault, steep slopes drop from the 1100-1300 foot level to 350 feet in as little as half a mile. I think the the elevation change is just caused by differential erosion. The Park's boundary follows the foot of these slopes.
To the west, fast-moving streams descend for several miles into the Ramapo River valley, which cuts diagonally across the highlands. The Ramapo River flows due south from its headwaters in the NW corner of Harriman and marks the park's western boundary. Erosion of the bedrock around these drainages has created some of the most interesting hiking terrain in the park. Ramapo Torne and Dater Mountain are examples of dramatic south-facing ledges that occur when the Ramapo River's valley bisects NE-SW trending erosion-resistant ridges. Elsewhere, a confusing array of ledges, ridges and rock formations are exposed, making most routes of travel across the park indirect and difficult.
The northeastern part of the park has the highest relief, both because of deep interior valleys and the immediate proximity of the Hudson River. Bear Mountain, West Mountain and Bald Mountain all rise to over 1200 feet, with steep slopes descending east to the Hudson at sea level and west to Beech Bottom at about 500 feet.
Forest-wise, mixed oaks predominate. Red oak, chestnnt oak and black oak are common species. Mountain laurel breaks are common, but not everywhere. A favorable environment for sugar maple - a rocky slope with moist soil below a bedrock outcrop - can be found scattered throughout the region. In riparian areas, beech and yellow birch intermingle with hemlock stumps, the wolly adelgid having made its mark a while ago. Less common but still conspicuous are white pine, tulip popular and shagbark history.
Some of the dry, rocky slopes with thin soils support an extensive grass layer below an open oak forest. Somewhat better sites have a robust understory of blueberry species. Many of the wetlands are home to high-bush blueberries. Richer soils have some interesting subcanopy species growing on them, like hop hornbeam, ironwood, and witch hazel.
The upper slopes and hilltops with their thin to non-existent soil have an interesting community of shade intolerant trees that never get too tall, including hickories, black cherry, chestnut oak, scrub oak, sweet birch and serviceberry shrubs. A fragrant woody shrub with fern-shaped leaves whose name I've never known grows up here.
Comments
Post a Comment