If you’re looking for a vacation spot, consider visiting New Jersey, a U.S. state that spans 130 miles of Atlantic coastline. While you’re there, take the time to check out Jersey City, across the Hudson River from Lower Manhattan. From Jersey City, you can visit Liberty State Park, home to the Statue of Liberty and the Immigration Museum. Along the Jersey Shore, you’ll find many notable resort towns, including Asbury Park, which has Victorian architecture.
The state of New Jersey is fairly small in size, with a population of 5.4 million. However, it’s one of the most densely populated states in the US. The state is also situated in the Northeast Megalopolis, or the Boston-Washington Corridor, which also includes Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. With such a dense population, New Jersey is a booming state with lots of things to do.
In the early 16th century, Europeans began to settle the area near the Hudson River. In towns like Hoboken and Jersey City, trading colonies emerged. In Bergen, settlers from Sweden, Finland, and the Netherlands settled. These early European settlements forged the foundation for the first permanent settlement in the state. They would eventually become the largest inland cities in the United States. During the English Civil War, New Jersey was a favored destination for European settlers.
New Jersey has a diverse climate. While the weather is usually mild and temperate, it can also experience blizzards and floods. Hurricanes are not as common, but they can hit the state, as one example is from 1903. And most recently, Hurricane Sandy struck the state in October of 2012. At 90 mph, the storm brought torrential rain and heavy snow to New Jersey. And it’s not just natural disasters that hit the state.
The state is connected to New York City through a series of tunnels and bridges. The George Washington Bridge connects Fort Lee, New Jersey, to the Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan. Other tunnels connect the state’s capital to nearby cities such as Philadelphia and Trenton. While the George Washington Bridge connects New Jersey to New York, two others provide access to the state’s major airports. If you are traveling by air, NJ Transit is the most popular way to travel throughout the state.
The state’s four major physical regions are reflected in its courts. The Ridge and Valley region of the northwest is dominated by the Appalachian Mountains. The Highlands, the southern extension of the ancient rocks of New England, extend across the state in a northeast-southwest direction. The central Piedmont region contains major cities and suburbs. The Atlantic Coastal Plain contains a southwestern portion with the High Point, which lies just south of New York.
The Atlantic Ocean coastline of New Jersey is 130 miles long. It is made up of sedimentary layers that were deposited prior to sea level rise. Sea level rise has been occurring over the past 20,000 years, with local change ranging from a few inches to several feet vertically. As a result, the shoreline of “New Jersey” today is a much different shape than it was a few thousand years ago. But, there are still countless historic sites and beaches along the coast.