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Lake Passaic

Bodies of water of Passaic County, New JerseyFormer lakes of the United StatesGeology of New JerseyProglacial lakesUse American English from July 2025
Watchung Mountains
GlacialLakePassaic MoggyHollowStage
GlacialLakePassaic MoggyHollowStage

Lake Passaic was a prehistoric proglacial lake that existed in northern New Jersey in the United States at the end of the last ice age approximately 19,000–14,000 years ago. The lake was formed of waters released by the retreating Wisconsin Glacier, which had pushed large quantities of earth and rock ahead of its advance, blocking the previous natural drainage of the ancestral Passaic River through a gap in the central Watchung Mountains. The lake persisted for several thousand years as melting ice and eroding moraine dams slowly drained the former lake basin. The effect of the lake's creation permanently altered the course of the Passaic River, forcing it to take a circuitous route through the northern Watchung Mountains before spilling out into the lower piedmont. Today, the former lake basin is called Passaic Meadows and includes the Great Swamp, Black Meadows, Troy Meadows, Hatfield Swamp, Lee Meadows, Little Piece Meadows, Great Piece Meadows, Glenhurst Meadows, and Bog and Vly Meadows. These remnants of the ancient lake provide prime wetland habitat to a variety of plants and animals while at the same time offering recreational and outdoor opportunities to residents of northern New Jersey.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Lake Passaic (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Lake Passaic
Knollwood Avenue,

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Latitude Longitude
N 40.7597 ° E -74.402 °
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Knollwood Avenue 48
07940
New Jersey, United States
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Madison, New Jersey
Madison, New Jersey

Madison is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 16,937, an increase of 1,092 (+6.9%) from the 2010 census count of 15,845, which in turn reflected a drop in population of 685 (−4.1%) from the 16,530 counted in the 2000 census.Located along the Morris & Essex Lines, Madison is noted for Madison's historic railroad station, which was one of the nation's first commuter railroads, which inspired wealthy residents of Manhattan to relocate to Madison and its surrounding communities since the rail line offered direct transport to New York City. The population of Madison as of 2022 is nearly 18,000 residents. It is known as "The Rose City" and was named in honor of President James Madison.Madison was ranked 33rd in Money magazine's ranking of the "Best Places to Live" in 2011, the third-highest ranked location in New Jersey and second-highest in Morris County behind Montville. New Jersey Monthly ranked Madison first in its 2019 rankings of the "Best Places to Live" in New Jersey.Madison is often regarded as a college town because of the presence of two colleges in the town, Drew University and Fairleigh Dickinson University, and Saint Elizabeth University, which is located in neighboring Convent Station, New Jersey. Madison is also home to the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, one of the largest professional Shakespeare companies in North America.