The Hominy Hills are a range of low, gravel-capped hills and upland areas located along the boundary of
Colts Neck
Colts Neck Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. It is located in the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 9,957, down from the 10,142 counted in the 2010 census, i ...
,
Howell and
Wall Townships, in
Monmouth County, New Jersey, and extending east into the Borough of
Tinton Falls, formerly part of
Shrewsbury Township. The hills attain heights of over in elevation, attaining a maximum elevation of at Throckmorton Hill, which is the highest point in Howell Township.
Geography
The Hominy Hills extend from west to east, between Freehold and Asbury Park, for a distance of approximately four miles. The greater portion of the range lies within
Naval Weapons Station Earle. It forms the
divide between the
Swimming River to the north, and the
Manasquan and
Shark Rivers to the south.
Following is a list describing the notable summits of the Hominy Hills from west to east; all are entirely within Naval Weapons Station Earle.
*Throckmorton Hill, or Hominy Hill proper, high,
[USGS Marlboro Quadrangle, New Jersey - Monmouth Co., 7.5 Minute - Series (Topographic) 1995] is located to the west of Guadalcanal Road. Lunga Road climbs this hill, curving around the summit but not attaining it. A
fire lookout tower
A fire lookout tower, fire tower or lookout tower, provides housing and protection for a person known as a "fire lookout" whose duty it is to search for wildfires in the wilderness. It is a small building, usually on the summit of a mountain or ...
formerly stood on the summit, a
water tower stands near the site of the fire tower.
*Cranberry Hill, ,
[USGS Topographic Sheet, New Jersey - New York, Sandy Hook Quadrangle, 1884] is located southeast of the intersection of Esperance and Macassar roads, it is crossed by a
fire road
A firebreak or double track (also called a fire line, fuel break, fireroad and firetrail in Australia) is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebre ...
.
*Huckleberry Hill or Lippincott Hill, also ,
is located south of Esperance Road and north of Munda Road. The
headwaters of the Shark River are to the south of this hill.
Geology
A
cuesta, the Hominy Hills are composed of layers of unconsolidated sand, mud, and gravel from the
Atlantic Coastal Plain
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...
. The topmost
geologic layer, the Cohansey Formation, is composed of sand, gravel, and erosion resistant
ironstone. This layer forms a hard capstone along the highest summits, protecting more easily weathered underlying geologic layers such as the
Kirkwood Formation. The
scarp
Scarp may refer to:
Landforms and geology
* Cliff, a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure
* Escarpment, a steep slope or long rock that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevatio ...
of the cuesta faces north while the gentler
dip slope faces south.
Flora and fauna
The Hominy Hills fall within the
Pinelands region, and exhibit both pine dominated and oak dominated forests, as well as intermediate forests. Pitch pine (''
Pinus rigida
''Pinus rigida'', the pitch pine, is a small-to-medium-sized pine. It is native to eastern North America, primarily from central Maine south to Georgia and as far west as Kentucky. It is found in environments which other species would find unsuit ...
'') is the most abundant tree. A variety of oaks are also present, including black (''
Quercus velutina''), white (''
Quercus alba''), post (''
Quercus stellata''), chestnut (''
Quercus prinus
''Quercus montana'', the chestnut oak, is a species of oak in the white oak group, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus''. It is native to the eastern United States, where it is one of the most important ridgetop trees from southern Maine southwest to ...
''), scarlet (''
Quercus coccinea''), and blackjack (''
Quercus marilandica''). These forests tend to be open with widely spaced trees and plenty of sunlight reaching the forest floor.
The understory is thick with shrubs, including black huckleberry (''
Gaylussacia baccata
''Gaylussacia baccata'', the black huckleberry, is a common huckleberry found throughout a wide area of eastern North America.
Distribution
The plant is native to Eastern Canada and the Great Lakes region, the Midwestern and Northeastern Unit ...
'') and early lowbush blueberry (''
Vaccinium pallidum
''Vaccinium pallidum'' is a species of flowering plant in the heath family known by the common names hillside blueberry, Blue Ridge blueberry, late lowbush blueberry, and early lowbush blueberry. It is native to central Canada (Ontario) and the c ...
''). Mountain laurel (''
Kalmia latifolia''), and sheep laurel (''
Kalmia angustifolia'') are also present. Bracken fern (''
Pteridium aquilinum'') is abundant.
Animals such as whitetailed deer, gray squirrels, red squirrels, chipmunks, red fox as well as a large variety of birds inhabit the hills. Turkey Vultures and Red Tail Hawks are also common.
Recreation
As much of the Hominy Hills are within
Naval Weapons Station Earle no public recreation areas exist.
Hominy Hill Golf Course, operated by the Monmouth County Park System, is actually located in the lowland to the north of the Hominy Hills.
See also
* The
Navesink Highlands, a similar but more prominent coastal upland stretching west to east along the south shore of
Raritan Bay
References
{{coord, 40.3001, -74.163, type:mountain_globe:earth_region:US-NJ, display=title
Landforms of Monmouth County, New Jersey
Hills of New Jersey
Landforms of the Pine Barrens (New Jersey)
Colts Neck Township, New Jersey
Howell Township, New Jersey
Wall Township, New Jersey
Tinton Falls, New Jersey