New York City Geology and History

### New York City Geology and History

• New York City's bedrock is about 100 million years old
• The city's current topography was shaped by glacial recession 10,000 years ago
• Glacial activity created features like erratic boulders in Central Park, kettle depressions in Brooklyn and Queens, and moraines
• River systems in New York City, such as the Hudson, East, and Spuyten Duyvil, are estuaries of the Atlantic Ocean, formed by glacial erosion
• The city's approximately 600 miles of shoreline experience continuous erosion and sediment deposition
• Despite dredging, ship channels in New York Harbor are prone to silting, making them unsuitable for modern deep-sea vessels
• The deep water anchorage south of Manhattan offers easy access to the Atlantic Ocean
• Giovanni da Verrazzano was the first European to enter New York Harbor in 1524, naming it Santa Margarita
• The area displays a rich mineral diversity, with over 90 species of precious stones and 170 minerals found within the region
• The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, dedicated in 1964, commemorates Verrazzano's expedition
• New York City's port played a significant role in American commerce, becoming the country's dominant trade center by the mid-1800s
• New York was the busiest port in the world from the early 1900s until the 1950s
• During the 1960s, containerization, outdated piers, and rising labor costs led to a shift in cargo operations to the New Jersey side of the Hudson River