Editing River Vale, New Jersey (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Lake Tappan.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Lake Tappan]] [[reservoir]] straddles the [[Bergen County]] municipalities of [[Old Tappan, New Jersey|Old Tappan]] and River Vale, as well as a smaller portion within adjacent [[Rockland County, New York]].]]
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the township had a total area of 4.31 square miles (11.17&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), including 4.07 square miles (10.54&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of land and 0.24 square miles (0.63&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of water (5.64%).<ref name=CensusArea/><ref name=GR1 />

The township is bordered by [[Montvale, New Jersey|Montvale]] to the northwest, [[Park Ridge, New Jersey|Park Ridge]], [[Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey|Woodcliff Lake]] (a very small section) and [[Hillsdale, New Jersey|Hillsdale]] to the west, [[Westwood, New Jersey|Westwood]] to the southwest, a small section bordering [[Emerson, New Jersey|Emerson]] to the south, [[Harrington Park, New Jersey|Harrington Park]] to the southeast, [[Old Tappan, New Jersey|Old Tappan]] to the east, and [[Pearl River, New York]] to the north.<ref>[http://www.rivervalenj.org/243/About-River-Vale About], Township of River Vake. Accessed March 4, 2020. "Located in the Pascack Valley region of Bergen County, New Jersey, River Vale is a 4.3 square mile suburban community of about 10,000 full time residents. River Vale is bordered by the New Jersey towns of Montvale, Park Ridge, Woodcliff Lake, Hillsdale, Westwood, Emerson, Harrington Park, Old Tappan and to the north, Pearl River, New York."</ref><ref>[https://global.mapit.mysociety.org/area/837972/touches.html Areas touching River Vale], MapIt. Accessed March 4, 2020.</ref><ref>[https://www.co.bergen.nj.us/visitors-guide/county-maps Bergen County Map of Municipalities], [[Bergen County, New Jersey]]. Accessed March 4, 2020.</ref><ref>[https://www.state.nj.us/transportation/gis/maps/polnoroads.pdf New Jersey Municipal Boundaries], [[New Jersey Department of Transportation]]. Accessed November 15, 2019.</ref>

Its borders are defined by the [[Hackensack River]] to the east, which was dammed to form [[Lake Tappan]], and [[Pascack Brook]] to the south. The northern border is defined by the [[New York (state)|New York]]-[[New Jersey]] state border. The western border has several sections, including a section defined by an unnamed creek and a section defined by Cedar Lane.

The southern portion of the township lies between the Hackensack River and Pascack Brook, and is relatively flat. The northern portion slopes down from rolling hills in the west into Lake Tappan to the east. Much of the land is developed as [[suburb]]an [[single-family detached home|single-family]] residences, but there remain some undeveloped areas. The undeveloped areas are mostly wooded and are south and west of Lake Tappan, following the Cherry Brook and the Hackensack River watershed. In 1996, plans to develop watershed land received resistance from the community.<ref>Chen, David W. [https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/24/nyregion/what-price-progress-battle-lines-drawn-in-the-watershed.html "What Price Progress? Battle Lines Drawn in the Watershed"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 24, 1996. Accessed January 30, 2012.</ref> In the southwest of the township, the [[Pascack Brook County Park]] also preserves a wooded area.<ref>[https://www.co.bergen.nj.us/parks-recreation-areas/pascack-brook-county-park Pascack Brook County Park], [[Bergen County, New Jersey]]. Accessed October 7, 2019.</ref> There are three [[golf course]]s in the township, two 18-hole public courses, and a private 18-hole course.

There is a small commercial district surrounding the intersection of Rivervale Road and Westwood Avenue in the southern portion of the township.