﻿HYDROLOGY 
  OF 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  701 
  

  

  or 
  at 
  the 
  rate 
  of 
  $19.82 
  per 
  million 
  gallons 
  filtered 
  and 
  delivered 
  

   into 
  covered 
  reservoir 
  at 
  New 
  York, 
  310 
  feet 
  above 
  sea 
  level. 
  

  

  The 
  Wallkill 
  river 
  was 
  also 
  reported 
  upon 
  by 
  Mr 
  Freeman. 
  

   In 
  his 
  report 
  he 
  states 
  that 
  these 
  Drowned 
  Lands 
  appear 
  to 
  

   be 
  the 
  only 
  adequate 
  reservoir 
  site 
  on 
  the 
  Wallkill 
  — 
  that 
  they 
  

   were 
  once 
  the 
  bottom 
  of 
  an 
  ancient 
  lake 
  and 
  are 
  described 
  by 
  

   Dr 
  Heinrich 
  Hies, 
  in 
  his 
  Report 
  on 
  the 
  Geology 
  of 
  Orange 
  

   County, 
  as 
  follows: 
  

  

  These 
  swamps 
  occur 
  not 
  only 
  in 
  the 
  limestone 
  region, 
  but 
  

   also 
  in 
  many 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  slate 
  area 
  and 
  form 
  perhaps 
  the 
  most 
  

   important 
  agricultural 
  feature 
  of 
  the 
  county. 
  The 
  rich 
  black 
  soil 
  

   of 
  the 
  swampy 
  tracts 
  is 
  enormously 
  productive, 
  and 
  some 
  of 
  it 
  is 
  

   worth 
  $300 
  an 
  acre. 
  The 
  soil 
  is 
  generally 
  planted 
  with 
  onions, 
  

   and 
  700 
  bushels 
  per 
  acre 
  is 
  not 
  an 
  uncommon 
  yield. 
  Potatoes 
  or 
  

   corn 
  are 
  generally 
  planted 
  in 
  alternative 
  years 
  to 
  relieve 
  the 
  soil. 
  

   There 
  are 
  about 
  40,000 
  acres 
  of 
  swamp 
  land 
  in 
  Orange 
  county. 
  

   The 
  largest 
  of 
  these 
  areas 
  is 
  the 
  Drowned 
  Lands 
  in 
  Warwick, 
  

   Greenville, 
  Minnisink, 
  Wawayanda 
  and 
  Goshen 
  townships, 
  and 
  

   covers 
  17,000 
  acres. 
  Until 
  about 
  sixty 
  years 
  ago 
  the 
  area 
  was 
  cov- 
  

   ered 
  by 
  several 
  feet 
  of 
  Avater 
  held 
  in 
  by 
  a 
  dam 
  of 
  glacial 
  drift 
  

   at 
  the 
  north 
  end. 
  A 
  canal 
  cut 
  through 
  this 
  dam 
  has 
  redeemed, 
  

   the 
  land. 
  From 
  the 
  drowned 
  lands 
  there 
  arise 
  islands 
  of 
  lime- 
  

   stone 
  or 
  drift, 
  which 
  are 
  named 
  Pine, 
  Great, 
  Pellets, 
  Gardner's, 
  

   Merritts, 
  Cranberry, 
  Black 
  Walnut, 
  Fox 
  and 
  Seward's 
  islands. 
  

  

  * 
  * 
  Black 
  soil 
  underlies 
  the 
  surface 
  to 
  a 
  depth 
  of 
  from 
  five 
  

   to 
  fifty 
  feet, 
  and 
  this, 
  according 
  to 
  Mather, 
  is 
  in 
  turn 
  underlaid 
  

   by 
  marl. 
  The 
  Wallkill 
  river 
  follows 
  a 
  winding 
  course 
  along 
  the 
  

   western 
  side 
  of 
  this 
  area, 
  and 
  submerges 
  it 
  entirely 
  during 
  the 
  

   spring 
  floods. 
  1 
  

  

  Mr 
  Freeman 
  states 
  that 
  the 
  population 
  of 
  the 
  catchment 
  area 
  

   is 
  almost 
  exclusively 
  a 
  farming 
  one, 
  with 
  about 
  thirty 
  villages, 
  

   ranging 
  in 
  population 
  from 
  100 
  to 
  300, 
  by 
  the 
  census 
  of 
  1900, 
  

   together 
  with 
  many 
  more 
  centers 
  of 
  population 
  with 
  less 
  than 
  

   100. 
  The 
  cities 
  and 
  towns 
  which 
  had 
  more 
  than 
  500 
  inhabi- 
  

   tants 
  in 
  1900, 
  are 
  as 
  follows: 
  

  

  Name 
  of 
  town 
  Population 
  

  

  Middletown 
  14,522 
  

  

  Gosn 
  en 
  2,806 
  

  

  Warwick 
  1 
  735 
  

  

  Florida 
  600 
  

  

  1 
  Report 
  on 
  Geology 
  of 
  Orange 
  County, 
  1895, 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Heinrich 
  Ries, 
  Asst. 
  

   Geologist. 
  

  

  