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The
Whippany River flows into the Rockaway River, at the western end of the swamp. The Rockaway River travels a short distance and then flows into the Passaic River near the center of the swamp. The USGS gaging station is 1.3 miles (2.1 km) downstream of the Rockaway River confluence. At this
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Muskrats are low in population in the swamp due to several factors. The first is the flooding of the area, which fills bank dens with water. The second is the lack of plant foods that the muskrats eat. The third is water pollution. While efforts to clean the rivers of pollution have proven
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The
Hatfield Swamp floods several times a year, from heavy rain, snow melt in spring, or the remnants of storms that originated in the tropics. The area is the joining point of three rivers. The frequent flooding makes the swamp a difficult place to live for mammals, such as deer, raccoons,
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The area has a northern deciduous forest consisting of various oaks, maples, sweet gum, and elm. Most trees are from six to ten inches (254 mm), with some going to twenty inches. Due to the constant flooding makes it difficult for hardwood trees to grow.
118:, were confiscated and sold to Cyrus Crane, who operated a mill on the edge of the swamp in what is now West Caldwell. After the death of family member Herbert Crane in the 1960s, the mill was dismantled and moved to
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point the
Passaic River drainage is three hundred forty nine square miles. This includes the Rockaway River drainage of one hundred twenty five square miles and the Whippany River drainage of sixty nine square miles.
67:. Over millions of years, the rift valley was faulted, tilted, and eroded, until the edges of the hard flood basalt layers formed ridges. Prior to 20,000 years before the present, an ancestral
87:. After thousands of years, the lake drained leaving behind many swamps with various hardwood trees struggling to take hold, including the Hatfield Swamp.
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periods, when the North
American plate separated from the African plate, an aborted rift system was created. The resulting rift valley, known as the
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lead trips within the swamp throughout the year, while the Essex County
Environmental Center provides information regarding such trips.
75:, a massive continental ice sheet which formed during the last ice age, advanced on the region and permanently plugged the gap with
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The area is from 180 feet (55 m) above sea level to 160 feet (49 m). Latitude 40.85 N and
Longitude 74.32 W
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possums, skunks and fox. Most of these animals live on the fringes of the swamp, where the ground is higher.
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Waterfowl that pass through the area in the autumn stop and rest in the swamp before proceeding south.
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The area of
Hatfield Swamp is approximately 2,500 acres (10 km), located in northern New Jersey.
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The swamp is named for
Cornelius Hetfield who owned and operated a mill sometime before the
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The wetlands, which help facilitate hiking through their flatness, are a part of
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Fish that inhabit the
Rockaway River and Whippany River are carp and catfish.
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flowed through a gap in these ridges. This changed when the
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successful so far, pollutants remain in the soil and water.
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236:Landforms of Morris County, New Jersey
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231:Landforms of Essex County, New Jersey
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246:Swamps of New Jersey
184:USGS topographic map
85:Glacial Lake Passaic
207:40.8408°N 74.3283°W
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165:and the New Jersey
112:American Revolution
251:Watchung Mountains
120:Allaire State Park
81:Watchung Mountains
212:40.8408; -74.3283
73:Wisconsin Glacier
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198:74°19′42″W
195:40°50′27″N
51:and early
39:counties.
25:New Jersey
91:Geography
116:Loyalist
53:Jurassic
49:Triassic
31:between
106:History
61:red bed
43:Geology
21:wetland
159:hiking
149:Hiking
33:Morris
37:Essex
35:and
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