16 REPORT OF NEW JERSEY STATE MLSEUM. 
acterized by abided, 
nating with capacious valleys parallel me . , 
acteristies rffect most of the province throughout the Adlantic sloi* 
so that the Kittatinny mountain and the assorted " 
„ ame m ay fairly stand as the type of topog ophy aflect ng 
this zo„T brooks -re stratified and highly inelmed; the out¬ 
crops of the hard layers constitute the lodges "M* 
mark the outcrops of the softer layers. Geologically, tins si 
province is sharply differentiated from the next. Topographies y, 
The distinctness is less perfect. T-rtoKlnnrls has a 
The second zone, known in New Jersey as the I < , ‘ - 
relief off about 1,200 feet, its highest points rising to clevatl0 ^ S 
more than 1,400 feet. It is made up of a series of semi-iso < 
block-like or plateau-like masses, those near one another approac 
ing a common elevation. They are sometimes small m area, 
never assume the character of peaks. The elevations and depres¬ 
sions have a less constant direction than m the Appalachian zon 
and the rocks are largely devoid of distinct bedding. The topog¬ 
raphy of the Highlands is representative of the topography of 
Piedmont plateau outside the State. Topographically, no line can 
be drawn which definitely separates this province from that next- 
east, yet the transition from the one to the other is m a narrow 
belt, centering along the eastern edge of.the crystalline schists. 
The line marking the eastern limit of their outcrop is, there oie, 
taken as the boundary line of this province. 
The third zone of New Jersey, the Piedmont plain, lying south 
and east of the Highlands, has a relief of more than 800 feet, and 
its lowest part reaches sea level. Its topography is more hetero¬ 
geneous than that of the preceding zones.. It is characterized in 
part hv a gently undulating surface, as in the vicinity of Aew 
Brunswick; in"part by bold asymmetrical ridges, such as the 
Watchung mountains and the Palisade ridge, and in part by low, 
abrupt-sided plateaus, the Hunterdon plateau about Quakertown 
and the Sourland mountain plateau being good examples. . The 
■relief is less than in either of the preceding zones, but the ridges 
are as abrupt as in the first, and more so than in the second. . The 
ridges have a general northeast-southwest trend, but there, is no 
close correspondence between their direction and the direction of 
the main drainage lines, as the Raritan and Passaic rivers show. 
The rock is chiefly stratified, the layers are considerably inclined, 
