Westchester County, New York - Geography

Geography

Westchester County is located at the southeastern tip of New York State. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 500 square miles (1,300 km2), of which 433 square miles (1,100 km2) is land and 67 square miles (170 km2) (13.45%), water. The County shares its northern boundary with Putnam County and its southern boundary with New York City. It is bordered on the west side by the Hudson River and on the east side by Long Island Sound and Fairfield County, Connecticut.

The closest point on the southern border of Westchester is just under 11 miles (18 km) from Columbus Circle in Manhattan (the customary point for measuring distances from New York City), where Pelham Manor meets Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx. At over 2,700 acres (11 km2), Pelham Bay Park is the largest of New York City's parks, forming a substantial 'buffer' between suburban Westchester and urban Bronx County.

Southern Westchester's Long Island Sound shore is generally rocky. Tidal mud flats, marshes and wetlands, as well as several natural and artificially-maintained sand beaches are interspersed on the coast. Public waterfront access is limited by residential and other development, although municipal and County owned parks provide access to beaches, nature preserves and passive and active waterfront recreational facilities. Several large harbors lie along the shore including Milton Harbor in Rye, Mamaroneck Harbor, Larchmont Harbor and Echo Bay, and the Upper and Lower harbors in New Rochelle. A number of islands can be found offshore from New Rochelle. The uses of these islands vary: Davids' Island, the former location of the U.S. Army’s Fort Slocum, is currently unoccupied but is slated for use as passive parkland; Glen Island is a County park for passive and active recreation; Huckleberry Island is largely undeveloped and has one of the largest rookeries for some shore bird species in western Long Island Sound; Columbia Island was the former site of CBS television broadcast antennas and is currently unoccupied; Echo Island is used by a private yacht club; Execution Rocks is the site of a 19th century lighthouse listed on the National Register of Historic Places; Pea Island is owned by Huguenot Yacht Club but remains undeveloped; Goose Island is undeveloped; Clifford, Harrison and Tank Islands are part of a nature preserve and city park;and Oak and Pine Islands are used as private residences.

The widest section across the Hudson River, at 3.6 miles (6 km), is found between the Westchester and Rockland County shorelines immediately north of Croton Point in Croton-on-Hudson. In Colonial times, this area was called the Tappan Zee or Sea. The Hudson River is tidal and brackish through Westchester and contains a small number of estuarine marshes. Two bridges span the Hudson in Westchester; the Bear Mountain Bridge crosses at Cortlandt and the Tappan Zee Bridge at Tarrytown. Municipal, County and state-owned parks provide access to waterfront landmarks and sites, including Croton Point in Croton, Kingsland Point in Sleepy Hollow and JFK Memorial Marina in Yonkers.

The Hudson River waterfront in Westchester is in the midst of a renaissance, converting from primarily industrial uses to mixed residential, commercial, retail, and recreational uses. This transformation is most notable in Yonkers, Hastings-on-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, Irvington, Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow, Ossining, and Peekskill, where redevelopment projects are in various stages of design and construction. In 2004, Westchester County embarked on a project to create a Hudson RiverWalk of 50 miles (80 km) which will provide public access between New York City and Putnam County along or close to the river. RiverWalk will weave through the Hudson River communities and provide access and linkages to recreational, cultural, and historic resources as well as community business centers.

The County's interior generally is more hilly north of Interstate 287, which bisects the County. The highest elevation in the county is a U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey benchmark known as "Bailey" at 980 feet (300 m) above sea level in Mountain Lakes Park near the Connecticut state line. The lowest elevation is sea level, along both the Hudson and Long Island Sound.

The County is divided into six primary drainage basins or watersheds, which are the Lower Long Island Sound, Upper Long Island Sound, Bronx River, Upper Hudson River, Lower Hudson River and Croton River basins. Within these primary drainage basins are approximately 60 smaller basins, or subwatersheds. The principal streams draining the southern part of the County include Beaver Swamp Brook, Blind Brook, Bronx River, Hutchinson River, Mamaroneck River, Saw Mill River, Sheldrake River, Stephenson Brook and Tibbetts Brook. The primary streams draining the central part of the County include Byram River, Kisco River, Mianus River, Mill River, Pocantico River and Silvermine River. The principal streams draining the northern part of the County include Dickey Brook, Furnace Brook, Hallocks Mill Brook, Hunter Brook, Muscoot River, Peekskill Hollow Brook, and Titicus River. The County contains several major reservoirs for public drinking water supply: The Croton system and the Kensico Reservoir are important components of the New York City water supply system. The system is a series of interconnected reservoirs and lakes in northern Westchester and Putnam Counties that provides 10% of New York City’s water under normal conditions and up to 30% of the in-City consumption in times of drought. The components of the system include the New Croton Reservoir in Cortlandt, Yorktown, Somers and Bedford; the Cross River Reservoir contained largely in Bedford; Titicus Reservoir in North Salem; Amawalk Reservoir in Somers; and the Muscoot Reservoir in Somers, Lewisboro and Bedford. The Kensico Reservoir is located in Mount Pleasant, Harrison and North Castle; and Byram Lake Reservoir in North Castle and Bedford. A number of other smaller reservoirs exist throughout the County.

Officially, the Westchester County Department of Planning divides the county into North, Central and South sub-regions.

Read more about this topic:  Westchester County, New York

Famous quotes containing the word geography:

    Ktaadn, near which we were to pass the next day, is said to mean “Highest Land.” So much geography is there in their names.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    Yet America is a poem in our eyes; its ample geography dazzles the imagination, and it will not wait long for metres.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    At present cats have more purchasing power and influence than the poor of this planet. Accidents of geography and colonial history should no longer determine who gets the fish.
    Derek Wall (b. 1965)