Everything about The Shawangunk Ridge totally explained
The
Shawangunk Ridge (also known as the
Shawangunk Mountains, or
The Gunks; pronounced by some locals as "SHONG-gum," (/ˈʃɑŋgʌm/)) is a ridge of mountains in
Ulster County,
Sullivan County and
Orange County in the state of
New York, extending from the northernmost point of
New Jersey to the
Catskill Mountains.
The ridgetop, which widens considerably at its northern end, has many public and private
protected areas and isn't heavily populated, boasting only one settlement of consequence (unincorporated
Cragsmoor). While in the past it was chiefly noted for
huckleberry picking, and the fires set to create favorable conditions for further growth, today it has become known for its outdoor recreation, most notably as one of the major
rock climbing areas of North America. Also known for its
biodiversity and scenic character, the ridge has been designated by
The Nature Conservancy as one of the "75 Last Great Places on Earth."
Name
The name is a
Dutch transliteration of the indigenous Munsee [Lenape] "Scha-WAN-gunk" (/ʃɑˈwɑŋˌgʌŋk/). The Lenape linguist Raymond Whritenour reports that, "Schawan" is an inanimate
intransitive verb meaning "it is smoky air" or "there is smoky air." Its noun-like participle is "schawank," meaning "that which is smoky air." Adding the locative suffix gives us "schawangunk" ("in that which is smoky air" or, more simply, "in the smoky air").
Whritenour has suggested that the name derives from the burning of a Munsee
fort by the Dutch at the eastern base of the ridge in
1663 (a massacre ending the
Second Esopus War), where it spread quickly across the basin on land deeds and patents after the war. Historian Marc B. Fried writes: "It is conceivable that this was...the Indians' own proper name for their village [andfort] and that the name was appropriated for use in subsequent land dealings because of the proximity of the...tracts to the former Indian village....The second possibility is that the name simply came into existence in connection with the Bruyn [purchaseof Jan., 1682, the first appearance of the name in documentary record], as a phrase invented by the Indians to describe some feature of the landscape." . But Fried also notes that the name's swift spread in the deed record suggest it was in use as a proper name before the Bruyn purchase. Shawangunk appears nowhere in reference to the fort itself in the extensive, translated Dutch record of the Second Esopus War.
By the early to mid
18th century, Shawangunk became associated with the ridge. European settlers began to truncate Shawangunk into "SHONG-gum," (/ˈʃɑŋgʌm/) a pronunciation still favored by some locals in the area where the name first came into existence. Shongum is frequently misrepresented by educators, ridge land managers, and in publications as the original indigenous pronunciation.
Geography
The Shawangunk Ridge is the northern end of a long ridge within the
Appalachian Mountains that begins in
Virginia, where it's called
North Mountain, continues through Pennsylvania as
Blue Mountain, becomes known as the
Kittatinny Mountains after it crosses the
Delaware Water Gap into
New Jersey and becomes the Shawangunks at the New York state line. These mountains mark the western and northern edge of the
Great Appalachian Valley.
The ridge is widest (7.5 miles/12 kilometers) near the northern end, narrow in the middle (1.25 miles/under 2 kilometers) with a maximum elevation of 2,289 feet (698 meters) near
Lake Maratanza on the Shawangunk Ridge. The ridge rises above the broad
Wallkill River valley to the east and the narrow valley to the west that contains
Basher Kill and
Rondout Creek at the northern end and the
Neversink River and
Delaware River at the southern end. These adjacent valleys are underlain by relatively weak sedimentary rock (for example, sandstone, shale, limestone).
Natural environment
There is an unusual diversity of vegetation on the ridge, containing species typically found north of this region alongside species typically found to the south or restricted to the Coastal Plain. This results in an unusual area where many regionally rare plants are found at or near the limits of their ranges. Other rare species found in the area are those adapted to the harsh conditions on the ridge. Upland communities include
chestnut oak and mixed-oak forest,
pine barrens including dwarf pine ridges,
hemlock-northern hardwood forest, and cliff and talus slope and cave communities. Wetlands include small lakes and streams,
bogs,
pitch pine-
blueberry peat swamps, an inland
Atlantic white cypress swamp,
red maple swamps, acidic seeps, calcareous seeps, and a few emergent marshes.
Geology
The ridge is primarily underlain by
Shawangunk Conglomerate, a hard,
silica-
cemented conglomerate of white
quartz pebbles and
sandstone that directly overlies the Martinsburg Shale, a thick
turbidite sequence of dark gray
shale and
greywacke sandstone. The Martinsburg Shale was deposited in a deep ocean during the Ordovician (470 million years ago). The Shawangunk Conglomerate was deposited over the Martinsburg Shale in thick
braided rivers during the Silurian (about 420 million years ago); both sequences of sedimentary rock were subsequently deformed and uplifted during the Permian (about 270 million years ago). As a result of this deformation, strata within the ridge are involved in a northward plunging series of asymmetric folds (for example,
anticlines and
synclines) that dip gently towards the west. These same folds, involving strata that overlie the Shawangunk Conglomerate, are exposed north of Shawangunk Ridge in the
Rosendale natural cement region, where they can be directly examined in abandoned cement mines. Strata along the eastern margin of Shawangunk Ridge are truncated by erosion, resulting in the prominent cliffs characteristic of Shawangunk Ridge. The Shawangunk Conglomerate is very hard and resistant to weathering; whereas the underlying shale erodes relatively easily. Thus, the quartz conglomerate forms cliffs and
talus slopes, particularly along the eastern margin of the ridge.
The entire ridge was glaciated during the last (Wisconsin)
glaciation, which scoured the ridges, left pockets of
till, and dumped talus (blocks of rock) off the east side of the ridge. On top of the ridge, the soils are generally thin, highly acidic, low in nutrients, and droughty, but in depressions and other areas where water is trapped by the bedrock or till, there are interspersed lakes and
wetland areas. Soils on top of shale are thicker, less acidic, and more fertile. Topography on the top of the northern Shawangunks is irregular due to a series of faults that form secondary plateaus and escarpments.
Ice Caves
Ice caves are deep fissures in the conglomerate bedrock that retain ice through much of the summer, resulting in a cool microenvironment that supports several northern species such as
black spruce, hemlock,
rowan, and
creeping snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula), and
bryophytes such as Isopterygium distichaceum. These ice caves are concentrated near
Sam's Point in the northern Shawangunks. Larger limestone caverns occur along the lower slopes of the Rondout and Delaware River valleys.
Lakes and wetlands occur mostly on the flat-topped ridges at the northern and southern ends of the area and, to a lesser extent, along the western side of the middle part of the ridge. Lakes and ponds occurring on conglomerate tend to be clear, nutrient-poor, and very acidic, due to limited buffering capacity of the bedrock. The northern Shawangunks have five lakes, the "sky lakes," which are, from north to south: Mohonk Lake, Lake Minnewaska, Lake Awosting, Mud Pond, and Lake Maratanza. The pH in four of the lakes averages about 4 (very acidic); Lake Mohonk, which partially overlays shale bedrock and is therefore partially buffered, is closer to neutral pH (7.0).
Public Lands and Preserves
The Shawangunks contain mostly private land as well as land owned by the
Mohonk Preserve,
Minnewaska State Park Preserve and
Sam's Point Preserve with more than 100 miles of hiking trails and several climbing areas. The
Long Path long-distance hiking trail follows the ridge from Sullivan County to the vicinity of
Kerhonkson; south of it the Shawangunk Ridge Trail connects to the
Appalachian Trail near
High Point.
There are also many waterfalls in the Shawangunk region, like
VerKeerderkill falls and
Awosting Falls. The Shawangunks is also known for having some of the best
rock climbing in the
Northeast.
In
2004, a luxury development plan for buildings has threatened the ridge line, and as a result a grassroots "Save the Ridge" campaign has become extremely popular in the area. In 2006 a court ordered the sale of property by the private owner to settle a case brought on by the developer. The Open Space Institute of NY purchased the land and has signed it over to Minnewaska State Park Preserve.
The Trust for Public Land and Open Space Institute actually agreed to purchase the land for $17 million dollars. At closing, however, the contract was assigned and title was taken in the name of the Palisades Interstate Parkway Commission, a federally chartered commission, although the funds for the purchase apparently came from the New York state Environmental Protection Fund.
Climbing in the Gunks
Climbing in the Shawangunks has historically been centered around four major cliffs:
Millbrook, the
Near Trapps,
The Trapps, and
Skytop. Of these four,
The Trapps is the longest and the most popular, with the largest number of
climbing routes. The
Near Trapps is located immediately across Route 44/55 from
The Trapps, and is second in popularity.
Millbrook mountain, the most southerly cliff, is the most remote, and sees the least climbing activity. Rock climbing is currently banned at
Skytop, which is owned by the
Mohonk Mountain House. In the beginning of 2007 it was announced that guided climbing would be possible at Skytop for Mohonk Mountain House guests. Rock climbing is allowed by permit at the
Peter’s Kill area, a minor crag with good
bouldering and
top roping opportunities. There are numerous other minor crags in the area, but local consensus is to keep them undocumented except by
oral tradition.
The height of the cliff varies along the ridgeline, to a maximum of some 300
feet. The average height is around 150 feet. Descent is achieved either by walking along a footpath at the top of the cliff, or by
rappelling from fixed
anchors. Climbing activity goes on year round, but is most popular (and comfortable) from April through November.
Technical rock climbing has been going on in the Gunks since 1935, when the area was “discovered” by
Fritz Wiessner.
Hans Kraus, along with Wiessner, dominated the local climbing scene until the 1950s. There is a rich history of climbing in the Shawangunks, which includes the conservative
Appalachian Mountain Club, the drug- and alcohol-fueled antics of the
Vulgarians (a group led by guidebook author Richard Williams that opposed the licensing of climbers and engaged in outrageous behavior, including climbing nude), and many colorful personalities. The area has historically often been at the leading edge of elite rock climbing; today it's better known for its large number of high quality moderate climbing routes.
There are roughly 1200 documented climbing routes in the Gunks, ranging in difficulty from
5.0 to
5.13. The area is considered a
traditional climbing area; since 1988 the
Mohonk Preserve has banned the placement of
bolts, and
pitons (although bolts and pitons that were placed prior to the ban are still used and are allowed to be replaced) as well as formally forbidding the chipping or glueing of holds or cutting trees. The Gunks is probably the most popular single climbing area in the United States, with some 50,000 technical climbers visiting the area each year.
Further Information
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