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Catskill Mountains
Range
none Slide Mountain and the peaks around it as seen from Twin Mountain in the northern Catskills.
Slide Mountain and the peaks around it as seen from Twin Mountain in the northern Catskills. Slide Mountain is the highest peak in the Catskills. It is located in the Town of Shandaken in Ulster County, in southern New
CountryUSA
StateNew York
RegionHudson Valley
CountiesUlster, Greene, Sullivan, Delaware, Schoharie
Borders onPoconos, Shawangunk Ridge
CommunitiesHunter, Tannersville, Monticello, Liberty
Highest pointSlide Mountain
 - elevation4,180 ft (1,274 m)
 - coordinates41°59′55″N 74°23′11″W / 41.99861, -74.38639
Length111 mi (179 km), N/S
Width102 mi (164 km), E/W
Area15,259 km² (5,892 sq mi)
GeologySedimentary
PeriodDevonian, Mississippian
Map of the main regions of the northeast Appalachians, with the Catskills as "C".
Map of the main regions of the northeast Appalachians, with the Catskills as "C". The United States of America —commonly referred to as the New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous For the Magazine, see Hudson Valley (magazine A county is a Land area of Regional Government within a larger State. Ulster County is a County located in the state of New York, USA. Greene County is a County located in the US state of New York. Sullivan County is a County located in the US state of New York. Delaware County is a County located in the US state of New York. Schoharie County is a County located in the US state of New York. The Pocono Mountains region is a mountainous region of about 2400 square miles (6200 km² located in northeastern Pennsylvania. The Shawangunk Ridge (also known as the Shawangunk Mountains, or The Gunks; pronounced by some locals as "SHONG-gum" (/ˈʃɑŋgʌm/ is a ridge of mountains Hunter is a Village in Greene County, New York, USA. The population was 490 at the 2000 census Tannersville is a Village in Greene County, New York, USA. The population was 448 at the 2000 census Monticello is a village located in the Town of Thompson in Sullivan County New York. Liberty is a Village in Sullivan County, New York, United States. Slide Mountain is the highest peak in the Catskills. It is located in the Town of Shandaken in Ulster County, in southern New A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. Sedimentary rock is one of the three main rock types (the others being igneous and Metamorphic rock) The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era spanning from to  million years ago.

The Catskill Mountains (also known as simply the Catskills), a natural area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous The City of New York Albany is the Capital of the State of New York and the County seat of Albany County. A dissected plateau is a Plateau area that has been uplifted then severely eroded so that the relief is sharp They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau. The Allegheny Plateau is a large Dissected plateau area in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia They are sometimes considered an extension of the Appalachian Mountains into Upstate New York, although they are not geologically related. The Appalachian Mountains ( often called the Appalachians, are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. Upstate New York is the region of New York State north of the core of the New York metropolitan area. The Catskills are west of the Hudson River and lie within the bounds of six counties (Otsego, Delaware, Sullivan, Schoharie, Greene, and Ulster). The Hudson River, called Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk, the Great Mohegan by the Iroquois, or as the Lenape Native Americans called it in Unami Otsego County is a County located in the US state of New York. Delaware County is a County located in the US state of New York. Sullivan County is a County located in the US state of New York. Schoharie County is a County located in the US state of New York. Greene County is a County located in the US state of New York. Ulster County is a County located in the state of New York, USA. The Catskill Mountains are also considered a physiographic section of the larger Appalachian Plateau province, which in turn is part of the larger Appalachian physiographic division. The physiographic regions of the world are a means of defining the Earth's landforms into distinct regions based upon Nevin Fenneman 's classic three-tiered approach of divisions The Appalachian Plateau is the western part of the Appalachian mountains, stretching from New York to Georgia and Alabama. The Appalachian Mountains ( often called the Appalachians, are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. [1]

Contents

Geography

At the eastern end of the range the mountains begin quite dramatically with the Catskill Escarpment rising up suddenly from the Hudson Valley. A mountain is a Landform that extends above the surrounding Terrain in a limited area with a peak For the Magazine, see Hudson Valley (magazine The western boundary is far less certain, as the mountains gradually decline in height and grade into the rest of the Allegheny Plateau. The Allegheny Plateau is a large Dissected plateau area in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia Nor is there a consensus on where the Catskills end to the north or south, with it being certain only that by the time one reaches either I-88, the Delaware River or the Shawangunk Ridge that one is no longer in the Catskills. Interstate 88 (I-88 is an Interstate highway entirely within the U The Delaware River is a river on the Atlantic coast of the United States. The Shawangunk Ridge (also known as the Shawangunk Mountains, or The Gunks; pronounced by some locals as "SHONG-gum" (/ˈʃɑŋgʌm/ is a ridge of mountains

Whether you are in the Catskills or not in these peripheral regions seems to be as much a matter of personal preference as anything else as an old saying in the region — "When you have two rocks for every dirt, you are in the Catskills" — seems to suggest.

Many visitors, including owners of weekend or vacation homes in the region, seem to consider almost anything sufficiently rural west of the Hudson yet within a short drive of New York City to be in the Catskills.

The Poconos, to the immediate southwest in Pennsylvania, are technically a continuation of the Catskills under a different name. The Pocono Mountains region is a mountainous region of about 2400 square miles (6200 km² located in northeastern Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern The Catskills contain more than thirty peaks above 3,500 feet and parts of six important rivers. The Catskill High Peaks are all of the Mountains in New York 's Catskill Mountains above 3500 ft (1067 m in elevation whose summits are separated The highest mountain, Slide Mountain in Ulster County, has an elevation of 4,180 feet (1,274 m). Slide Mountain is the highest peak in the Catskills. It is located in the Town of Shandaken in Ulster County, in southern New

Within the range is the Catskill Park, part of New York's Forest Preserve. The Catskill Park is in the Catskill Mountains in New York in the United States. New York 's Forest Preserve is all the land owned by the state within the Adirondack and Catskill parks managed by its Department of Environmental Not all the land is publicly owned; about 60% remains in private hands, but new sections are added frequently. Most of the park and the preserve are within Ulster County; however Greene County accounts for a significant portion as well and there are areas in Sullivan and Delaware counties too.

History

"Paradise" Resort in Catskill Mountains
"Paradise" Resort in Catskill Mountains

This is a traditional vacation land with many summer resorts and camp grounds. During the first part of the 20th century, many ethnic groups (Germans, Czechs, Jews, etc) established summer resorts in the nearby Shawangunk Mountains, located south of the Catskills near the town of New Paltz. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on However, since the Shawangunk name was both hard to spell and to say, those resorts cleverly adopted the Catskills as their home, thereby capitalizing on the strong reputation the area already enjoyed. The resorts together became known as The "Borscht Belt," a collection of Jewish resorts (Brown's, Grossinger's, etc) in this region, where many comics and musicians got a start in show business (hence another misnomer for the Catskills, the "Jewish Alps"). Borscht Belt is an informal term for the summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in Sullivan and Ulster Counties in Upstate New York which were Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel was a resort in the Catskill Mountains near the town of Liberty, New York, and is part of the Borscht Belt Meanwhile, the actual Catskills continued to enjoy success with its large-scale resorts, country-style inns and lodges, and smaller operations. For most of the 20th century, the Catskills were also the summer home to thousands of kids and adults attending the area's numerous sleepaway camps, including Camp Ma-Ho-Ge, Anawana, Chipinaw, Ranger, Brookwood, Ta-Go-La, Kennybrook, Roosevelt, Lakonda, Olympus, Camp Diana-Dalmaqua, Camp Omega, and many more. Camp Ma-Ho-Ge, located in Bethel New York in Sullivan County and about one mile from the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival was the summer home Camp Diana-Dalmaqua was a summer sleepaway camp in Glen Spey in the Catskill Mountains of New York State.

This ethnic tradition has mostly disappeared, but the Borscht Belt reputation, though misdirected, is still considered part of the Catskills' heritage. Recently, a few small scale resorts have begun to return to the area, catering to outdoor adventurers and winter snow sport enthusiasts.

Kaaterskill Falls on Spruce Creek near Palenville, New York. Highest falls in New York. Two separate falls total 260 feet
Kaaterskill Falls on Spruce Creek near Palenville, New York. Kaaterskill Falls is a two-drop Waterfall located near in the eastern Catskill Mountains of New York, on the north side of Kaaterskill Clove between the Highest falls in New York. Two separate falls total 260 feet

Geology

The history of the Catskill Mountains is a geologic story come full circle, from erosion, deposition and uplift back to erosion. The Catskill Mountains are more of a dissected plateau than a series of mountain ranges. A dissected plateau is a Plateau area that has been uplifted then severely eroded so that the relief is sharp The sediments that make up the rocks in the Catskills were deposited when the ancient Acadian Mountains in the east were rising and subsequently eroding. The sediments traveled westward and formed a great delta into the sea that was in the area at that time.

The eastern escarpment of the Catskills is near the former (landward) edge of this delta, as the sediments deposited in the northeastern areas along the escarpment were deposited above sea level by moving rivers and the Acadian Mountains were located roughly where the Taconics are located today (though significantly larger). The Taconic Mountains are a physiographic section of the larger New England province and part of the Appalachian Mountains, running along the eastern border The further west you travel, the finer the sediment that was deposited and the thus the rocks change from gravel conglomerates to sandstones and shales. Even further west, these fresh water deposits intermingle with shallow marine sandstones and shales until the end in deeper water limestones.

The uplift and erosion of the Acadian Mountains was occurring during the Devonian and early Mississippian period (395 to 325 million years ago). The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era spanning from to  million years ago. Over that time, thousands of feet of these sediments built up, slowly moving the Devonian seashore further and further west. A meteor impact occurred in the shallow sea approximately 375 mya creating a 10 km (6 mi) diameter crater. In Astronomy, Geology, and Paleontology, mya or " mya " is an abbreviation for "million years ago". This crater eventually filled with sediments and became Panther Mountain through the process of uplift and erosion. There is also a Panther Mountain in Franklin County New York near the southern end of Lower Saranac Lake.

By the middle of the Mississippian period, the uplift stopped and the Acadian Mountains had been eroded so much that sediments no longer flowed across the Catskill Delta.

Over time the sediments were buried by more sediments from other areas until the original Devonian and Mississippian sediments were deeply buried and slowly became solid rock. Then the entire area experienced uplift, which caused the sedimentary rocks to begin to erode. Today, those upper sedimentary rocks have been completely removed, allowing the Devonian and Mississippian rocks to be exposed. Today’s Catskills are a result of the continued erosion of these rocks, both by streams and in the recent past by glaciers.

Some traces of the most recent sedimentary layers remain for the discerning eye to discover, however. Even along the glacially-scoured eastern escarpment and in the upper Hudson Valley just below it -- not to mention the glacial till-dumps and occasional terminal moraines of the southern-facing mountain slopes and valleys of the eastern and central Catskills -- fragments of quartzite ranging from bright white, banded orange and tan, to deep red and dark gray are found. Many if not most of these are no more than 6" thick, have two flat sides and are without inclusions of other native rock, e. g. , gray or blue sandstone ("bluestone"), most likely indicating the presence of a shallow, wave-beaten sandy delta or beach area at the base of the Acadian ranges in the delta's final stages of sedimentation. That sand layer, mostly free of silt (hence less opaque than older layers formed with higher concentrations of silt and mud under deeper water at more remote reaches of the delta) formed one or more upper layers of the delta. With compression and time, thin layers of sandstone formed of which only the here-mentioned fragments of sandstone remain now though in comparative abundance, if one measures their frequency against those of glacial erratics of similar size and shape which are typically metamorphic in origin (e. g. , feldspars, granites, basalts), which most likely originated in the geologically complex region of the Adirondacks to the north. Such sandstones and erratics are frequently found collocated in cairns and other anomalous rock arrangements of the Eastern Catskills.

Platte Clove, a break in the Escarpment created by glacial action.
Platte Clove, a break in the Escarpment created by glacial action. Platte Clove, sometimes Plattekill Clove, is a narrow and steep valley in the Catskill Mountains of New York.

In successive Ice Ages, both valley and continental glaciers have widened the valleys and the notches of the Catskills and rounded the mountains. Grooves and scratches in exposed bedrock provides evidence of the great sheets of ice that once traversed through the region. Even today the erosion of the mountains continue, with the region’s rivers and streams deepening and widening the mountains’ valleys and cloves.

Name

Views of the Catskills from the Hudson like this led to the name "Blue Mountains" for a time.
Views of the Catskills from the Hudson like this led to the name "Blue Mountains" for a time.

The name "Catskills" did not come into wide popular use for the mountains until the mid-19th century — in fact, that name was disparaged by purists as too plebeian, too reminiscent of the area's Dutch colonial past, especially since it was used by the local farming population. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands It may also have been a continuation of the British practice, after taking possession of the colony in the late 17th century, of trying to replace most Dutch Knickerbocker toponyms in present-day New York with their English alternatives. The locals preferred to call them the Blue Mountains, to harmonize with Vermont's Green Mountains and New Hampshire's White Mountains. Vermont ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The Green Mountains are a Mountain range in the US state of Vermont. New Hampshire ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The White Mountains are a Mountain range that covers about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire and a small portion of western Maine in the It was only after Washington Irving's stories that Catskills won out over Blue Mountains, and several other competitors. Washington Irving (April 3 1783 – November 28 1859 was an American Author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th

While the meaning of the name ("cat creek" in Dutch) and the namer (early Dutch explorers) are settled matters, exactly how and why the area is named is a mystery. Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname Mountain Lions or "Catamounts" were known to have been in the area when the Dutch arrived in the 1600s[2].

The most common, and easiest, is that bobcats were seen near Catskill creek and the present-day village of Catskill, and the name followed from there. The Bobcat ( Lynx rufus) is a North American Mammal of the cat family Felidae. Catskill is a Village in Greene County, New York, USA. The population was 4392 at the 2000 census However there is no record of bobcats ever having been seen in significant numbers on the banks of the Hudson, and the name Catskill does not appear on paper until 1655, more than four decades later.

Other theories include:

The confusion over the exact origins of the name led over the years to variant spellings such as Kaatskill and Kaaterskill, both of which are also still used, the former in the regional magazine Kaatskill Life, the latter as the name of a town, creek, clove, mountain and waterfall. Kaatskill Life is a quarterly regional Magazine covering the Catskills of New York. Kaaterskill High Peak (officially just High Peak) is one of the Catskill Mountains, located in the Town of Hunter in Greene County, New Kaaterskill Falls is a two-drop Waterfall located near in the eastern Catskill Mountains of New York, on the north side of Kaaterskill Clove between the

The supposed Indian name for the range, Onteora or "land in the sky," was actually created by a white man in the mid-19th century to drum up business for a resort. It, too, persists today as the name of a school district and as the name of Boy Scout summer camp.

In culture

The Catskills are famous in American cultural history for being the site of the so-called Borscht Belt, a Jewish resort area where many young Jewish stand-up comics got their start. Borscht Belt is an informal term for the summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in Sullivan and Ulster Counties in Upstate New York which were PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ A resort is a place used for Relaxation or Recreation, attracting visitors for Holidays or Vacations Resorts are places towns or sometimes Stand-up comedy is a style of comedy where the performer speaks directly to the audience with the absence of the theatrical " Fourth wall " Many Borscht Belt performers, such as Mickey Katz, referred to them as the Katzkills. Mickey Katz ( June 15, 1909 Born Cleveland Ohio - April 30, 1985) was a U

The Catskill mountains and their inhabitants play an important role in the stories My Side of the Mountain and its sequels by Jean Craighead George and in H. P. Lovecraft's "The Lurking Fear" & "Beyond the Wall of Sleep". My Side of the Mountain is a 1959 book by Jean Craighead George about a boy who learns about nature and himself Jean Craighead George (b 2 July 1919 in Washington DC) is an American Author. Howard Phillips Lovecraft ( August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of horror, fantasy

The town of Palenville located in the Catskills figures in Washington Irving's story as the home of Rip van Winkle. Palenville is a hamlet (and Census-designated place) in Greene County, New York, United States. " Rip Van Winkle " is a short story by the American author Washington Irving published in 1819, as well as the name of the story's fictional protagonist

The Catskills are mentioned in The Band's song "Time to Kill. The Band was a rock group active from 1967 to 1976 and again from 1983 to 1999 " The Band was also photographed there for their first album, Music from Big Pink The Band in the Catskills.

The Catskills are also mentioned in Beck's song High Five (Rock the Catskills) on his 1996 album Odelay. Beck' s birth name was Bek see the sources given This is not a typo and should not be changed without good reason Odelay is the second major-label studio album by Alternative rock artist Beck.

Mercury Rev's song Opus 40 on their 1998 album Deserter's Songs contains the line "Catskill mansions buried dreams/ I'm alive she cried but I don't know what it means". Mercury Rev is an American Rock music group, formed in the mid 1980s in Buffalo New York. Opus 40 is a large Environmental sculpture in Saugerties, New York, created by Sculptor and quarryman Harvey Fite (1903--1976 Deserter's Songs is the fourth album by the rock band Mercury Rev, released in 1998 The band and their studios are based in the Catskills, and the area is often referred to in interview.

The Catskills are mentioned as well in Pela's song Rooftops (Moth Song Outro) on their 2007 album Anytown Graffiti.

Much of the present-day (as of publication) action of Art Spiegelman's award-winning graphic novel Maus is set in the Catskills. Art Spiegelman (born February 15, 1948) is an American Comics artist editor and advocate for the medium of comics best known for his Maus A Survivor's Tale is a memoir by Art Spiegelman, presented as a Graphic novel.

Films set, or filmed in, the Catskills

See also

References

  1. ^ Physiographic divisions of the conterminous U. S.. Borscht Belt is an informal term for the summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in Sullivan and Ulster Counties in Upstate New York which were The Catskill High Peaks are all of the Mountains in New York 's Catskill Mountains above 3500 ft (1067 m in elevation whose summits are separated The Catskill Park is in the Catskill Mountains in New York in the United States. Natural History Early geologic history The Catskills began existence as a River delta 350 million years ago Built in Greenpoint New York in 1862 USS Catskill, a single-turreted ''Passaic''-class monitor, was launched 16 U. S. Geological Survey. Retrieved on 2007-12-06. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev
  2. ^ The Elusive Mountain Lion - E-Files - Our History. Sierra Club. Retrieved on 2007-09-17. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1176 - The Battle of Myriokephalon is fought 1462 - The Battle of Świecino (or Battle of Żarnowiec

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