Stapleton is one of the three east shore villages that make up Edgewater. The physical geography of Stapleton is hilly away from the shore, and becomes level towards the shore.
Stapleton can be broken down into two distinctive physical geographical regions, till and serpentinite. Till is region where glacie
r deposits unconsolidated and unsorted mixtures of various sediments such as: clay, gravel, and rocks. Judging from fieldwork, my group did, I speculate that the founders of Tappen Park and the surrounding areas layered down bricks to build a sturdy foundation.
Moving more inland, the region becomes steep and hilly. This is so because this area is closer to serpentinite. The serpentinite is a large protruding greenish outcrop. It has the highest natural elevation in all of New York City. This outcrop is a product of low-grade metamorphism of peridotite. An average sample of serpentinite contains approximately 66% lizardite and 27% chrysotile.
Sample of serpentinite:
Sample of lizardite:
Sample of chrysotile:
In 1858, the H.W. Johns Manufacturing Company began mining low quality chrysotile asbestos from the serpentinite body for the local fire-resistant shingles manufacturer. The H.W. Johns Manufacturing Company eventually merged with the Manville Covering Company and the new company became a world leader in asbestos mining and asbestos-related manufacturing.
Citations:
Benimoff, Alan, and Anderson Ohan. “The Paleozoic History of Staten Island.” The geology of staten island. Csi, 2003. Accessed May 14, 2012. http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/as/geo/sigeo.htm.
Powell, Wayne. “Geology of Staten Island.” CUNY Brooklyn . N.p., 2003. Accessed May 10, 2012. http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/geology/powell/NYCgeology/staten island/staten_island.htm.
Stoffer, Phil, and Paula Messina. “Atlantic Coastal Plain.”Geographycafe.com. N.p., 25/12/2011. Accessed May 10 2012. http://geologycafe.com/nyc/coastalplain/coastalplain.htm.
