Orange Mountain (New Jersey)

Watchung Mountains
Wach Unks
Garret Mountain and Mount Cecchino seen from High Mountain in Wayne, New Jersey
Highest point
Peak	High Mountain (Preakness Range)
Elevation	879 ft (268 m)
Coordinates	40°58′12.26″N 74°11′54.08″W / 40.9700722°N 74.1983556°W / 40.9700722; -74.1983556Coordinates: 40°58′12.26″N 74°11′54.08″W / 40.9700722°N 74.1983556°W / 40.9700722; -74.1983556
Dimensions
Length	40 mi (64 km) north–south
Geography
Country	United States of America
State	New Jersey
Geology
Age of rock	Triassic/Jurassic
Type of rock	extrusive igneous and trap rock

The Watchung Mountains (once called the Blue Hills) are a group of three long low ridges of volcanic origin, between 400 and 500 feet (120 and 150 m) high, lying parallel to each other in northern New Jersey in the United States. The Watchung Mountains are known for their numerous scenic vistas overlooking New York City, Newark and New Jersey skylines, as well as their isolated ecosystems containing rare plants, endangered wildlife, rich minerals, and globally imperiled trap rock glade communities. The ridges traditionally contained the westward spread of urbanization, forming a significant geologic barrier beyond the piedmont west of the Hudson River; the town of Newark, for example, once included lands from the Hudson to the base of the mountains. Later treaties moved the boundary to the top of the mountain, to include the springs. The Watchungs are basalt uplifts, geologically similar to the Palisades along the Hudson river. In many places, however, the mountains have become sinuous islands of natural landscape within the suburban sprawl covering much of contemporary northeastern New Jersey. Parks, preserves, and numerous historical sites dot the valleys and slopes of the mountains, providing recreational and cultural activities to one of the most densely populated regions of the nation.

The two most prominent ridges, known as First Watchung Mountain (the southeastern ridge) and Second Watchung Mountain (the northwestern ridge), stretch for over forty miles (64 km) from Somerville (in Somerset County) in the southwest through Morris County, Union County, Essex County, and Passaic County to Mahwah (in Bergen County) in the northeast. The less prominent and discontinuous ridge formed by Long Hill, Riker Hill, Hook Mountain, and Packanack Mountain is sometimes referred to as Third Watchung Mountain and lies on the northwestern side of Second Watchung Mountain.