- Tappan Zee
The Tappan Zee (or Tappan Sea) is a natural widening of the
Hudson River , about 3 mi (5 km) across at its widest, in southeasternNew York State in theUnited States . It stretches about 10 mi (16 km) along the boundary between Rockland and Westchester counties, downstream from Croton Point to Irvington. It derives its name from the Tappan Native American sub-tribe of the Delaware/Lenni Lenape, and the Dutch word "zee", meaning a sea or a wide expanse of water. [Melvin, Tessa. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F06E2DA1F30F932A1575BC0A962958260 "If You're Thinking of Living In/Tarrytown; Rich History, Picturesque River Setting"] , "The New York Times ",August 21 ,1994 . AccessedDecember 30 ,2007 . "The Dutch called this point, the river's widest, the Tappan Zee -- Tappan probably for a group of Indians and Zee meaning "sea" in Dutch."]Flanked by high steep bluffs of the
New Jersey Palisades in theHudson Valley , it forms something of a natural lake on the Hudson about 10 mi (16 km) north ofManhattan . Communities along the Tappan Zee include Nyack and Haverstraw on the western side, as well as Ossining, Tarrytown, and Croton-on-Hudson on the eastern side. It is crossed by theTappan Zee Bridge , opened in1955 and about 3.1 mi (5 km) long, connecting Nyack and Tarrytown.On
September 14 ,1609 , the explorerHenry Hudson entered the Tappan Zee while sailing upstream fromNew York Harbor . At first, Hudson believed the widening of the river indicated that he had found theNorthwest Passage . He proceeded upstream as far as present-day Albany before concluding that no suchstrait existed there.The Tappan Zee is mentioned several times in
Washington Irving 's famous short story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow ". The tale is set in the vicinity of Tarrytown, in the area of near Irving's own home at Sunnyside.ee also
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New Jersey Palisades
*Tappan Zee Bridge References
External links
* [http://www.nycroads.com/crossings/tappan-zee/ Tappan Zee Bridge]
* http://www.ewebtribe.com/NACulture/easterntribes.htm
*Geolinks-US-cityscale|41.07|-73.90
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