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{{Short description|Estuary in northeastern New Jersey, US}}{{For|the bay on the island of South Georgia|Newark Bay (South Georgia)}}

factoids

| type = Bay| pushpin_map = USA New Jersey Hudson County#New Jersey#USA }}Newark Bay is a tidal bay at the confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers in northeastern New Jersey. It is home to the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, the largest container shipping facility in Port of New York and New Jersey, the second busiest in the United States. An estuary, it is periodically dredged to accommodate seafaring ships.

Geography

File:Bayon Bridge Map.png|thumb|Newark Bay is entered by passing under the Bayonne BridgeBayonne BridgeNewark Bay is rectangular, approximately {{convert|5.5|mi}} long, varying in width from {{convert|0.6|to|1.2|mi}}.WEB,weblink US Army Corps of Engineers: Newark Bay, 2010-04-18,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100528035521weblink">weblink 2010-05-28, dead, It is enclosed on the west by the cities of Newark and Elizabeth, and on the east by Jersey City and Bayonne. At the south is Staten Island, New York and at the north Kearny Point and Droyer's Point mark the mouth of the Hackensack. Shooters Island is a bird sanctuary where the borders of Staten Island, Bayonne and Elizabeth meet at one point.BOOK, Hagstrom Map Company, Inc, 978-0-88097-763-0, Hudson County New Jersey Street Map, 2008, The southern tip of Bergen Neck, known as Bergen Point, juts into the bay and lent its name to the former Bergen Point Lighthouse. Built offshore in 1849 it was demolished and replaced with a skeletal tower in the mid 20th century.Bergen Point Lighthouse {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100409013156weblink |date=2010-04-09 }}, 1849-1949, New Jersey Lighthouse Society.The Atlantic Ocean at Sandy Hook and Rockaway Point is approximately {{convert|11|mi}} away and reached by tidal straits dredged to maintain shipping lanes. Newark Bay is connected to Upper New York Bay by the Kill Van Kull and to Raritan Bay by the Arthur Kill. The names of the channels reflect the period of Dutch colonialization. The area around the bay was called Achter Kol, which translates as behind or beyond the ridge and refers to Bergen Hill. The emergence of the Hudson Palisades begins on Bergen Neck, the peninsula between the bay and the Hudson River. Kill in Dutch means stream or channel. During the British colonial era the bay was known as Cull bay.JOURNAL , Kill van Kull literally translates as channel from the ridge. Arthur Kill is an anglicization of achter kill meaning back channel, which would speak to its location behind Staten Island.Many of the maritime and distribution facilities along the bay are part of Foreign Trade Zone 49.WEB,weblink PANYNJ FTZ 49, 2010-04-19, 2019-10-19,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20191019185322weblink">weblink live,

Bridges

File:Bayonne, New Jersey and Staten Island, New York.jpg|thumb|Upper Bay Bridge and Newark Bay Bridge. New Jersey Turnpike and Interstate 78. Oak Island Yard and Port Newark in foreground with Bayonne and Staten Island seen in the distance.]]The bay is spanned by the Vincent R. Casciano Memorial Bridge which carries the Newark Bay Extension (Interstate 78) of the New Jersey Turnpike. The Upper Bay Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge north of the Casciano that is now used by CSX Transportation for freight shipment, including the notable Juice Train. Central Railroad of New Jersey's Newark Bay Bridge crossed the bay from 1864 to connect its Communipaw Terminal. Last used in 1978, it was determined to be a hazard to maritime navigation and demolished in the 1980s.

Shoreline

{{See also|Shooters Island}}

Elizabethport to the Ironbound

File:Elizabeth across Newark Bay.JPG|thumb|The CRRNJ Newark Bay Bridge, demolished in the 1980s, crossed to ElizabethportElizabethport(File:Bergen Point barge tow jeh.JPG|thumb|Bergen Point looking northwest to Elizabeth Marine Terminal)Elizabeth is the site of the first English speaking European settlement (1675) in New Jersey, its port at the southern end of the bay a major maritime hub during the colonial era. Jersey Gardens, an outlet mall, has been located north of Elizabethport since 1999. There are plans to construct a mixed used community adjacent to it along the bay.$2B MXD Planned for Elizabeth Waterfront {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612083517weblink |date=2012-06-12 }}The western edge of Newark Bay was originally shallow tidal wetlands covering approximately {{convert|12|sqmi|km2}}. In the 1910s, the city of Newark began excavating an angled shipping channel in the northeastern quadrant of the wetland which formed the basis of Port Newark.NEWS,weblink The New York Times, TO MAKE NEWARK BAY A BIG PORT; The Jersey Meadow's Being Transformed Into a Busy Spot, with Docks and Reclaimed Land, 27 June 1915, 14 June 2018, 14 February 2022,weblink live, BOOK, French, Kenneth, Images of America:Railroads of Hoboken and Jersey City, Arcadia Publishing, February 24, 2002, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 25–29,weblink November 21, 2009, 978-0-7385-0966-2, July 18, 2011,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110718191114weblink">weblink dead, Work on the channel and terminal facilities on its north side accelerated during World War I, when the federal government took control of Port Newark. During the war there were close to 25,000 troops stationed at the Newark Bay Shipyard.WEB,weblink Newark Bay Shipyard, 2010-04-19, 2009-09-05,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090905211644weblink">weblink live, WEB,weblink Newark Bay Shipyard, 2010-05-03, 2010-02-23,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100223045356weblink">weblink live, The city decided to expand the port at the end of the war.NEWS,weblink The New York Times, THE CITY OF NEWARK TO EXPEND $1,250,000 IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEWARK BAY AS A SEAPORT; Unwilling in Wait Langer for Government Aid the City Authorities Authorize the Issuance of bonds to Provide Funds for Deepening of Channel to Accommodate the Largest Vessels--Plan Endorsed by Business Men, 31 July 1921, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was formed in 1921WEB,weblink of New York and New Jersey, 2010-04-15, 2011-06-11,weblink" title="archive.today/20110611110349weblink">weblink dead, and the Newark Bay Channels were authorized by the Rivers and Harbors Acts in 1922. Shipping operations languished after the war, and in 1927, the City of Newark started construction of Newark Liberty International Airport on the northwest quadrant of the wetlands which lay between Port Newark and the edge of the developed city. Port Authority took over the operations of Port Newark and the Newark Airport in 1948 and began modernizing and expanding both facilities southward. In 1958, the Port Authority dredged another shipping channel which straightened the course of Bound Brook, the tidal inlet forming the boundary between Newark and Elizabeth. Dredged materials was used to create new upland south of the new Elizabeth Channel, where the Port Authority constructed the Elizabeth Marine Terminal. The first shipping facility to open upon the Elizabeth Channel was the new {{convert|90|acre|ha|adj=on}} Sea-Land Container Terminal, which was the prototype for virtually every other container terminal constructed thereafter.WEB,weblink History - Port of New York and New Jersey - Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, 2010-04-17, 2019-10-19,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20191019182427weblink">weblink live, The Ironbound is an industrial area along the bay which becomes residential farther inland near Downtown Newark.

Kearny Point

The Central Railroad of New Jersey first built the Newark and New York Railroad across the rivers and tip of New Barbadoes Neck in 1869. One bridge was taken out of service in 1946 after a ship collided into it. Passenger service on the other bridge, the PD Draw, was discontinued in 1967. The Kearny Point peninsula is site of the River Terminal, a massive distribution facility.WEB,weblink River Terminal, 2010-04-15, 2010-05-18,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100518203618weblink">weblink live, It comprises the former Western Electric Kearny Works and Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, the shipyards of which operated from 1917 to 1949, and played a prominent role in both World War I and World War II.WEB,weblink Kearny Yard, 2010-04-15, 2006-10-31,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20061031161729weblink">weblink live,

Bergen Point to Droyer's Point

While there was some maritime development on the eastern banks of the bay closer Bergen Point most of the eastern shore abuts residential and recreational areas. The Hackensack RiverWalk is a partially completed linear park greenway intended to link the string of parks along its banks and that of the Hackensack River from the Bayonne Bridge to the Hackensack Meadowlands in Secaucus and North Bergen. In Bayonne, much of the bay has not seen bulkhead development, and hence has a natural shoreline. The city's largest parks are its shores.Hackenack Riverwalk Plan proposal 2003 {{webarchive|url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20090910113340weblink |date=2009-09-10 }}Hudson County Master Plan{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} At Droyer's Point recreational and residential development have included a promenade.

Howland Hook

The Howland Hook Marine Terminal is a container port facility located at the northwestern corner of Staten Island at the entrance to the Arthur Kill. Nearby is Port Ivory, named for the Ivory Soap plant once located there.WEB,weblink Ongoing Projects :: Port Ivory, Longleaf Lumber, 2010-04-15, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20101015073736weblink">weblink 2010-10-15, To the east is the residential neighborhood of Mariners Harbor which overlooks the bay. In the first half of the 20th century, Bethlehem Steel maintained a plant which built military transports during World War I and World War II.WEB,weblink Mariners Harbor Shipyard, 2010-05-03, 2010-08-10,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100810090608weblink">weblink live, WEB,weblink Bethlehem Shipbuilding: List of Ships built at Staten Island, 2010-05-03, 2010-02-21,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100221125512weblink">weblink live, Currently, tugboat companies and number of smaller dry docks operate along the shore.

Pollution and marine life

{{Further|Marine life of New York Harbor}}{{See also|New Jersey Meadowlands}} The bay is notoriously polluted, and it is now a Superfund site. "One blue crab in Newark Bay has enough dioxin to give somebody cancer," said David Pringle, spokesman for Clean Water Action.NEWS, Outrage Over Company Backing Out of Superfund Cleanup Through Bankruptcy, 2017-04-18,weblink NJTV News, 2018-01-14, 2018-01-14,weblink live, Both the tributaries, particularly the Passaic River, have sections which are lined with heavy industry."Watershed Database and Mapping Projects/Newark Bay (New Jersey)." {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528040611weblink |date=2010-05-28 }} National Ocean Service, Office of Response and Restoration. Silver Spring, MD. March 2007. Some industrial facilities discharged wastes into the tributaries during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, prior to passage of the 1972 Clean Water Act. High levels of PCBs and dioxin have been detected in the bay. It also has high levels of mercury, copper and other toxic chemicals.WEB, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),weblink Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan: Management of Toxic Contamination, March 1996, 2009-04-03, 2008-11-20,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20081120140121weblink">weblink live, While illegal discharges of chemical waste have been stopped, crabbing is illegal and fishing is limited due to chemicals that remain in the sediment.WEB, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Trenton, NJ,weblink Fish Advisories, 29 May 2009, 3 April 2009, 27 May 2009,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090527085908weblink">weblink live, WEB, NJDEP,weblink Blue Claw Crab Alert, 2009-12-02, 2010-04-19, 2009-05-30,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090530004612weblink">weblink live, Pronounced endocrine disruption and reproductive effects have been reported in Newark Bay Mummichog, often used as a sentinel and bioindicator species.JOURNAL, Impaired reproductive health of killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) inhabiting Newark Bay, NJ, a chronically contaminated estuary, Aquatic Toxicology, 96, 3, 182–193, 18 Feb 2010, 10.1016/j.aquatox.2009.10.016, 20079544, Bugel, Sean M., White, Lori A., Cooper, Keith R., Reproductive effects reported are primarily due to a chemical inhibition of vitellogenesis and oogenesis, which are highly conserved processes for oviparous (egg-laying) animals.JOURNAL, Decreased vitellogenin inducibility and 17β-estradiol levels correlated with reduced egg production in killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) from Newark Bay, NJ, Aquatic Toxicology, 105, 1–2, 1–12, 22 Mar 2011, 10.1016/j.aquatox.2011.03.013, 21684236, 4798252, Bugel, S. M., White, L. A., Cooper, K. R., Killifish within Newark Bay have also been reported to chemically adapt (desensitize) to aryl hydrocarbon receptor mediated pollutants (i.e. dioxins).JOURNAL, Comparisons of the effects of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin on chemically impacted and nonimpacted subpopulations of Fundulus heteroclitus: I. TCDD toxicity, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 14, 4, 579–587, 26 Oct 1995, 10.1002/etc.5620140405, Prince, Ruth, Cooper, Keith R., Killifish within Newark Bay have emerged as a popular tool for studying population effects of historical and emerging chemicals of concern due to their chronic exposure to complex mixtures of common contaminants, and subsequent effects due to living within a polluted environment.

2008 Liberian freighter collision

In January 2008, a 117 ft. Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company dredge in Newark Bay was struck by a 669-ft Liberian-flagged orange juice freighter named the Orange Sun. Newark Bay had to be closed for five hours by the U.S. Coast Guard until damages to the GLD&D dredge were mitigated. The dredge had begun to take on water and a diving crew was sent in order to make repairs.NEWS,weblink Accident Closes Major Shipping Channel for Hours, 2008-01-25, The New York Times, 2017-02-17, 2018-01-06,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20180106043752weblink">weblink live, In December 2009, the National Transportation Safety Board issued a report that blamed the Orange Sun for the accident. The Orange Sun{{'}}s master had not informed the captain or crew about the ship's tendency to deviate from its course.NEWS,weblink Federal report blames ship carrying orange juice for Newark Bay collision last year, NJ On-Line, 2009-12-09, 2015-01-16, 2015-06-22,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20150622022457weblink">weblink live,

See also

• Geography of New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary
• List of bridges, tunnels, and cuts in Hudson County, New Jersey
• Marine life of New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary
• Newark Bay rail accident
• Timeline of Jersey City area railroads

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070815172359weblink">"Fishing for Answers in an Urban Estuary"—Teaching Guide About Newark Bay for Elementary Schools (NJDEP)
• New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program—US EPA
• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070108104429weblink">US EPA: Newark Bay Study 2004
• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20100528035521weblink">US Army Corps of Engineers: Newark Bay

{{Crossings navbox|structure = Bridges|place = Newark Bay| titlestyle = background:#ffc94b| groupstyle = background:#ffc94b;|bridge = Lehigh Valley Railroad Bridge

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'Newark Bay BridgeImage:I-78.svg>20px

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CRRNJ Newark Bay Bridge(demolished)|upstream =Newark and New York Railroad Bridge(Hackensack River & Passaic River)(demolished)

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Lincoln Highway(Hackensack River & Passaic River)20px|downstream =Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge(Arthur Kill)

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Bayonne Bridge(Kill Van Kull)25px 25px|downstream signs =}}{{Authority control}}