First Indian reservation in New Jersey, in the Watchung Mountains Term Paper

First Indian reservation in New Jersey, in the Watchung Mountains - Term Paper Examplerom the northern Arctic shores to southern tip of Cape Horn, everywhere alike in the main physical characteristics, with excommunication of the Eskimo in the extreme North, whose features were Mongolian. This belief that Columbus was in India was later refuted by Amerigo Vaspucci after whom the continent was named. History of original inhabitants of this continent encompasses a broad figure of cultures and uniqueness. American Indians, as they are commonly referred to, varied greatly from region to region, as did their reactions to European settlement.The Watchung Mountains in New Jersey, whose natural beauty characterizes the locale, came into existence slightly 125 million years ago when volcanic eruptions covered the area with two thick lava flows (Meisner, 2002) 1. Millions of years of geophysical transformation gradually exposed the basaltic jutting edges of the buried lava and came to be kn own as the First and Second Mountains of Watchung. Between them nestled a broad fertile valley through which flows the common Brook and the peaceful valley-river, Passaic 2. The name Watchung is derived from an Indian word meaning on the hill or high place. A large Native fraternity known as the Lenape or Delaware Indians lived in this area that they called Lenapehoking, which meant land of the Lenape. Delaware Indians are a closely-knit Native American group of the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock. In the 17th century their territory included all of what is now New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, southeasterly New York State, Northern Delaware and a small part of Southeastern Connecticut. As part of the Eastern forests Lenapehoking had many rivers, streams, lakes and dense forest with rich wildlife. The Passaic River was integral to the Lenape existence, providing transportation and sustenance. Two branches of the Great Minisink Trail, known as the Indi an street between the shore and the Delaware River, ran along the Passaic. Many