Hudson River Ice

March 05, 2010

20100305 – Friday - Hudson River Ice
Photographer:
Thomas A. Rhindress
Summary Author: Thomas A. Rhindress
 
The photo above showing an extensive ice cover on the Hudson River in New York, across from Peekskill Bay, was taken on February 17, 2010. The camera is looking up river. A ridge of resistant, Precambrian metamorphic rock creates the Hudson Highlands and redirects the Hudson's southward flow into a series of twisting curves before reaching its widest point (about 3.5 miles or 5.6 km) near Croton-on-Hudson, New York. In the background stand Dunderberg, Bear and Manitou mountains (from left to right). All show evidence of glacial scour and polishing. The Hudson River here is tidal and is thought to be the most southern example of a glacial fjord in the northern hemisphere.
 
River ice creates important winter resting and feeding sites for both bald eagles and gulls (herring and great black-back). Bald eagles winter along the waterways throughout the southern Hudson Valley and tend to congregate when a combination of ice and open water occur in the river and its reservoir system. This allows them to feed on fish from open water and rest on the ice and warm south-facing slopes.

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