2D
New York, After the Glacier
70,000 years ago, the Wisconsin Ice Sheet settled over the area that is today New York City. A thousand feet deep, the glacier deposited massive ammounts of sand, pebbles, and gravel at its edge.
From southern Staten Island to a cliff in northern Nassau County, this geologic feature is known as the Harbor Hill Morraine. It has given the city the hills of Greenwood Cemetery, the names of places like Crown Heights, and the high ground on which to build amenities like the Ridgewood Reservoir.
In other parts of the city, the glacier scraped, polished, and deformed boulders. It shaped valleys and lifted hills. The city lives in this legacy. We navigate a ground formed tens of thousands of years ago.
Click to enter an interactive map and see simple stories from some of these hilly locations.
