New Jersey

1.1. Location

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware. New Jersey is the 4th least extensive, but the 11th most populous and the most densely populated of the 50 United States. New Jersey lies mostly within the sprawling metropolitan areas of New York City and Philadelphia. It is also the third wealthiest by 2009–2010 median household income.

The area was inhabited by Native Americans for more than 2,800 years, with historical tribes such as the Lenape along the coast. In the early 17th century, the Dutch and the Swedes made the first European settlements. The British later seized control of the region, naming it the Province of New Jersey. It was granted as a colony to Sir George Carteret and John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton. At this time, it was named after the largest of the British Channel Islands, Jersey, Carteret' s birthplace. New Jersey was the site of several decisive battles during the American Revolutionary War.

In the 19th century, factories in cities such as Elizabeth, Paterson, and Trenton helped to drive the Industrial Revolution. New Jersey's position at the center of the Northeast megalopolis, between Boston and New York City to the northeast, and Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. to the southwest, fueled its rapid growth through the suburban boom of the 1950s and beyond.

New Jersey is bordered on the north and northeast by New York (parts of which are across the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, and the Arthur Kill); on the east by the Atlantic Ocean; on the southwest by Delaware across Delaware Bay; and on the west by Pennsylvania across the Delaware River.

1.2. Administrative issues

New Jersey can be thought of as five regions, based on natural geography and population. Northeastern New Jersey, the Gateway Region, lies within the New York City Metropolitan Area, and some residents commute into the city to work. Northwestern New Jersey, or the ‘Skylands’, is, compared to the northeast, more wooded, rural, and mountainous. The ‘Shore’, along the Atlantic Coast in the central-east and southeast, has its own natural, residential, and lifestyle characteristics owing to its location by the ocean. The Delaware Valley includes the southwestern counties of the state, which reside within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. The fifth region is the Pine Barrens in the interior of the southern part. Covered rather extensively by mixed pine and oak forest, it has a much lower population density than much of the rest of the state.

New Jersey also can be broadly divided into three geographic regions: North Jersey, Central Jersey, and South Jersey. Some New Jersey residents do not consider Central Jersey a region in its own right, but others believe it is a separate geographic and cultural area from the North and South.

The federal Office of Management and Budget divides New Jersey's counties into seven Metropolitan Statistical Areas, including sixteen counties in the New York City or Philadelphia metro areas. Four counties have independent metro areas, and Warren County joins another Pennsylvania-based metro area. (See Metropolitan Statistical Areas of New Jersey for details.)

Additionally, the New Jersey Commerce, Economic Growth, & Tourism Commission divides the state into six distinct regions to facilitate the state's tourism industry:

- Gateway Region, encompassing Middlesex County, Union County, Essex County;

- Skylands Region, encompassing Sussex County, Morris County, Warren County;

- Shore Region, encompassing Monmouth County and Ocean County;

- Delaware River Region, encompassing Mercer County, Burlington County, Camden County;

- Greater Atlantic City Region, encompassing Atlantic County;

- Southern Shore Region, encompassing Cumberland County and Cape May County.

High Point, in Montague Township, Sussex County, is the highest elevation, at 1,803 feet (550 m). The Palisades are a line of steep cliffs on the lower west side of the Hudson River.

Major rivers include the Hudson, Delaware, Raritan, Passaic, Hackensack, Rahway, Musconetcong, Mullica, Rancocas, Manasquan, Maurice, and the Toms rivers.

Sandy Hook, along the eastern coast, is a popular recreational beach. It is a barrier spit and an extension of the Barnegat Peninsula along the state's Atlantic Ocean coast. Long Beach Island (‘LBI’), a barrier island along the eastern coast, also has popular recreational beaches. The primary access point to the island is by a single bridge connection to the mainland. Barnegat Lighthouse is on the northern tip (see annex 1).

1.3. Climate

As with many other geographic features, New Jersey's climate divides into regions. The south, central, and northeast parts of the state have a humid meso thermal climate, while the northwest has a humid continental climate (micro thermal), with slightly cooler temperatures due to higher elevation. New Jersey receives between 2,400 and 2,800 hours of sunshine annually.

Summers are typically hot and humid, with statewide average high temperatures of 82–88 °F (28–31 °C) and lows of 60–70 °F (16–21 °C); however, temperatures exceed 90 °F (32 °C) on average 25 days each summer, though rarely exceed 100 °F (38 °C). Winters are usually cold, with average high temperatures of 38–46 °F (3–8 °C) and lows of 26–32 °F (-3–0 °C) for most of the state, but temperatures could, for brief interludes, be as low as 10–20 °F (-12–-7 °C) and sometimes rise to 50–60 °F (10–16 °C). Northwestern parts of the state have slightly colder winters with average temperatures just below freezing. Spring and autumn may feature wide temperature variations, with lower humidity than summer.

Average annual precipitation ranges from 43 to 51 inches (1,100 to 1,300 mm), uniformly spread through the year. Average snowfall per winter season ranges from 10–15 inches (25–38 cm) in the south and near the seacoast, 15–30 inches (38–76 cm) in the northeast and central part of the state, to about 40–50 inches (1.0–1.3 m) in the northwestern highlands, but this varies from year to year. Precipitation falls on an average of 120 days a year, with 25 to 30 thunderstorms, most of which occur during the summer.

During winter and early spring, New Jersey can in some years experience "nor'easters", which are capable of causing blizzards or flooding throughout the northeastern United States. Hurricanes and tropical storms (such as Tropical Storm Floyd in 1999, tornadoes, and earthquakes are rare.(see annex 2)