In the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States lies the famous state of New Jersey. Surrounding it from the north and east side is New York, while the south east and south sides are covered up by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west side lies Pennsylvania and all of the south west side is covered up by Delaware. According to the latest United States census of 2010, New Jersey recorded an official population of 8,791,894 citizens. With such a heavy population, it is United States most densely populated state and also the second wealthiest. The history of New Jersey dates back to the early 17th century when the when the area was inhibited by a historical tribe known by the name of Lenape. These early settlers found home all along the coastline. Later on, the area was taken over by the Native Americans who remained settled there for almost 2800 years. After this the Europeans started coming over. The Dutch and the Swedes were among one of the firsts to set foot on this land. Then came the British who took over control and named the area the Province of New Jersey after the largest British Channel Island, Jersey.
New Jersey being such a large land area can be broken down into 5 regions based on its natural geography and population statistics. First comes the Northeastern New Jersey area or the Gateway Region, which is situated within the urban New York portion. Many residents travel into the city to work from there. Then there is the Northwestern New Jersey, or the Skylands. The fourth region is the central-west and southwest regions which lie within the metropolitan Philadelphia, and come under the wing of the Delaware Valley. And lastly, the fifth region is the Pine Barrens located in the heart of the southern part. It is largely covered up by mixed pine and oak forests, and has an extremely low population density than the rest of the state. New Jersey has a very famous coastline. It is also know especially for all the rivers that pass through it. The names of some of the major rivers flowing through it are Hudson, Raritan, Delaware, Hackensack, Musconetcong, Mullica, Rahway, Rancocas, Maurice, Manasquan and Tom rivers.
The eastern coast of New Jersey houses an island known by the name of Long Beach Island or the LBI which has a lot of popular recreational beaches. The famous Barnegat Lighthouse is also present here on the island’s northern tip. New Jersey has a very exciting topography. The area is greatly filled up by parks and trails managed by the National Park service. Among them are the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Delaware National Scenic River, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Ellis Island National Monument, Gateway National Recreation Area in Monmouth County, Great Egg Harbor River, Morristown National Historical Park in Morristown, New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route, New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve, and Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange.