The Hibernia mines are a series of iron mines in and around
Rockaway Township, in
Morris County,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, United States, that were worked from pre-
Revolutionary times until 1916. The mines worked a vein extending for more than . Several companies operated mines in the area. An adit was constructed into the Hibernia hill to move ore to the railhead of the Hibernia Railroad. Ore in excess of was shipped in 1879.
An exploratory shaft was drilled in the 1950s but was not worked, and the shafts and
adit
An adit (from Latin ''aditus'', entrance) is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, ventilated, and minerals extracted at the lowest convenient level. Adit ...
were partly or totally sealed in 1972 and 1989.
After its closure, the mine became the largest
bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...
hibernaculum in New Jersey, with as many 30,000 bats each winter. In 2010, less than 10% that number was found in the mine following an outbreak of
white nose syndrome
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal disease in North American bats which has resulted in the dramatic decrease of the bat population in the United States and Canada, reportedly killing millions as of 2018. The condition is named for a distincti ...
.
See also
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Morris Canal
The Morris Canal (1829–1924) was a common carrier anthracite coal canal across northern New Jersey that connected the two industrial canals at Easton, Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from its western terminus at Phillipsburg, New Jers ...
References
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External links
Photos of the Hibernia mine and other abandoned mines in New York and New Jersey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hibernia Mines
Iron mines in the United States
Geography of Morris County, New Jersey
Underground mines in the United States
Mines in New Jersey
Rockaway Township, New Jersey