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Introduction:
New Jersey (IPA: /nuː ˈdʒɝː.zi/) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States of America. The state is named after the island of Jersey in the English Channel. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania. Parts of New Jersey lie within the metropolitan areas of New York and Philadelphia.
Inhabited by Native Americans for more than 2,800 years, the first European settlements in the area were established by the Swedes and Dutch in the early 1600s. The British later seized control of the region, which was granted to Sir George Carteret and John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton as the colony of New Jersey. New Jersey was an important site during the American Revolutionary War; several decisive battles were fought there. The winter quarters of the revolutionary army were established twice by George Washington in Morristown, which was called the military capital of the revolution. The New Jersey Journal, a newspaper published by Shepard Kollock, who established his press in Chatham during 1779, became a catalyst in the revolution. News of events came directly to Kollock from Washington's headquarters in nearby Morristown, which he published to boost the morale of the troops and their families, and he conducted lively debates about the efforts for independence with those who opposed and supported the cause he championed. Later, working-class cities such as Paterson and Trenton helped to drive the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century. New Jersey's position at the center of the BosWash megalopolis, between Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., fueled its rapid growth through the suburban boom of the 1950s and beyond.
Capital: Trenton
Geography: New Jersey is bordered on the north and northeast by New York; on the east by the Atlantic Ocean; on the south and southwest by Delaware across Delaware Bay; and on the west by Pennsylvania across the Delaware River. Because of its dense population and because most communities of northern New Jersey do not have the widespread reservoir system of neighboring Greater New York City, the slightest dry season leads to drought warnings; but because there are many streams and rivers close to these communities, the slightest above average rainfall causes frequent flooding as many parts of Northern New Jersey are part of a flood plain. It is also at the center of the Boston to Washington megalopolis.
New Jersey is broadly divided into three geographic regions: North Jersey, Central Jersey, and South Jersey. North Jersey lies within New York City's general sphere of influence (i.e. largely within the New York metropolitan area), and some residents commute to the city to work. Central Jersey is a largely suburban area. South Jersey is within Philadelphia's general sphere of influence, and most of it is included in the Delaware Valley. Such geographic definitions are loosely defined, however, and there is often dispute over where one region begins and another ends. Some people do not consider Central Jersey to exist at all, but most believe it is a separate geographic and cultural area from the North and South.
The federal Office of Management and Budget divides New Jersey's counties into seven Metropolitan Statistical Areas, including sixteen counties in the New York City or Philadelphia metro areas. Four counties have independent metro areas, and Warren County joins another Pennsylvania-based metro area. See Metropolitan Statistical Areas of New Jersey for details.
Additionally, the New Jersey Commerce, Economic Growth, & Tourism Commission divides the state into six distinct regions to facilitate the state's tourism industry. The regions are: - Gateway Region, encompassing Hudson County, Essex County, Union County, Middlesex County, Bergen County, and Passaic County.
- Skylands Region, encompassing Sussex County, Morris County, Warren County, Hunterdon County, and Somerset County.
- Shore Region, encompassing Monmouth County and Ocean County.
- Delaware River Region, encompassing Mercer County (Mercer County is the only Delaware River Region county in the New York Metropolitan Area), Burlington County, Camden County, Gloucester County, and Salem County.
- Greater Atlantic City Region, encompassing Atlantic County.
- Southern Shore Region, encompassing Cumberland County and Cape May County.
High Point, in Montague Township, Sussex County, is the highest elevation, at 1,803 feet (550 m).
Major rivers include the Manasquan, Maurice, Mullica, Passaic, Hackensack, Rahway, Rancocas, Raritan, Musconetcong, Toms, and Delaware rivers. The Palisades are a line of steep cliffs on the lower west side of the Hudson River.
Sandy Hook, along the eastern coast, is a popular recreational beach. It is a barrier spit and an extension of the Barnegat Peninsula along the state's Atlantic Ocean coast.
Areas managed by the National Park Service include:- Appalachian National Scenic Trail
- Delaware National Scenic River
- Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
- Edison National Historic Site in West Orange
- Ellis Island National Monument
- Gateway National Recreation Area in Monmouth County
- Great Egg Harbor River
- Morristown National Historical Park in Morristown
- New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route
- New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve
Prominent geographic features include:- Delaware Water Gap
- Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
- The Highlands
- New Jersey Meadowlands
- Pine Barrens
- South Mountain
Climate
New Jersey has a temperate climate, with hot humid summers and cold winters. During the hurricane season, tropical cyclones can hit New Jersey, though it is uncommon for one to remain at hurricane strength this far to the north. During the winter months, Nor'easters can dump heavy amounts of precipitation across the state.
The temperatures vary greatly from the northernmost part of New Jersey to the southernmost part of New Jersey. For example, these are the average high and low temperatures for Cape May, near the state's southernmost ocean-facing point, and Sussex, in the mountainous northwest:
Economy - overview:
The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that New Jersey's total state product in 2004 was $416 billion. Its per capita personal income in 2004 was $41,636, 2nd in the U.S. and 126% of the national average of $33,041. Its median household income is the highest in the nation with $55,146. It is ranked 2nd in the nation by the number of places with per capita incomes above national average with 76.4%. Nine of New Jersey's counties are in the wealthiest 100 of the country.
New Jersey has seven tax brackets for determining income tax rates. The rates range from 1.4 to 8.97%. The standard sales tax rate is 7%, applicable to all retail sales unless specifically exempt by law. Exemptions include most food items for at-home preparation, medicines, clothing (except fur items), footwear, and disposable paper products for use in the home. Approximately 30 New Jersey municipalities are designated as Urban Enterprise Zones and shoppers are charged a 3½% tax rate, half of the rate charged outside the UEZs. Sections of Elizabeth and Jersey City are examples of communities that are subject to the lower sales tax rate.
All real property located in the state is subject to property tax unless specifically exempted by statute. New Jersey does not assess an intangible personal property tax, but it does impose an inheritance tax.
Natural resources
New Jersey's greatest natural resource is its location, which has made the state a crossroads of commerce and an ideal area for manufacturing. Other commercial advantages include its extensive transportation system, which puts one quarter of all United States consumers within overnight delivery range. Lake and seaside resorts have contributed to New Jersey's rank of fifth among the states in revenues from tourism.
Despite more than three centuries of development almost half of New Jersey is still wooded. The chief tree of the northern forests is the oak. A large part of the southern section is in pine. Jersey oak has been used extensively in shipbuilding.
The mineral resources in New Jersey are small. The state, however, does rank high in smelting and refining minerals from other states.
New Jersey's chief conservation agency is the Department of Environmental Protection, which was formed in 1970 by the merger of parts of the Department of Conservation and Economic Development with parts of the Department of Health. The department has an extensive range of responsibilities that include acquiring and preserving land for recreation, wildlife protection, and curbing pollution. The department also regulates activities on public waters, oversees hunting and fishing, and has jurisdiction over some state-owned land. In addition, the conservation agency is responsible for maintaining an adequate high-quality water supply for industry, recreation, and aquatic life. New Jersey launched a long-range conservation and development program under the terms of its 1958 Water Supply Law
Industry
The Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal was the world's first container port and is one of the world's largest container ports. Newark Liberty International Airport is ranked seventh among the nation's busiest airports and among the top 20 busiest airports in the world.
Its agricultural outputs are nursery stock, horses, vegetables, fruits and nuts, seafood, and dairy products. In particular, cranberries, peach, tomato and eggplant are some of the state's largest crops. The local entities that support agricultural efforts are: NJDA|New Jersey Department of Agriculture and Rutgers Cooperative Research & Extension. Hammonton in the southern part of the state is known as the blueberry capital of the world. Its industrial outputs are pharmaceutical and chemical products, food processing, electric equipment, printing and publishing, and tourism. New Jersey's economy has a large base of heavy industry and chemical manufacturing. Additionally, New Jersey is home to the largest petroleum containment system outside of the Middle East.
New Jersey hosts several business headquarters, including twenty-four Fortune 500 companies. Paramus is noted for having one of the highest retail sales per person ratios in the nation. Several New Jersey counties such as Somerset (#7), Morris (10), Hunterdon (13), Bergen (21), Monmouth (42) counties have been ranked among the highest-income counties in the United States. Four others are also in the top 100.
New Jersey is infamous for its abundance of oil refineries. The smell given off by the refineries is common to motorists who travel the New Jersey Turnpike which runs through the central industrial corridor of the state. This is a list of the major oil refineries in the state:
- Bayway Refinery (ConocoPhillips), Linden 230,000 barrels per day (bpd)
- Eagle Point Refinery (Sunoco), Westville 145,000 bpd
- Paulsboro Asphalt Refinery (Citgo), Paulsboro 51,000 bpd
- Paulsboro Refinery (Valero), Paulsboro 160,000 bpd
- Perth Amboy Refinery (Chevron), Perth Amboy 80,000 bpd
- Port Reading Refinery (Hess), Port Reading 62,000 bpd
While home to many chemical plants New Jersey also is home to major pharmaceutical firms Merck, Wyeth, Johnson and Johnson, sanofi-aventis, Novartis, Pfizer, Hoffman-LaRoche, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Schering-Plough. It draws upon its large and well-educated labor pool which also supports the myriad of industries that exist today.
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