The state has several distinct drainage basins, which should really be grouped into only two systems. those whose watershed is to the Atlantic ocean, and those which con:. tribute to the Delaware river and bay. The latter drain more than one-half of the entire state from n. to south Beginning at the n., on the sea-side slope, all exceedingly nar row strip drains iuto the Hudson. On the w. side of the palisade dike the Hackensack collies into the state from New York, and flows southwardly through a Darrow valley into Newark bay, w. of and parallel with the bay of New York. The Passaic river, next w., has its sources near the center of the northern half of the state, directly w. of New Yc,rk; flows thence n.e. to its junction with the Peqnannock, the Ringwood, and the Ramapo; then e. through a gap in the Highland range, and through Paterson, to its main valley, through which it courses southerly to Newark bay. The Raritan is a larger stream, having its sources directly w. of those of the Passaic, flows southerly within 15 m. of the Delaware river, and then in a generally e. course to its mouth in Raritan bay, s. of Staten island. Its principal tributaries are the Laurington, Millstone, and South rivers. It has the largest and most fertile basin of the Atlantic slope of the state. South of Raritan bay the streams which empty into the sea are small down to Toms river, a stream about 80 in. long, emptying into Toms bay, an estuary from Barnegat bay. Thirty m. s. of that is the Little Egg harbor river, and 20 m. further s. is Great Egg Harbor rifler, both draining the southern part of the state from within 15 m. Delaware river. The main streams, draining the western slope into the latter river, beginning at the n., are Paulius-kill, Paquest creek, Musconetcong river, emptying about 10 in. below Eas ton, Penn., and Rancoeus creek. Smaller streams are numerous. On times. the Maurice river drains a considerable area into Delaware bay. One hundred m. of the Atlantic shore, n. of cape May, is a continuous line of harbors and bays, separated from the sea by long stretches of beach, with few inlets on the n. and many on the south. Barnegat bay and Little Egg harbor form a continuous bay more than 40 m. parallel with the sea, with inlets only at the middle and at the s. end. Atlantic City has been built for a sum mer resort on the outer beach, midway between Little Egg and Great Egg harbors. See Amami° CM'. The extent of inland navigation formed by the bars is about ral faom n, to s., but in length of Mend shores it is several hundred in. in extent. South cf Barnegat bay and Little Egg harbor the inlets are very numerous to these inland chan nels. The harbors arc: Great bay at the mouth of Little Egg Harbor river), Little bay, Reed's bay, Absccum bay (entered throuei Absecum inlet just n. of Atlantic City), Lake bay, Great Egg harbor, Peck's bay, Ludlow's bay, Townsend's sound, Style's sound, Learning's sound, Jenkin's sound, Grassy sound, Theharason's sound, Jarvis sound, and Cape Island sound. The n. shore of Delaware bay is mostly marshy, with no outer sea beach inclosing harbors and inland passages as on the Atlantic side. See CAPE MAY.
There are many pretty lakes in the northern part of the state. Greenwood lake, in Passaic co., sometimes called Long pond, the largest, lies across the n. boundary, one half in New York and one-half in New Jersey. It is 8 in, long and 11- m. in greatest width. In Sussex co. is Culver's, and many smaller ponds. In Morris co. are lakes Hopatcong, m. long and 1 m. wide; Budd's lake. 2 m. long and 1 m. wide; and Green pond, a charming lake, at an elevation of 1044 ft. above the sea, between Green Pond mountain and Copperas mountain, 3 in. long and half a m. wide.
The soils of different parts of New Jersey differ to an unusual degree. On the vat= legs of the Delaware, the Rapidan, the Passaic, and in many valleys among the moun tains of the n. part, the soil is of the best quality. The eastern slope of First, or Orange mountain, which is a red sandstone formation, was remarkable in a state of nature for tile variety and strength of its forest vegetation. In general, it may be stated that the central part of the state is the most fertile, and adapted to the greater variety Of prod ucts. While parts of the alluvial basins are rich enough to bear crops of tobacco, other sections were originally so thin as to have given rise to the expression—" as poor as the barrens of New jersey." But those sand-barrens, as they were called, have been found well adapted to fruits and vegetable gardening. The average value of farming land in 1870 was i86.14 per acre. The geologic survey of the state has called attention to the oak and pine lands of its southern part. Two-fifths of the area of the state s.e. of the marl belt is divided into two classes: the sands upon which pines alone thrive, and those which _row oak as well as pine, which have more clay and humus. The white-oak bot toms are the best parts of the latter. The oak lands have been found particularly sus ceptible to improvement, and are showing good crops of grains as well as fruits since intelligent industry has been applied to them.
Geology.—The bands of geological outcrop cross the state from n.e. to s.w. The azoic (granite, crystalline limestone, and gneiss) and the paleozoic (sandstone, fossilifer ous limestones, shales, and slates) are interlaced in the formation of the extreme n.w. part of the state. The Highland range, of which Morristown may be considered at the center of the belt, is mostly underlaid with the azoic rocks, though the paleozoic are not seen outcropping in the valleys. The triassic formation, in which the red sandstone is broken by irruptions of trap and basalt, occupies a broad belt running from n.e. to s.w. across the state s.c. of a line drawn from Jersey City to Trenton. This is the most fertile section of the state. The cretaceous formation, including the green sands, chalks, marls, plastic clays, and mixture of marls, clays, and sands, forms a hand s.e. of the sandstone belt, extending from Raritan bay to the head of Delaware bay. The remainder of the state s.c. is of the tertiary and drift formations of sands, gravel, loam, and marls. The state's geologic surveys have been quite exhaustive. Picf. Henry D. Rogers made the first in 1830-40; the second was undertaken by Dr. Wm. Kitchell in 1854; the third by prof. George H. Cook, state geologist, was begun in 1804, and has been continuous since. A volume, entitled the Geology of .New Jersey, embraced the results of surveys up to 1808, since which time annual reports have been published.
Mineralogy and Geologic azoic and paleozoic formations of the n.w. part furnish magnetic iron ores in many places in Sussex, Warren, Morris, and Passaic counties; the product in 1873 amounting to 665,000 tons. The greater portion of this ore is sent to the furnaces of Pennsylvania, near the coal supply. About one- fifth of it is worked up by the local blast-furnaces at Ringwood, Boonton, Stanhope, Oxford furnace, and Phillipsburg. In 1874 there were 214 iron mines of magnetic ores; 12 mines of red and brown hematite ores worked on a large scale; besides mines of bog-iron worked here and there on a small scale. Copper ores have been found and worked in Somerset co., but have not proved remunerative. Zinc ores have 'been found in two places in Sussex co., said to supply of the zinc oxide and of the metallic zinc product of the United States. In 1868, according to prof. Cook, 25,000 tons of zinc ores were taken out in that county, Since which time there has been a falling off. Lead ore. is often found, but has not been of a profitable grade to work; nickel also has been found. Graphite, or plumbago, has been mined with profit in several places in Morris and Passaic counties. Sulphate of baryta, manganese, and iron pyrites are mined and used in the manufacture of sulphuric acid, and greensand and other sands for glass-making and chemical uses are drawn from many parts. Mineralogists enumerate upwards of 160 minerals which are found in the state. The proximity of the mineral regions of New Jersey to the great city of New York brings all its mineral wealth into convenient use, and gives it high value. Time geologic products of highest value to the state are its extensive deposits of pule marl, clay marl, and shell marls, used in connection with other fertilizers; for on these have depended the improvement of millions of acres of its soil, large portions of which were formerly considered too poor to cultivate, but are now made productive beyond the average per acre of any state iu the union. These marls will probably be the means, in connection with the excrements of the great neighboring cities, of making New Jer sey, in soil, one of the richest, instead of one of the poorest, states. Upwards of '4'00,060 tons of marl were used annually before 1875. The quantity now used must be double that. Lime is quarried in vast quantities for burning to make into quick-lime for mor tar, and also for fertilizing. Porcelain and potter's clays of excellent quality, found in the state, are used in manufacturing, to the amount of 300,000 tons annually. Kaolin also is found in large deposits, though much of it is not of superior quality. Morris co. furnishes infnsorial earths, used in the manufacture of dynamite and giant powders, and for polishing purposes. and sand valuable for molding purposes and to enter into the composition of tire-brick for reverberatory furnaces. Burlington co. also supplies these sands. Apure white sand of the finest quality, for glass-making, is found in s. New Jersey, and used in the glass-works of Glassboro and Mhdvfihlc. The variety of building stones furnished by the quarries of New Jersey is great, and includes fine granite, or gneiss-granite, sandstones of a variety of tone and quality, limestones (including water lime and some marbles), Bluestone, trap-rock, slates, fire stones, and conglomerate, alto gether providing the great cities around New York bay with a large part of all their building and paving-stones. Trinity church in New York is an example of brown sand stone from the New Jersey quarries.