Editing Hudson County, New Jersey (section)

===Landforms and borders===
[[File:Aster newyorkcity lrg.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Satellite image showing the core of the [[New York metropolitan area]]. Over 10 million people live in the area depicted. Much of Hudson County is located on the peninsula at left.]]

According to the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]], as of the 2020 Census, the county had a total area of {{convert|62.35|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|46.19|sqmi}} was land (74.1%) and {{convert|16.15|sqmi}} was water (25.9%).<ref name=CensusArea>[https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_counties_34.txt 2020 Census Gazetteer File for Counties in New Jersey], [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed April 1, 2023.</ref> Based on land area, it is the smallest of New Jersey's 21 counties, less than half the size of the next smallest ([[Union County, New Jersey|Union County]])<ref name=CensusArea/> and the eighth-smallest of all [[County statistics of the United States|counties in the United States]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130930014430/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/download/DataSet.txt 2010 Census: State and County Quick Facts], [[United States Census Bureau]], backed up by the [[Internet Archive]] as of September 30, 2013. Accessed October 4, 2013.</ref>

Hudson is located in the heart of [[New York metropolitan area]] in [[Gateway Region|northeastern New Jersey]].
It is bordered by the [[Hudson River]] and [[Upper New York Bay]] to the east; [[Kill Van Kull]] to the south; [[Newark Bay]] and the [[Hackensack River]] or the [[Passaic River]] to the west; its only land border is shared with [[Bergen County, New Jersey|Bergen County]] to the north.<ref>{{Cite book
| publisher = Hagstrom Map Company, Inc
| isbn = 978-0-88097-763-0
| title = Hudson County New Jersey Street Map
| year = 2008
}}</ref>

The topography is marked by the [[The Palisades (Hudson River)|New Jersey Palisades]] in the north with cliffs overlooking the [[North River (Hudson River)|Hudson River]] to the east and less severe [[cuesta]], or slope, to the west. They gradually level off to the southern peninsula, which is coastal and flat. The western region, around the Hackensack and Passaic is part of the [[New Jersey Meadowlands]]. Much of the land along the county's extensive shoreline and [[littoral zone]] was created by [[land reclamation]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Historic Fill of the Jersey City Quadrangle: Historic Fill Map HFM-53 |website=New Jersey State Department of Environmental Protection |date=2004 |url=http://www.state.nj.us/dep/njgs/geodata/historicfill/jersey.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906133806/http://www.state.nj.us/dep/njgs/geodata/historicfill/jersey.pdf |archive-date=September 6, 2014 |url-status=live |access-date=August 31, 2014}}</ref>

[[Image:HudsonRiverJavitsCenter.agr.JPG|thumb|Hudson County and the [[Hudson Palisades|Palisades]], viewed across the [[North River (Hudson River)|Hudson River]] from [[Manhattan]]. The glass building visible is the [[Javits Center]].]]

The highest point, at 260 feet (79 m) above sea level, is in West New York;<ref>[http://www.peakbagger.com/list.aspx?lid=13320 New Jersey County High Points], Peakbagger.com. Accessed October 4, 2013.</ref><ref>{{cite peakbagger |pid=7139 |name=Hudson County High Point, New Jersey}}</ref> the lowest point is at sea level. [[North Bergen, New Jersey|North Bergen]] is the city with the second most hills per square mile in the United States behind [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]].<ref name=Most>[http://www.hudsonreporter.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1291&dept_id=523585&newsid=17118972&PAG=461&rfi=9 Most liquor licenses? Bumpiest town? Local municipalities hold unusual distinctions] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080523111437/http://www.hudsonreporter.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1291&dept_id=523585&newsid=17118972&PAG=461&rfi=9 |date=May 23, 2008 }}, ''[[The Hudson Reporter]]'', August 27, 2006</ref>

[[Ellis Island]] and [[Liberty Island]], opposite [[Liberty State Park]], lie entirely within Hudson County's waters, which extend to the [[New York (state)|New York]] state line. Liberty Island is part of New York. Largely created through land reclamation, Ellis Island covers a land area of {{convert|27.5|acre|ha}}, with the {{convert|2.74|acre|adj=on}} natural island and contiguous areas comprising a {{convert|3.3|acre}} [[exclave]] of New York.<ref name=ERIS>{{cite web|author=Richard G. Castagna |author2=Lawrence L. Thornton |author3=John M. Tyrawski |title=GIS and Coastal Boundary Disputes: Where is Ellis Island? |publisher=ESRI |quote=The New York portion of Ellis Island is landlocked, enclaved within New Jersey's territory. |url=http://proceedings.esri.com/library/userconf/proc99/proceed/papers/pap138/p138.htm |access-date=September 10, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-date=October 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018003341/http://proceedings.esri.com/library/userconf/proc99/proceed/papers/pap138/p138.htm}}</ref><ref name="ms sea grant">{{cite web |last=Shaw|first=Tammy L. |title=Supreme Court Decides Ownership of Historic Ellis Island|publisher=Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Legal Program |url=http://masglp.olemiss.edu/Water%20Log/WL18/ellis.htm|access-date=September 12, 2014}}</ref> [[Shooters Island]], in the [[Kill van Kull]], is also shared with New York. [[Robbins Reef Light, New Jersey|Robbins Reef Light]] sits atop a reef which runs parallel the Bayonne and Jersey City waterfront.

[[File:Midtown from Hoboken.jpg|thumb|left|[[Midtown Manhattan]], seen across the Hudson River from [[Hoboken, New Jersey|Hoboken]] at night]]

Much of the county lies between the Hackensack and Hudson Rivers on a geographically long narrow peninsula, (sometimes called [[Bergen Neck]]), which is a contiguous urban area where it is often difficult to know when one's crossed a civic boundary. These boundaries and the topography-including many hills and inlets-create very distinct neighborhoods. [[County Route 501 (New Jersey)|Kennedy Boulevard]] runs the entire length of the peninsula.<ref>[http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/00000501__-.pdf New Jersey County Route 501] [[straight-line diagram]] from the [[New Jersey Department of Transportation]]</ref> Numerous [[cut (earthmoving)|cuts]] for rail and vehicular traffic cross [[Bergen Hill]].

Given its proximity to Manhattan, it is sometimes referred to as [[Sixth borough|New York City's sixth borough]].<ref>Holusha, John. [https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/11/realestate/commercial-property-jersey-riverfront-hudson-s-west-bank-optimistic-developers.html "Commercial Property / The Jersey Riverfront; On the Hudson's West Bank, Optimistic Developers"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 11, 1998. Accessed September 30, 2013. "'That simply is out of the question in midtown,' he said, adding that some formerly fringe areas in Midtown South that had previously been available were filled up as well. Given that the buildings on the New Jersey waterfront are new and equipped with the latest technology and just a few stops on the PATH trains from Manhattan, they become an attractive alternative. 'It's the sixth borough,' he said."</ref><ref>Kannapell, Andrea. [https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/15/nyregion/on-the-waterfront.html "On the Waterfront"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', February 15, 1998. Accessed September 30, 2013.</ref><ref>Garbarine, Rachelle [https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/19/realestate/commercial-property-north-bergen-nj-work-begins-on-a-350000-sq-ft-retail-center.html "Commercial Property/North Bergen, N.J.; Work Begins on a 350,000-Sq.-Ft. Retail Center"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', April 19, 1998. Accessed September 30, 2013.</ref>