Local geology of new york city and its effect on seismic ground motions sissy nikolaou mueser rutledge consulting engineers, new york, new york. Numbers correspond to figure numbers in the text and show approximate geographic locations of photos. It is in these hard rocks that the city skyscrapers. The hudson rivers outer harbor and the raritan bay shown in the image above constitute only a fraction of the greater new york bight region.
Geologic history of new york state advance and retreat of last continental ice uplift of adirondack region sands and shales underlying long island and staten. Local geology of new york city and its effect on seismic ground. The highlands region of new jersey, new york and connecticut. Introduction to the geologic history of the new york bight this report offers a general outline of the new york bight area beaches. Bronx, manhattan and parts of brooklyn, queens, and staten. Sparrow model results of longterm meanannual total nitrogen and. Earth science regents all sections practice regents. Long island certainly has an interesting geological history as a result of glacial movement, which makes it relatively younger than upstate new york, which experienced varying degrees of mountain building.
In brooklyn and queens, bedrock is buried by significant thicknesses of. The core of this information is my 1991 book, 109 years, a guide to the geology of westchester county, ny rochester mineralogical symposium, 1991 although out of print, the westchester public libraries have several copies. This theory provides a theme that connects and explains the major events of geologic history. Exploring nyc history and neighborhoods new york, ny. In most areas of manhattan and the bronx, bedrock is at or close to the surface of the earth. Geology in brooklyn, new york united states from brooklyn. The continental crust which today underlies new york state did not exist prior to this time.
Since the 1800s, the usgs and its partners, the state geological surveys, have been producing high quality, standardized geologic maps of the nation. T he b ronx, m anhattan and parts of b rooklyn, q ueens, and s taten. Garnets can be found in the rocks of the hartland formation and manhattan schist view a nyc rock sample. Historical geology wikibooks, open books for an open world. Continents drift about, oceans open and close, mountains build and erode. Mar 04, 2012 the geological history of new york state miller, william john on. Review graduate program details of geology in brooklyn new york united states from brooklyn college of the city university of new york. A thorough understanding of the local geologic and tectonic environm ent, the seism ological history as w ell as very detailed site specific geotechnical and geophysical data are essential to the proper prediction of local site effects and seism ic design in n ew y ork c ity n y c.
Named a publishers weekly big indie book of fall 2019. What is the definition of the profession of geology in new york state. Aug 29, 2018 historical geology is a featured book on wikibooks because it contains substantial content, it is wellformatted, and the wikibooks community has decided to feature it on the main page or in other places. In the summer, new yorkers line up at pier 11 to catch the new york beach ferry. Its an outlier in an area of metamorphic bedrock and mountainous regions. Here, we provide a brief outline of the geologic history of the region, which is also. Alluvium clay, silt, sand, gravel, or other rock material transported by flowing water and deposited in riverbeds, estuaries, and floodplains, on lakes, shores, and in fans at the base of.
The mission of the geology department and new york state geological survey nysgs is to conduct geologic research, evaluate mineral resources and geologic hazards of the state of new york, and make the data and advice derived from that research available to state agencies, the educational community, and the public for the health, safety, and economic welfare of the citizens of the state. Manhattan is part of the county of new york, brooklyn is part of the county of kings, queens county of queens, the bronx is part of the bronx county and staten island richmond county. The geology of new york city and environs christopher j. A description of new york state geology and its relationship to oil, gas, and salt production is included in the 1992 geis. Earth science regents all sections practice regents questions. The geologic history of new york state geologic time scale paleozoic ordovician cambrian silurian devonian mississippian pennsylvanian permian mesozoic triassic jurassic cretaceous paleocene eocene oligocene miocene pliocene pleistocene cenozoic ertiary holocene quat. Until 1898, when these counties were joined, the city of new york was only formed by manhattan. The geological history of new york state miller, william john on.
The text file, without diagrams, can be downloaded at the web site. Now that you know a bit about the geologic history of new york, its time to learn about how we know about the life that once lived here. I especially loved this, book 2 of john mcphees geological saga annals of the. Paleogene neogene 540 510 439 408 360 323 290 245 208 146 57 35 23 5 1. Physiographic diagram showing the major geological provinces. Long island contains four counties, of which the western two are boroughs queens and brooklyn of new york city, and the other two nassau and suffolk are mainly suburban.
Please continue to improve it and thanks for the great work so far. This is a group for people either new to new york city, or have called the city home for awhile and are interested in discovering new neighborhoods and learning more about the citys fascinating history, architecture and culture. Learn about the geology of new york with maps, photos and expert descriptions. Check out the national geologic map database ngmdb, which is the national archive of these maps and related geoscience reports. From its ancient bedrock to fault zones that cut across the city to its geographic position at the edge of a glacier, the geologic history of the city can be found in its parks. Boroughs of new york city new york citys five boroughs. Although new york city is known around the world for its manmade wonders, the region has its own interesting geologic features that are no less monumental. The oolites, which are small, concentric spheres cemented together, resemble fish roe. Yes, it is true that at one point upstate new york was at an elevation rivaling, if not exceeding, that of the himalayas today. Eventbrite open space alliance for north brooklyn presents greenpoint parks history walk with geoff cobb saturday, january 14, 2017 at wnyc transmitter. Responses to material conditions of contemporary life announces shifts in cultural sensibilities and practices. The depth of the bedrock in these boroughs may be seen in figure 7. Chapters 410 describe the bedrock of new york state by region. Simplified geologic history of the new york city area.
This entire activity should take you about 30 minutes to complete. Next time youre walking around brooklyn, youll have a better understanding of street names and how the city was shaped. One of the most visible roads in southern brooklyn and queens is linden boulevard, which has its western start at flatbush avenue, running for six miles to the queens border as part of new york state route 27. Sanders and charles merguerian department of geology. Eesc 1010 the science of our world brooklyn college. A gis database of geologic units and structural features in new york, with lithology, age, data structure, and format written and arranged just like the other states. A short history of nearly everything by bill bryson journey to the center of the. This theory describes the earth as a heat engine that operates with incomparable slowness. Dunderberg is an old dutch name meaning thunder mountain, and indeed the summer thunderstorms of the hudson highlands magnify their booms off the stern rock faces of these ancient eminences. Close to home in upstate new york, we have a catskill version, described here as quite possibly the most hellacious bicycle climb in new york state. And i believe if people see how much this science has to do with our feeling.
A physiographic province is a region in which the shape of the land surface is fairly constant, and is different from the. An understanding of the geologic history of the southern new england is essential to inferring the origin of materials found on modern beaches in the greater new york city area. History of the rockaways, queens past and present click here to learn more about nyc food nyc food click here to learn more about nyc history nyc history click here to learn more about nyc people nyc people in the summer, new yorkers line up at pier 11 to catch the new york beach ferry. Evolution of life and the geologic history of new york. Explain the differences between the beach and dune sediment in terms of their origin. If an exempt new york state employee leaves state service and is employed in their new job to provide geological services, the former state employee would need to obtain a professional geology license to perform those services in new york state. Print out and save figures 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 5, profile xy, and the brooklyn. Dunderberg mountain lies across the hudson river from peekskill. Geology of new york city and its vicinity natural history.
Including the old town and village of brooklyn, the town of bushwick, and the village and city of williamsburgh, volume 2 henry reed stiles subscription, 1869 brooklyn new york, n. As stated in ballon and jacksons book, the new york times described it as the. But its uniqueness makes it a special and beautiful place to live. Chapter 3 geology of new york state nysdot geotechnical page 310 june 17, 20 design manual ablation the decrease in size and extent of a glacier by melting and evaporation. A census taken in 1698 counted 2,017 people in kings county.
New york city is primarily composed of sediments that were metamorphosed during the taconic and acadian orogenies roughly 500 400 million years ago. Physiographic diagram showing the major geological. In brooklyn and queens, bedrock is buried by significant thicknesses of sediment. Geology of the plattsburgh and rouses new yorkvermont. Mapping the geologic subsurface in new york city thursday, october 19, 2017 presented by. After viewing the video, go to the following web address and read the series of three, onepage articles titled the geologic history of new york. Including important fossils of new york tectonic events affecting northeast north america rifting rifting passive margin subduction continental collision transform collision passive margin important geologic events in new york inferred position of earths. Brooklyn, new york city, new york goodreads share book. Evolution of life and the geologic history of new york state. Each borough is part of five of new yorks counties. Long island is in southeastern new york, united states, separated from the rest of the state by the east river and from connecticut by long island sound.
The primary purpose of the series is to document surface and subsurface geologic data that are difficult to present in other formats. Chapter 12 sums up the history of the pleistocene epoch in new york state. Geology of the plattsburgh and rouses point, new yorkvermont, quadrangles by donald w. The colorful name devils kitchen has been used in numerous book titles, restaurant names, and for hiking destinations in at least seven states. I bought this book geology of new york, a simplified account, 2nd ed 2000 and roadside geology of new york by van diver 1985 together from amazon. Exploring the history of jacob riis park, the peoples beach. Name a brachiopod that existed during the time indicated by letter d. On staten island, long island, and short hills, new jersey, many large drift bowlders of sedimentary origin and containing numerous marine fossils were derived from the exposures in east central new york state. Today we will see rocks that record critical events in new york citys long geologic history.
With over 175 years of combined experience, our dedicated and energetic team of geologists, hydrogeologists and environmental scientists have the scientific and practical experience to obtain and then help you apply critical environmental information. Aug 03, 2016 exploring the history of jacob riis park, the peoples beach. In general, rocks of different geologic ages display unique characteristics. Breuckelen brooklyn in 1636, about twelve years after dutch settlers began to establish the community of new amsterdam at the southern tip of manhattan island, a handful of pioneers among them spread across the east river to set up plantations on the westernmost edge of long island.
But if you want to know about the real history of the borough, like back to the days when brooklyn was called breukelen, heres a rundown on brooklyn s history. However, most of the major features of the landscape that you see today are a result of the last. Alluvium clay, silt, sand, gravel, or other rock material transported by flowing water and. A brief geologic history of the hudson valley middle proterozoic eon 1,300 800 ma protonorth america, called laurentia, was much smaller than the presentday continent and located deep in the southern hemisphere. Historical geology is a featured book on wikibooks because it contains substantial content, it is wellformatted, and the wikibooks community has decided to feature it on the main page or in other places. Old greenpoint map greenpoint, brooklyn neighborhoods.
The new york delorme atlas gives you a complete set of new york topographic maps in a single convenient book. This entire activity should take you about 20 minutes to complete. History of the rockaways, queens past and present click here to learn more about nyc food nyc food click here to learn more about nyc history nyc history click here to learn more about nyc people nyc people. New york city geology amnh american museum of natural history. Geologic history of new york state advance and retreat of last continental ice.
The book is called murckis visualizing geology 3rd edition and a brooklyn college lab manual. An unprecedented history of brooklyn, told through its places, buildings, and the. This 6x9 paperback has 411 pages that are packed with detailed information about new york geology. Chapter 3 geology of new york state nysdot geotechnical page 315 june 17, 20 design manual 3. Including the old town and village of brooklyn, the town of bushwick, and the village and city of williamsburgh, henry reed stiles american culture series. Local geology of new york city and its effect on seismic. By john stern i have loved geology, the science that deals with the history and structure of earth and the life upon it, ever since i first began to study it in college. It offers early sightings of an increasingly widespread turn toward the geologic as source of explanation, motivation, and inspiration for creative responses to material. Wetlands of nyc, this book is a unique and necessary piece of history.
Mar 17, 2017 a set of new york states geological attractions. This 300 page book is profusely illustrated with nearly 200 figures. Physiographic diagram showing the major geological provinces in southeastern new york, northern new jersey, and adjoining states. Introduction to rocks geological history of new york city geology of new york city. The british captured the dutch territory in 1674, and gathered the six villages into kings county, part of the crown colony of new york. The geologic discussion provided herein supplements the. Mapping the geologic subsurface in new york city thursday, october 19, 2017. Plan of the town of brooklyn and part of long island, ratzer 176667. The mission of the geology department and new york state geological survey nysgs is to conduct geologic research, evaluate mineral resources and geologic hazards of the state of new york, and make the data and advice derived from that research available to state agencies, the educational community, and the public for the health, safety, and.
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