Ski Catskills
|
Catskill Mountains
]]
The Catskill Mountains despite their popular name are not true geological mountains, but a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau.
They are popularly considered an extension of the Appalachian Mountains into New York State. These "mountains" are northwest of New York City and west of the Hudson River and lie within the bounds of six counties ( Otsego, Delaware, Sullivan, Schoharie, Greene, and Ulster).
At the eastern end of the range, the "mountains" begin quite dramatically with the Catskill Escarpment rising up suddenly from the Hudson Valley. The western boundary is far less certain, as the mountains gradually decline in height and grade into the rest of the Allegheny Plateau. 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.
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, are technically a continuation of the Catskills under a different name.
The Catskills contain more than thirty peaks above 3,500 feet and parts of six important rivers. The highest mountain, Slide Mountain in Ulster County, has an altitude of 4,180 feet (1,274 m).
Within the range is the Catskill Park and corresponding Catskill Forest Preserve. Not all the land is publicly owned; about
Catskill Mountains
I am starting a major expansion of this page as a tribute to the late Catskill historian Alf Evers (1905-2004), who I think would have been honored. I dedicate this article to him.
Daniel Case
I think I should make the history section a separate article. Any other thoughts?
Daniel Case 05:08, 23 Feb 2005 (UTC)
OK, several months later, I've done it. New article on history is now in
Daniel Case 04:20, 5 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Mwanner, I love the Kaaterskill Falls pic, but it's not really directly relevant to the article content. Perhaps we could start a separate article on the falls? Daniel Case 04:40, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Catskill (Village), New York
Catskill is a village located in Greene County, New York. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 4,392.
The Village of Catskill is in the northeast part of the Town of Catskill.
History
The village was incorporated in 1803. Martin van Buren was married in the village.
Geography
The village is on the west side of the Hudson River.
Catskill is located at 42°13'7" North, 73°52'0" West (42.218704, -73.86679).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 7.3 km² (2.8 mi²). 5.8 km² (2.2 mi²) of it is land and 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 20.85% water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 4,392 people, 1,765 households, and 1,101 families residing in the village. The population density is 757.0/km² (1,962.0/mi²). There are 2,048 housing units at an average density of 353.0/km² (914.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the village is 81.40% White, 12.73% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.48% from other races, and 3.37% from two or more races. 6.22% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 1,765 households out of which 29.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.9% are married couples living together, 18.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% are non-families. 31.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 12.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.39 and the average family size is 2.99.
In the village the population is spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 85.5
Catskill (Town), New York
Catskill is a town located in Greene County, New York. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 11,849.
The Town of Catskill contains a village, also called Catskill. The town is in the southeast part of the county.
History
The town was established in 1788.
Geography
The east town line is defined by the Hudson River.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 166.2 km² (64.2 mi²). 156.8 km² (60.5 mi²) of it is land and 9.5 km² (3.7 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 5.69% water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 11,849 people, 4,780 households, and 3,035 families residing in the town. The population density is 75.6/km² (195.8/mi²). There are 5,700 housing units at an average density of 36.4/km² (94.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 89.84% White, 6.03% Black or African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.86% from other races, and 2.32% from two or more races. 4.03% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 4,780 households out of which 28.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% are married couples living together, 13.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% are non-families. 29.7% of all households are made up of individuals and 12.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.38 and the average family size is 2.94.
In the town the population is spread out with 23.5% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 40 years. For every 100 females there are 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 88.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town is $33,531, and the median income for a family is
Catskill State Park
The Catskill State Park, also called Catskill Park, is in the Catskill Mountains in New York in the United States. It consists of 700,000 acres (2,800 km²) of land inside a Blue Line in four counties: Delaware, Greene, Sullivan, and Ulster. Roughly 280,000 acres (1,100 km²), or 41 percent of the land within is owned by the state and this part is called the Catskill Forest Preserve. Another 5 percent is owned by New York City to protect four of the city’s reservoirs in the region that lie partially within the park and their respective watersheds.
It has approximately 50,000 permanent residents, bolstered somewhat by second-home ownership on weekends and in the summer, and attracts about half a million visitors every year.
The park is governed by Article 14 of the state constitution, which stipulates that all land acquired within cannot be sold or otherwise transferred (absent amending the constitution, which has been done on several occasions), may not be used for logging and must remain "forever wild."
As the lesser in size and the less well-known of New York’s two Forest Preserves, residents of and advocates for the Park often feel it gets neglected by the state government in Albany. A popular saying in the region is that the DEC (Department of Environmental Conversation, the state agency that manages the public lands in the Forest Preserve) Commissioner's chair faces north (i.e., toward the Adirondacks). In recent years DEC has been working to change that.
Despite that perception, however, some key innovations in how New York manages its Forest Preserve have come from the Catskills.
Location
The park boundary stretchs from near the Hudson River just west of the city of Kingston in the east to the East Branch of the Delaware River near Hancock at its westernmost. Its northern extreme is at Windham and its southernmost point is between the hamlet of Napanoch and Rondout Reservoir.
In contrast to
Catskill High Peaks
The Catskill High Peaks are all those mountains in the Catskill Mountains in New York in the USA above 3,500 ft (1067 m) in elevation whose summits are separated either by one-half mile (805 m) or a vertical drop of at least 200 ft (61 m) between it and the next nearest separate summit. By usual standards, these mountains are rather low and rounded, and mostly covered by vegetation.
Unlike the Adirondack High Peaks, those in the Catskills are more evenly distributed around the eastern half of the range instead of being confined to one small area. All except Bearpen and Vly lie within the Catskill Park Blue Line.
The 3,500 foot (1067 m) elevation was chosen in the early 1950s when Dan Smiley, a descendant of the founders of Mohonk Mountain House and his fellow birders were trying to find the elusive Bicknell's Thrush, which prefers to nest and breed in the boreal forests that predominate above that elevation in the Catskills. They drew up a list nearly identical to the one below and published it in a naturalists' journal.
A decade later hikers interested in peak bagging formed the Catskill Mountain 3500 Club, an organization similar to the better-known Adirondack 46ers, to promote the climbing of 34 of the 35 peaks listed below ("Southwest Hunter" was added to the list in 1992). Prospective members are required to climb all (13 have no established route to the summit, requiring a bushwhack) and then do Slide, Blackhead, Balsam and Panther mountains again in wintertime.
Today New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation enforces special rules for all the lands it manages in the Catskills above 3,500 feet (1,067 m), whether tiny plots such as on Rocky or vast ridgetops as on Plateau, Hunter and West Kill, due to the fragility of the ecosystems. In these areas, camping is permitted only in dire emergencies except during winter, when snow shields the earth somewhat, and open fires are banned. Almost all were designated Bird Conservation
History Of The Catskill Mountains
Natural History
Early geologic history
The Catskills began existence as a river delta 350 million years ago. Streams flowing off the then-mighty Taconic Mountains deposited sediment where the river met a sea (now the Allegheny Plateau. Eventually the Taconics eroded to their present size and the waters dried up, leaving a mostly flat plain.
During this time period, a meteor is believed to have struck the area. Panther Mountain is the remains of its crater.
Two hundred million years ago, as continental drift pushed up the Appalachians, the delta region rose almost uniformly into a plateau rather than breaking up into smaller mountains. Streams that formed over time eroded gaps and valleys, leaving today's "mountains."
The Ice Ages
The next great change in the Catskill landscape was caused by the most recent of four periods of glaciation, the Wisconsin. Every mountain except Slide (and perhaps even that) was buried in the ice that came down from the north; while the effect was not as profound as that observed in the Adirondacks, the glaciers carved two gaps, today known as Plattekill and Kaaterskill Clove, in the Helderberg Escarpment and formed the Hudson River, as well as some cirques such as Maltby Hollow.
The melting glaciers left lakes and then beds which would later be partially resurrected when New York City dammed up the creeks for its reservoirs in the 20th century.
Some geologists also believe the glaciers scoured off sedimentary layers that may have contained coal, noting the surfeit of coal to the south in Pennsylvania and that the white quartz pebbles found atop Slide Mountain are often an indicator that one has reached the bottom of a coal bed in those regions.
Human history
Prehistory
While the matter has yet to be fully researched, there seems to have been no large-scale long-term Native American presence in the mountains. The local Iroquois tribes used land and water routes
Solenoid Pump | Splash Pool | Star Wars Minis | Studebaker Automobiles | Sync Time | Telegraphic Transfer | Thule Kayak | Toronto Canada | Trucking Co | Universal Stainless | Vancouver | Vintage Baseball Hats | Wart Removal | West Nyack | Windows Andersen | Ws 65511 | 002 | 4 Less | Adidas Clothes | Alliance Imaging
Ski Catskills
Ski Rack | Ski Ruidoso | Ski Sale | Skidders | Skiddy | Skin Patches | Skin Tag Removal | Skin Tan | Skunk Off | Skyjack Lift | Skyjacker Lifts | Slate Countertops | Slate Installation | Slats | Sleep Mask | Sleep Masks | Sleep Mate | Sleeping Bags | Sleeping Disorders | Slide Board
Ski Catskills
|
Ski Catskills
|
© THIS PAGE ON Ski Catskills, COPYRIGHT 2004 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED -- Some Segments Used from Wikipedia under the GNU Free Documentation License |
|
