Troy Meadows is a

nature preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

in Parsippany, 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 ...

. Along with the Great Swamp, it is one of the remnants of

Glacial Lake Passaic Lake Passaic was a prehistoric proglacial lake that existed in northern New Jersey in the United States at the end of the last ice age approximately 19,000–14,000 years ago.Stanford, Scott D. “Glacial Lake Passaic.” ''Unearthing New Jerse ...

. It was designated a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

in 1967. It is the largest freshwater marsh in New Jersey, the

Whippany River The Whippany River is a tributary of the Rockaway River, approximately 20 mi (30 km) long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. It rises in Morris County, in Mendham Township west of Morristown, and flows generally ENE in a ...

goes through the swamp before connecting with the

Rockaway River The Rockaway River is a tributary of the Passaic River, approximately 35 mi (56 km) long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. The upper course of the river flows through a wooded mountainous valley, whereas the lower course flo ...

. It is part of the

Northeastern coastal forests The Northeastern coastal forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of the northeast and middle Atlantic region of the United States. The ecoregion covers an area of 34,630 sq miles (89,691 km2) encompassing the Piedmont a ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

Geology

Around 400 million years ago, a small continent long and narrow collided with proto North America. This created folding and faulting, as compression occurred. Then around 350 million years ago, the African plate collided with North America creating the folding and faulting in the Appalachians. But when the African plate pulled away from North America, an aborted rift valley was created. This half graben, starts east of Boonton and goes through the middle of Parsippany, south to Morristown, to the south end of Great Swamp. From Parsippany and the Boonton area the half graben goes east to the western side of Paterson, were there was another fault by the lava flows. East of the Ramapo Fault is where there is this aborted rift valley. 9The Ramapo fault goes through the county on a northeast–southwest axis. The fault separates the Highlands from the Piedmont, also known as the Newark Basin. The Wisconsin Glacier covered the area from 25,000 B.C. to 13,000 B.C. and when it melted due to climate warming, Glacial Lake Passaic was created. The lake slowly drained and the meadows was created.

Ownership

The marsh is owned by Wildlife Preserves and the State of New Jersey. Inside the marsh, there is a two mile boardwalk.

References

External links

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NY NJ CT Botany hiking guide
''Wildlife Preserves'' {{authority control National Natural Landmarks in New Jersey Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey Passaic River Protected areas of Morris County, New Jersey Watchung Mountains Marshes of the United States Landforms of Morris County, New Jersey Meadows in the United States Wetlands of New Jersey