Contrary to common myth, Central Park is not entirely man-made. Below the 10 million cubic yards of topsoil imported from New Jersey to replace the contaminated dirt of New York lies ancient bedrock. These formations can be used as a natural guide through the park, as the tilt of these protruding rocks dip in a southerly direction.
According to Sidney Horenstein, a geologist and environmental educator emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History, the durable Manhattan schist that runs down the island's center began to form about 450 million years ago as soft mud on an ancient seafloor. The sediments, compressed into metamorphic rock, were folded and forced to the surface by continental collisions perhaps getting their southerly tilt during these plate pileups or as the Atlantic Ocean opened up 100 million years ago, Horenstein said.
All this seems technical, but might be good to remember next time you get stuck in Central Park without your compass!
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