2. Pleistocene Induced Formations From the Last Ice Age Can Still be Found In the Park

Photo courtesy Paul Kittas

Fort Tryon Park sits on a formation of Manhattan schist – an extremely strong bedrock that makes the city’s skyline possible. On the east and north end, the low-lying parts of the park are built on Inwood marble. As a part of their “Geologic City Project”, The American Museum of Natural History provides information about the park’s Pleistocene induced formations, including large glacial potholes and glacial striations from the last Ice Age.

Looking up from Riverside Drive on the west side of Fort Tryon Park will reveal the steep terrain of the landscape. For a better idea of how high the hill is, take a loop on the park drive that passes under a stone-clad bridge connecting to Margaret Corbin Drive. The parapet wall of the concrete bridge is clad in stone and is probably one of the highest arched masonry bridges in the city.