96-464: Harstine Island (also known simply as Harstine or Hartstene ) is an island in Mason County, Washington , United States . The US Census recognizes it as an unincorporated community . The island is located west of Case Inlet in southern Puget Sound , 16 km (9.9 mi) north of Olympia . It has a land area of 48.305 km (18.651 sq mi), and had a population of 1,412 as of
192-404: A ferry owned and operated by Mason County, Washington crossed Pickering Passage to link Harstine Island to the mainland. The ferry was replaced by a bridge in 1969. For most of the island's history, there wasn't a single standard spelling of its name. Even today, several different spellings are used. Of the several possible ways to spell the name of the island, Hartstene and Harstine are
288-451: A "commuting" distance to an island that has enough resources to be sustainable. The presence of an island is marked by seabirds , differences in cloud and weather patterns, as well as changes in the direction of waves. It is also possible for human populations to have gone extinct on islands, evidenced by explorers finding islands that show evidence of habitation but no life. Not all islands were or are inhabited by maritime cultures. In
384-514: A "rafting event". This phenomenon is known as oceanic dispersal . Tropical storms have the capacity to transport species over great distances. Animals like tortoises can live for weeks without food or water, and are able to survive floating on debris in the sea. One case study showed that in 1995, fifteen iguanas survived a 300 km journey to Anguilla in the Caribbean , an island which no iguana had lived on previously. They survived floating on
480-539: A Civil War photo of him labeled "Capt. Hartstein". He, his wife, and daughter were each listed as Hartstein on the passenger list of the steamer Fulton , the ship that took them to Le Havre , France in 1867, the year before he died. However, his obituary in 1868, his daughter's in 1880, and his wife's in 1903, all used Hartstene. Since map makers knew the island was named after him, they followed suit. The United States General Land Office 's official map changed from Hartstein to Hartstene between 1883 and 1887. Many maps from
576-548: A bridge was constructed, the island was served by the Harstine Island ferry . The cost in 1962 was 50¢ (fifty cents) for car and passengers. The Bridge dedication was held on June 22, 1969, starting at 2 pm. The Harstine Island Community Hall , built in the early 20th century, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from
672-692: A continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics , and oceanic islands, which have never been part of a continent. Oceanic islands can be formed from volcanic activity, grow into atolls from coral reefs , and form from sediment along shorelines, creating barrier islands . River islands can also form from sediment and debris in rivers. Artificial islands are those made by humans, including small rocky outcroppings built out of lagoons and large-scale land reclamation projects used for development. Islands are host to diverse plant and animal life. Oceanic islands have
768-426: A detailed review of 1,288 islands found that they were home to 1,189 highly-threatened vertebrate species, which was 41 percent of the global figure. Coral bleaching is expected to occur with more frequency, threatening marine ecosystems, some of which island economies are dependent on. Some islands that are low-lying may cease to exist given high enough amounts of sea level rise. Tuvalu received media attention for
864-614: A few meters high, and are usually temporary. Changes in the flow speed, water level, and sediment content of the river may effect the rate of fluvial island formation and depletion. Permanent river islands also exist, the largest of which (that is completely inland) is Bananal Island in the Tocantins of Brazil, which has a maximum width of 55 kilometers. Lakes form for a variety of reasons, including glaciers , plate tectonics, and volcanism. Lake islands can form as part of these processes. The field of insular biogeography studies
960-698: A group of ships led by commanding officer, U.S. Navy Lt. Charles Wilkes (1798–1877) and referred to as the Wilkes Expedition or the United States Exploring Expedition left from Hampton Roads in Virginia on the east coast of United States for a round the world expedition. In 1841 the expedition explored much of the west coast including Puget Sound . The island was named by Lt. Wilkes for Lt. Henry J. Hartstene ~1801–March 31, 1868. (or Hartstein). From 1922 to 1969,
1056-402: A higher carrying capacity also have more genetic diversity , which promotes speciation . Oceanic islands, ones that have never been connected to shore, are only populated by life that can cross the sea. This means that any animals present on the island had to have flown there, in the case of birds or bats , were carried by such animals, or were carried in a sea current in what is known as
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#17327983397191152-573: A large underwater reef on the New Jersey side of the harbor. The reef was historically one of the largest oyster beds in the world and provided a staple for the diet of all classes of citizens both locally and regionally until the end of the 19th century, when the beds succumbed to pollution. Historically, it has played an extremely important role in the commerce of the New York metropolitan area . The Statue of Liberty National Monument recalls
1248-477: A loss of almost all the infrastructure in Dominica. Sea level rise and other climate changes can reduce freshwater reserves, resulting in droughts . These risks are expected to decrease the habitability of islands, especially small ones. Beyond risks to human life, plant and animal life are threatened. It has been estimated that almost 50 percent of land species threatened by extinction live on islands. In 2017,
1344-403: A mass of uprooted trees from a storm. Plant species are thought to be able to travel great distances of ocean. New Zealand and Australia share 200 native plant species, despite being separated by 1500 km. Continental islands, islands that were at one point connected to a continent, are expected to share a common history of plant and animal life up until the point that the island broke away from
1440-837: A minimum. Some islands became host to humans due to a land bridge or a continental island splitting from the mainland. Today, up to 10% of the world's population lives on islands. Islands are popular targets for tourism due to their perceived natural beauty, isolation, and unique cultures. Islands became the target of colonization by Europeans, resulting in the majority of islands in the Pacific being put under European control. Decolonization has resulted in some but not all island nations becoming self-governing , with lasting effects related to industrialisation , invasive species , nuclear weapons testing , and tourism . Islands and island countries are threatened by climate change . Sea level rise threatens to submerge nations such as Maldives ,
1536-743: A minority. Cultural attitudes related to communal ownership of land as well as a lack of individualistic decision-making may make some island cultures less compatible with the global capitalist economy, causing these nations to experience less economic growth. Islands have long been a popular target for tourism , thanks to their unique climates, cultures, and natural beauty. However, islands may suffer from poor transportation connectivity from airplanes and boats and strains on infrastructure from tourist activity. Islands in colder climates often rely on seasonal tourists seeking to enjoy nature or local cultures, and may only be one aspect of an island's economy. In contrast, tourism on tropical islands can often make up
1632-613: A permanent caisson , a steel or concrete structure built in a closed loop and then filled with sand. Some modern islands have been constructed by pouring millions of tons of sand into the sea, such as with Pearl Island in Qatar or the Palm Islands in Dubai. These islands are usually created for real estate development , and are sold for private ownership or construction of housing. Offshore oil platforms have also been described as
1728-524: A phenomenon where new oceanic crust is formed, pushing away older crust. Islands sitting on the continental shelf may be called continental islands. Other islands, like those that make up New Zealand , are what remains of continents that shrank and sunk beneath the sea. It was estimated that Zealandia , the continent-like area of crust that New Zealand sits on, has had 93% of its original surface area submerged. Some islands are formed when coral reefs grow on volcanic islands that have submerged beneath
1824-423: A press conference publicizing the ongoing submerging of the island country. Tuvalu signed a cooperation agreement with Australia agreeing to annually allow 280 of its citizens to become permanent residents of Australia. The Marshall Islands, a country of 1,156 islands, have also been identified as a country that may be existentially threatened by rising seas. Increasing intensity of tropical storms also increases
1920-483: A priority target of conservation efforts, to prevent the extinction of these species. Despite high levels of endemism, the total species richness , the total number of unique species in a region, is lower on islands than on mainlands. The level of species richness on islands is proportional to the area of that island, a phenomenon known as the species-area relationship . This is because larger areas have more resources and thus can support more organisms. Populations with
2016-411: A restricted set of natural resources. However, these nations control some of the largest fisheries in the world, deposits of copper , gold , and nickel , as well as oil deposits . The natural beauty of island nations also makes them a magnet for tourism . Islands also have geopolitical value for naval bases , weapons testing , and general territorial control. One such example is French Polynesia ,
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#17327983397192112-476: A selection pressure for smaller animals that require less food. Having fewer predators would mean these animals did not need not be large to survive. Charles Darwin formulated the theory of natural selection through the study of island ecology. The species he observed on the Galápagos Islands , including tanager birds, contributed to his understanding of how evolution works. He first traveled to
2208-509: A specific property known as adaptive radiation . In this process, a species that arrives on a group of islands rapidly becomes more diverse over time, splitting off into new species or subspecies. A species that reaches an island ecosystem may face little competition for resources, or may find that the resources that they found in their previous habitat are not available. These factors together result in individual evolutionary branches with different means of survival. The classical example of this
2304-414: A territory that receives substantial military expenditure and aid from France. Since the first discoveries of Polynesian, Micronesian , and other islands by Westerners, these nations have been the subject of colonization. Islands were the target of Christian missionaries . These missionaries faced resistance, but found success when some local chiefs used European support to centralize power. Beginning in
2400-519: A tree that is present in Australia, New Zealand, parts of South American, and New Guinea, places that today are geographically distant. A possible explanation for this phenomenon is that these landmasses were once all part of the continent Gondwana and separated by tectonic drift. However, there are competing theories that suggest this species may have reached faraway places by way of oceanic dispersal. Species that colonize island archipelagos exhibit
2496-616: A type of island. Some atolls have been covered in concrete to create artificial islands for military purposes, such as those created by China in the South China Sea . These atolls were previously low-tide elevations, landmasses that are only above water during low tide . The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea indicates that these islands may not have the same legal status as a naturally occurring island, and as such may not confer
2592-515: Is Darwin's finches , a group of up to fifteen tanager species that are endemic to the Galápagos Islands. These birds evolved different beaks in order to eat different kinds of food available on the islands. The large ground finch has a large bill used to crack seeds and eat fruit. The Genovesa cactus finch prefers cacti as a food source, and has a beak adapted for removing pulp and flowers from cacti. The green warbler-finch (in
2688-598: Is actually a cognate of Swedish ö and German Aue , and more distantly related to Latin aqua (water). The spelling of the word was modified in the 15th century because of a false etymology caused by an association with the Old French loanword isle , which itself comes from the Latin word insula . Islands often are found in archipelagos or island chains, which are collections of islands. These chains are thought to form from volcanic hotspots , areas of
2784-780: Is connected to Lower New York Bay by the Narrows , to Newark Bay by the Kill Van Kull , and to Long Island Sound by the East River , which, despite its name, is actually a tidal strait . It provides the main passage for the waters of the Hudson River as it empties through the Narrows. The channel of the Hudson as it passes through the harbor is called the Anchorage Channel and is approximately 50 feet deep in
2880-725: Is enclosed by the New York City boroughs of Manhattan , Brooklyn , and Staten Island and the Hudson County, New Jersey municipalities of Jersey City and Bayonne . The name may also refer to the entirety of New York Bay including Lower New York Bay . The harbor is fed by the waters of the Hudson River (historically called the North River as it passes Manhattan ), as well as the Gowanus Canal . It
2976-813: Is held that the Gambino crime family controlled the New York waterfront and the Genovese crime family controlled the New Jersey side. In 1984 the Teamsters local was put under Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) trusteeship, and in 2005 a similar suit was brought against the International Longshoremen's Association local. In March 2006, the Port passenger facility
Harstine Island, Washington - Misplaced Pages Continue
3072-409: Is much healthier than it was 30 years ago." The Port of New York and New Jersey is the largest oil importing port and third largest container port in the nation. The commercial activity of the port of New York City, including the waterfronts of the five boroughs and nearby cities in New Jersey, since 1921 has been formalized under a single bi-state Port Authority of New York and New Jersey . Since
3168-503: Is the apple snail , initially introduced to the U.S. by aquarium owners. It has since been transported by hurricanes across the Gulf Coast and neighboring islands. These species compete for resources with native animals, and some may grow so densely that they displace other forms of existing life. For hundreds of years, islands have been created through land reclamation . One of the first recorded instances of this when people of
3264-634: Is the giant tortoise of the Seychelles , though it is unknown if it grew in size before or after reaching the island. Larger animals such as the hippopotamus tend to become smaller, such as in the case of the pygmy hippopotamus . This is known as insular dwarfism . In the case of smaller animals, it has been hypothesized that animals on islands may have fewer predators and competitors, resulting in selection pressure towards larger animals. Larger animals may exhaust food resources quickly due to their size, causing malnutrition in their young, resulting in
3360-476: Is the U.S. Customs "green lane" program, in which trusted shippers have fewer containers inspected, providing easier access for contraband material. The water quality in New York Harbor has been affected by centuries of shipping activity, industrial development and urbanization . Water pollution from these sources has been a constant phenomenon, although there have been improvements in some areas of
3456-537: The 2010 census . Pickering Passage , to the northwest, separates the island from the mainland, while Case Inlet, to the east, separates it from the Key Peninsula . Squaxin Island lies to the southwest, separated by Peale Passage . To the south, Harstine Island is separated from the mainland by Dana Passage . The island is home to Jarrell Cove State Park and Harstine Island State Park . On August 18, 1838
3552-542: The Atlantic Ocean in search of an alternate route to the East Indies . These historians theorize that successful explorers were rewarded with recognition and wealth, leading others to attempt possibly dangerous expeditions to discover more islands, usually with poor results. About 10% of the world's population lives on islands. The study of the culture of islands is known as island studies . The interest in
3648-577: The Marshall Islands , and Tuvalu completely. Increases in the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones can cause widespread destruction of infrastructure and animal habitats. Species that live exclusively on islands are some of those most threatened by extinction . An island is an area of land surrounded by water on all sides that is distinct from a continent. There is no standard of size that distinguishes islands and continents . Continents have an accepted geological definition – they are
3744-531: The New York Times digitized all of their newspaper articles since 1851, there are indexed photos of various spellings of the Harstine name, most as "Harstein" and none as "Harstine". Five of the instances of Hartstene came after his death : Harstine Island is not served by any railways or highways, but only by local county roads. The nearest state highway to the island is State Route 3 . Before
3840-507: The Polynesians . Many of the previous island settlements required traveling distances of less than 100 km (62 mi), whereas Polynesians may have traveled 2,000–3,200 km (1,200–2,000 mi) to settle islands such as Tahiti . They would send navigators to sail the ocean without the aid of navigational instruments to discover new islands for settlement. Between 1100 and 800 BC, Polynesians sailed East from New Guinea and
3936-891: The Solomon Islands and reached the islands that make up the modern-day Fiji and Samoa . The furthest extent of this migration would be Easter Island in the East, and New Zealand in the South, with New Zealand's first settlements between 1250 and 1300. Historians have sought to understand why some remote islands have always been uninhabited, while others, especially in the Pacific Ocean , have long been populated by humans. Generally, larger islands are more likely to be able to sustain humans and thus are more likely to have been settled. Small islands that cannot sustain populations on their own can still be habitable if they are within
Harstine Island, Washington - Misplaced Pages Continue
4032-499: The Solomon Islands created eighty such islands by piling coral and rock in the Lau Lagoon . One traditional way of constructing islands is with the use of a revetment . Sandbags or stones are dropped with a barge into the sea to bring the land level slightly out of the water. The island area is then filled with sand or gravel, followed by a construction of this revetment to hold it together. Islands have also been constructed with
4128-414: The lithosphere where the mantle is hotter than the surrounding area. These hotspots would give rise to volcanoes whose lava would form the rock the islands are made of. For some islands, the movement of tectonic plates above stationary hotspots would form islands in a linear chain, with the islands further away from the hotspot being progressively older and more eroded , before disappearing under
4224-450: The sea as a natural barrier to the introduction of new species, causing the species that do reach the island to evolve in isolation. Continental islands share animal and plant life with the continent they split from. Depending on how long ago the continental island formed, the life on that island may have diverged greatly from the mainland due to natural selection . Humans have lived on and traveled between islands for thousands of years at
4320-537: The 16th century, European states placed most of Oceania in under colonial administration . Pohnpei was colonized by Spain as early as 1526. It changed hands from Germany to Japan to the United States before joining the Federated States of Micronesia in 1982, maintaining a "free association" status with the U.S. Guam was a Spanish territory until 1898, and now is a unincorporated territory of
4416-496: The 1860s and throughout the 20th century used Hartstene. The Hartstine spelling appeared on a few maps in the 1890s, followed by Harstine in the early 1900s. The post office on the north side of the island that operated from 1892-1926 was probably always called 'Harstine Island', but who first used that spelling is unknown. The Captain's family lived in Newark, NJ most of his life, and his ships often sailed out of New York Harbor . As
4512-672: The 1950s, the New York and Brooklyn commercial port has been almost completely eclipsed by the container ship facility at nearby Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal in Newark Bay , which is the largest such port on the Eastern Seaboard . The port has diminished in importance to passenger travel, but the Port Authority operates all three major airports, La Guardia (built 1939) and JFK/Idlewild (built 1948) in New York, and Newark (built 1928) in New Jersey. The harbor
4608-454: The Arctic expedition he led in 1855. Most maps from the 1840s to the 1890s spelled the island 'Hartstein'. In the 1850s, Lt. Hartstene began using the 'Hartstene' spelling. His biography was listed in a book published in 1994 called The Concise Dictionary of American Jewish Biography without confirmation of that he had Jewish heritage. The authors admit they included some of the 24,000 people in
4704-684: The German navy's Operation Drumbeat set the top U-boat aces loose against the merchant fleet in U.S. territorial waters in January 1942, starting the Second happy time . The U-boat captains were able to silhouette target ships against the glow of city lights, and attacked with relative impunity, in spite of U.S. naval concentrations within the Harbor. Casualties included the tankers Coimbria off Sandy Hook and Norness off Long Island. New York Harbor, as
4800-499: The Harbor and explored a stretch of the river that now bears his name. His journey prompted others to explore the region and engage in trade with the local population. The first permanent European settlement was started on Governors Island in 1624, and in Brooklyn eight years after that; soon these were connected by ferry operation. The colonial Dutch Director-General of New Netherland , Peter Stuyvesant , ordered construction of
4896-511: The Hawaiian islands being home to irrigated fields of taro, whereas in some islands, like Tahiti, breadfruit was more widely cultivated and fermented in order to preserve it. There is archeological evidence that Canary Islanders would chew the roots of ferns for sustenance, a practice that wore heavily on their molars . These islanders would also grow barley and raised livestock such as goats . Many island nations have little land and
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#17327983397194992-464: The Narrows , the strait between Staten Island and Long Island that connects the Upper and Lower New York Bay , where he received a canoe party of Lenape. A party of his sailors may have taken on fresh water at a spring called "the watering place" on Staten Island—a monument stands in a tiny park on the corner of Bay Street and Victory Boulevard at the approximate spot—but Verrazzano's descriptions of
5088-682: The Origin of Species . The first evidence of humans colonizing islands probably occurred in the Paleolithic era, 100,000 to 200,000 years ago. Reaching the Indonesian islands of Flores and Timor would have required crossing distances of water of at least 29 km (18 mi). Some islands, such as Honshu , were probably connected to the mainland with a land bridge that allowed humans to colonize it before it became an island. The first people to colonize distant oceanic islands were
5184-686: The Staten Island shore. Liberty State Park opened in 1976. In recent years, it has become a popular site for recreation sailing and kayaking . The harbor is traversed by the Staten Island Ferry , which runs between Whitehall Street at the southernmost tip of Manhattan near Battery Park ( South Ferry ) and St. George Ferry Terminal on Richmond Terrace in Staten Island near Richmond County Borough Hall and Richmond County Supreme Court. NY Waterway operates routes across
5280-481: The U.S. The decolonization era saw many island states achieve independence or some form of self-governance . Nuclear weapons testing on the Marshall Islands left many atolls destroyed or uninhabitable, causing the forced displacement of people from their home islands as well as increases in cancer rates due to radiation . Colonization has resulted in a decline of observance of traditional cultural practices in places such as Hawaii, where Native Hawaiians are now
5376-666: The amusement parks in Coney Island , Brooklyn , and the Coney Island Light , and Sandy Hook Lighthouse . The Harbor reached its peak activity in March 1943 during World War II, with 543 ships at anchor awaiting assignment to convoy or berthing (with as many as 426 seagoing vessel already at one of the 750 piers or docks). Eleven hundred warehouses with nearly 1.5 square miles (3.9 km ) of enclosed space served freight along with 575 tugboats and 39 active shipyards ,
5472-450: The bay and through The Narrows to locations near Sandy Hook . The harbor supports a very diverse population of marine species, allowing for recreational fishing, most commonly for striped bass and bluefish. The original population of the 16th century New York Harbor, the Lenape , used the waterways for fishing and travel. In 1524 Giovanni da Verrazzano anchored in what is now called
5568-469: The book because they had Jewish-sounding names. The family began effort to use the spelling 'Hartstene' from then on in conjunction with his notoriety gained in the 1850s due to his Arctic expedition, and then sailing HMS Resolute to the United Kingdom and presenting it personally to Queen Victoria in 1856, he used it almost exclusively. There's a photo of him autographed 'H.J. Hartstene' and
5664-406: The continent. For example, the presence of freshwater fish on an island surrounded by ocean would indicate that it once was attached to a continent, since these fish cannot traverse the ocean on their own. Over the course of time, evolution and extinction changes the nature of animal life on a continental island, but only once it splits from the mainland. An example is that of the southern beech ,
5760-451: The deposition of sediment by waves . These islands erode and grow as the wind and waves shift. Barrier islands have the effect of protecting coastal areas from severe weather because they absorb some of the energy of large waves before they can reach the shore. A fluvial island is an island that forms from the erosion and sedimentation of debris in rivers; almost all rivers have some form of fluvial islands. These islands may only be
5856-426: The distances and frequency with which invasive species may be transported to islands. Floodwaters from these storms may also wash plants further inland than they would travel on their own, introducing them to new habitats. Agriculture and trade also have introduced non-native life to islands. These processes result in an introduction of invasive species to ecosystems that are especially small and fragile. One example
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#17327983397195952-400: The ecological processes that take place on islands, with a focus on what factors effect the evolution , extinction , and richness of species. Scientists often study islands as an isolated model of how the process of natural selection takes place. Island ecology studies organisms on islands and their environment. It has yielded important insights for its parent field of ecology since
6048-566: The first American drydock was completed on the East River. Because of its location and depth, the Port grew rapidly with the introduction of steamships ; and then with the completion in 1825 of the Erie Canal New York became the most important transshipping port between Europe and the interior of the United States, as well as coastwise destinations. By about 1840, more passengers and a greater tonnage of cargo came through
6144-578: The first engineer in chief. By the turn of the 20th century numerous railroad terminals lined the western banks of the North River (Hudson River) in Hudson County, New Jersey , transporting passengers and freight from all over the United States. The freight was ferried across by the competing railroads with small fleets of towboats , barges, and 323 car floats , specially designed barges with rails so cars could be rolled on. New York subsidized this service which undercut rival ports. Major road improvements allowing for trucking and containerization diminished
6240-399: The first time: I have never seen the bay of Naples , I can therefore make no comparison, but my imagination is incapable of conceiving any thing of the kind more beautiful than the harbour of New York. Various and lovely are the objects which meet the eye on every side, but the naming them would only be to give a list of words, without conveying the faintest idea of the scene. I doubt if ever
6336-571: The first wharf on the Manhattan bank of the lower East River sheltered from winds and ice, which was completed late in 1648 and called Schreyers Hook Dock (near what is now Pearl and Broad Streets). This prepared New York as a leading port for the British colonies and then within the newly independent United States . In 1686, the British colonial officials gave the municipality control over
6432-432: The geography of the area are a bit ambiguous. It is fairly firmly held by historians that his ship anchored at the approximate location of the modern Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge 's approach viaduct in Brooklyn. He also observed what he believed to be a large freshwater lake to the north (apparently Upper New York Bay). He apparently did not travel north to observe the existence of the Hudson River. In 1609 Henry Hudson entered
6528-502: The habit of true warbler species) consumes spiders and insects that live on plants. Other examples of this phenomenon exist worldwide, including in Hawaii and Madagascar, and are not limited to island ecosystems. Species endemic to islands show a common evolutionary trajectory. Foster's rule (also known as the island rule), states that small mammals such as rodents evolve to become larger, known as island gigantism . One such example
6624-577: The harbor complex in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. A 2019 study of the harbor identifies water quality trends in nine regions of the harbor, using data collected during 1996 to 2017. The Lower New York Bay region has the highest quality, due to frequent exchange of water with the Atlantic Ocean. The poorest regions are those with limited exchange of water flows: Newtown Creek , Flushing Bay and Jamaica Bay . High levels of nutrient pollution (nitrogen and phosphorus) were observed throughout
6720-472: The harbor even at slack tide. Gedney's Channel, as it came to be called, was also shorter than the previous channel, another benefit appreciated by the ship owners and the merchants they sold to. Gedney received the praise of the city, as well as an expensive silver service . In her 1832 book Domestic Manners of the Americans , Fanny Trollope wrote of her impressions upon entering New York Harbor for
6816-455: The huge sandbar, which was interrupted in a number of places by channels of fairly shallow depth: 21 feet (6.4 m) at low tide and 33 feet (10 m) at high tide. Because of the difficulty of the navigation required, since 1694, New York had required all ships to be guided into the harbor by an experienced pilot. The new channel Gedney discovered was 2 feet (0.61 m) deeper, enough of an added margin that fully laden ships could come into
6912-582: The immigrant experience during the late 19th and early 20th century. Since the 1950s, container ship traffic has been primarily routed through the Kill Van Kull to Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal , where it is consolidated for easier automated transfer to land conveyance. As a consequence, the waterfront industries of the Harbor experienced a decline leading to diverse plans for revitalization, though important maritime uses remain at Red Hook , Port Jersey , MOTBY , Constable Hook , and parts of
7008-457: The islands as a naturalist on HMS Beagle in 1835, as part of a five-year circumnavigation of Earth. He wrote that "the different islands to a considerable extent are inhabited by a different set of beings". Through the study of the finches and other animals he realized that organisms survive by changing to adapt to their habitat. It would be over twenty years before he published his theories in On
7104-477: The islands probably because they impressed Lt. Wilkes when they led a successful mission to get supplies to stranded shipmates earlier in the voyage while Wilkes had temporary command of Hartstein's ship, the Porpoise . Some of the confusion with spellings were caused by the man himself. When Lt. Hartstene's name was published before 1855, the 'Hartstein' spelling was used, including the account he wrote himself of
7200-643: The largest landmass of a particular tectonic plate . Islands can occur in any body of water, including lakes , rivers , seas . Low-tide elevations , areas of land that are not above the surface during a high tide , are generally not considered islands. Islands that have been bridged or otherwise joined to a mainland with land reclamation are sometimes considered "de-islanded", but not in every case. The word island derives from Middle English iland , from Old English igland (from ig or ieg , similarly meaning 'island' when used independently, and -land carrying its contemporary meaning. Old English ieg
7296-469: The largest being Brooklyn Navy Yard . With a large inventory of heavy equipment, this made New York Harbor the busiest in the world. Deterrence and investigation of criminal activity, especially relating to organized crime, is the responsibility of the bi-state Waterfront Commission . The commission was set up in 1953 (a year before the movie On the Waterfront ), to combat labor racketeering . It
7392-404: The mainland, they had no need for boats. The motivation for island exploration has been the subject of research and debate. Some early historians previously argued that early island colonization was unintentional, perhaps by a raft being swept out to sea. Others compare the motivations of Polynesian and similar explorers with those of Christopher Columbus , the explorer who sailed westward over
7488-588: The major convoy embarkation point for the U.S., was effectively a staging area in the Battle of the Atlantic , with the U.S. Merchant Marine losses of 1 of 26 mariners, a rate exceeding those of the other U.S. forces. Bright city lights made it easier for German U-boats to spot targets at night, but local officials resisted suggestions that they follow London 's lead and blackout the lights of coastal cities. However, some lights were darkened, including those of
7584-589: The majority of the local economy and built environment . These islands sometimes also require consistent foreign aid on top of tourism in order to ensure economic growth. This reliance can result in social inequality and environmental degradation . During tourism downturns, these economies struggle to make up the lost inflow of cash with other industries. Climate change threatens human development on islands due to sea level rise , more dangerous tropical cyclones , coral bleaching , and an increase in invasive species . For example, in 2017 Hurricane Maria caused
7680-458: The midpoint of the harbor. A project to replace two water mains between Brooklyn and Staten Island, which will eventually allow for dredging of the channel to nearly 100 feet (30 m), was begun in April 2012. The harbor contains several islands including Governors Island , near the mouth of the East River, as well Ellis Island , Liberty Island , and Robbins Reef which are supported by
7776-460: The most used and most popular. Alternate spellings of the name include Hartstene, Harsteen, Harstein, Harstene, Hartstein and Harstine. In 1997 Washington State Legislative action resulted in the name officially becoming Harstine Island. Although Lt. Henry J. Hartstene wasn't a member of the expedition during the Puget Sound survey, his name, as well as that of Samuel Stretch, were given to
7872-427: The nearby main port of entry at Ellis Island processed 12 million arrivals from 1892 to 1954. The Statue of Liberty National Monument , encompassing both islands, recalls the period of massive immigration to the United States at the turn of the 20th century While many stayed in the region, others spread across America, with more than 10 million leaving from the nearby Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal . After
7968-504: The need. The harbor saw major federal investment at the end of the century when Congress passed the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 . Over $ 1.2 million of initial funding was appropriated for the dredging of 40-foot-deep (12.2 m) channels at Bay Ridge , Red Hook , and Sandy Hook . The Statue of Liberty ( Liberty Enlightening the World ) stands on Liberty Island in the harbor, while
8064-529: The past, some societies were found to have lost their seafaring ability over time, such as the case of the Canary Islands , which were occupied by an indigenous people since the island's first discovery in the first century until being conquered by the Spanish Empire in 1496. It has been hypothesized that since the inhabitants had little incentive for trade and had little to any contact with
8160-411: The pencil of Turner could do it justice, bright and glorious as it rose upon us. We seemed to enter the harbour of New York upon waves of liquid gold, and as we darted past the green isles which rise from its bosom, like guardian centinels of the fair city, the setting sun stretched his horizontal beams farther and farther at each moment, as if to point out to us some new glory in the landscape. In 1824
8256-587: The port of New York than all other major harbors in the country combined and by 1900 it was one of the great international ports. The Morris Canal carried anthracite and freight from Pennsylvania through New Jersey to its terminus at the mouth of the Hudson in Jersey City . Portions in the harbor are now part of Liberty State Park . In 1870, the city established the Department of Docks to systematize waterfront development, with George B. McClellan as
8352-606: The same legal rights. New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay and an extremely small portion of the Lower Bay . It is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York/New Jersey Bight near the East River tidal estuary , and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the East Coast of the United States . New York Harbor is also known as Upper New York Bay , which
8448-789: The sea entirely. An example is the Hawaiian Islands , with the oldest island being 25 million years old, and the youngest, Hawaii , still being an active volcano . However, not all island chains are formed this way. Some may be formed all at once by fractures in the tectonic plates themselves, simultaneously creating multiple islands. One supporting piece of evidence is that of the Line Islands , which are all estimated to be 8 million years old, rather than being different ages. Other island chains form due to being separated from existing continents. The Japanese archipelago may have been separated from Eurasia due to seafloor spreading ,
8544-549: The study of islands is due to their unique cultures and natural environments that differ from mainland cultures. This is for a few reasons: First, the obvious political and geographic isolation from mainland cultures. Second, unique restraints on resources and ecology creating marine-focused cultures with a focus on fishing and sailing. Third, a lasting historical and political significance of islands. The Polynesian diet got most of its protein from fishing. Polynesians were known to fish close to shore, as well as in deep water. It
8640-450: The surface. When these coral islands encircle a central lagoon , the island is known as an atoll . The formation of reefs and islands related to those reefs is aided by the buildup of sediment in shallow patches of water. In some cases, tectonic movements lifting a reef out of the water by as little as 1 meter can cause sediment to accumulate and an island to form. Barrier islands are long, sandy bars that form along shorelines due to
8736-438: The time of Charles Darwin . In biology, endemism is defined as the phenomenon where species or genus is only found in a certain geographical area. Islands isolate land organisms from others with water, and isolate aquatic organisms living on them with land. Island ecosystems have the highest rates of endemism globally. This means that islands contribute heavily to global biodiversity . Areas with high lives of biodiversity are
8832-486: The various harbor regions, although there has been a general lowering trend in total nitrogen, and some other indicator parameters show improvements. The implementation of the Clean Water Act and related pollution control laws, along with cleanup programs and conservation measures throughout the region, have begun to yield some improvements since the 1970s. The study authors state that "the New York Harbor ecosystem
8928-545: The war, the 1919 New York City Harbor Strike by the Marine Workers Union shut down the port for weeks. It started on January 9 and was paused on January 13 for arbitration. The strike resumed March 4 after workers rejected the War Board labor ruling and ended on April 20, 1919 after new terms had been offered by both public and private port employers. After the United States entered World War II ,
9024-660: The waterfront. In 1835, Lieutenant Thomas Gedney of the Survey of the Coast (renamed the United States Coast Survey in 1836 and the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1878) discovered a new, deeper channel through the Narrows into New York Harbor. Previously, the passage was complex and shallow enough that loaded ships would wait outside the harbor until high tide, to avoid running into
9120-470: Was reported that Rapa Nui people were known to fish as far as 500 km (310 mi) from shore at coral reefs. Spear , line , and net fishing were all used, to catch tuna as well as sharks and stingrays . Island cultures also cultivate native and non-native crops. Polynesians grew the native yam , taro , breadfruit , banana , coconut and other fruits and vegetables. Different island climates made different resources more important, such as
9216-536: Was to be transferred to Dubai Ports World . There was considerable security controversy over the ownership by a foreign corporation, particularly Arabic, of a U.S. port operation, this in spite of the fact the current operator was the British-based P&;O Ports , and the fact that Orient Overseas Investment Limited , a company dominated by a Chinese Communist official, has the operating contract for Howland Hook Marine Terminal . An additional concern
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