Rockland County, County in Hudson Valley, New York, United States.
Rockland County is an administrative unit on the west bank of the Hudson River in New York, covering around 515 square kilometers of land between the river and the New Jersey border. The landscape shifts between inhabited towns, hills with dense forest, and protected natural areas that make up about one third of the total surface.
The territory separated from Orange County in 1798 after European settlers established permanent towns during the second half of the 18th century. The name refers to the rocky terrain that early inhabitants encountered when building homes and roads.
The name comes from early settlers describing the rocky terrain along the river. Today several religious communities shape daily life, so you see synagogues, shops selling kosher food, and signs in different languages throughout the towns.
The area sits north of New Jersey and west of the Hudson River, reachable via several highways and bus connections to Manhattan. If you want to hike, you find trails in the large parks, while the towns offer shops, restaurants, and services.
More than one third of the total area consists of protected forests and parks, including parts of Bear Mountain and Harriman State Park. These large connected natural areas sit just a few kilometers from densely inhabited towns.
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