Welcome to the New Jersey Environment

Benjamin Franklin said, "New Jersey is a keg tapped at both ends," describing the state's geographic relationship to Manhattan and Philadelphia. But the Garden State is much more than a pause between these important cities; it is an ecologically and historically significant land mass. With a temperate climate and a location on the Atlantic Coast that make it a pleasant place to live all year round, New Jersey's 127 miles of white sand beaches attract a large number of beach bound tourists in the summertime. Inland, the state contains a variety of parks and recreation areas, including the Appalachian foothills in the northwest and the biologically diverse Pine Barrens in the south. At Washington Crossing State Park, in Princeton and the capital, Trenton, visitors can trace the steps of General George Washington and his troops as they fought the British in the Revolutionary War. It is no wonder that this small state with so much to offer has the highest population density in the nation.