The
Tappan Zee (or Tappan Sea) is a natural widening of the
Hudson River, about 3 mi (5 km) across at its widest, in southeastern
New York in the
United 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, but most commonly refering to a lake formed in a valley through which a river flows..
Flanked by high steep bluffs of the
New Jersey Palisades in the
Hudson Valley, it forms something of a natural lake on the Hudson about 10 mi (16 km) north of
Manhattan. 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 the
Tappan Zee Bridge, opened in
1955 and about 3.1 mi (5 km) long, connecting Nyack and Tarrytown.
On
September 14,
1609, the explorer
Henry Hudson entered the Tappan Zee while sailing upstream from
New York Harbor. At first, Hudson believed the widening of the river indicated that he had found the
Northwest Passage. He proceeded upstream as far as present-day
Troy before concluding that no such
strait 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 near Irving's own home at
Sunnyside.
See also
