Pine Barrens
The Pine Barrens, also knows as the Pinelands, are a heavily forested area which cover 1.1 million acres (4,500 km²) of coastal plain across southern and central New Jersey. The name "barrens" refers to their sandy soil, which is nutrient-poor, and certainly not the area's ecological diversity. They are part of the Pinelands National Reserve, and were designated a United Nations International Biosphere Reserve in 1983.They are subject to frequent fires. Oddly, despite being near metropolitan areas such as New York City, Philadelphia, and Atlantic City, and even having the Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway run directly through them, they remain largely rural. They are also notable for their population of pygmy Pitch Pines and Scrub Pines, and other unique flora, such as carnivorous plants.
The Pine Barrens are allegedly the base of operations for the Jersey Devil. The Devil is said to have born to a local named Mrs. Leeds, in an area known as "Leeds Point", sometime during the 1700s. Most of the sightings of the Devil have occurred in or near the Pine Barrens.
The Pine Barrens were also home to the Kallikaks, a poor, backwoods family which were held up as a case study in genetic inferiority by eugenicists in the early 20th century. Today, it is now understood that the facts in the Kallikaks case study were misrepresented [1].
A rural resident of the area is sometimes derogatorily know as a "Piney."
One of the most acclaimed episodes of the television series The Sopranos was titled Pine Barrens. The episode involved two of the main characters lost in the wooded region during the winter after a failed murder and body disposal attempt.
| Regions of New Jersey | ||
Jersey Shore | Meadowlands | North Jersey | Pine Barrens | South Jersey | New York metropolitan area | Delaware Valley
| Counties of New Jersey
|
Atlantic |
Bergen |
Burlington |
Camden |
Cape May |
Cumberland |
Essex |
Gloucester |
Hudson |
Hunterdon |
Mercer |
Middlesex |
Monmouth |
Morris |
Ocean |
Passaic |
Salem |
Somerset |
Sussex |
Union |
Warren
| |