New York–New Jersey Highlands New York–New Jersey Highlands The New York – New Jersey Highlands is a geological formation composed primarily of Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rock running from the Delaware River near Musconetcong Mountain, northeast through the Skylands Region of New Jersey along the Bearfort Ridge and the Ramapo Mountains, Sterling Forest, Harriman and Bear Mountain State Parks in New York, to the Hudson River at Storm King Mountain. The northern region is also known as the Hudson Highlands and the southern as the New Jersey Highlands. A broader definition would extend the region west to Reading, Pennsylvania, and east to the Housatonic
New Jersey English New Jersey, plus Middlesex and Monmouth Counties. Therefore, the short-"a" system of these areas of New Jersey is most similar to the New York City split-"a" system, however with some variation. East of the Hackensack River, Labov finds the short-"a" system to occurs with no more variation than in New York City proper. However, west of the Hackensack River, he finds that the normal function word constraint of New York City English is lost and the open syllable constraint becomes variable. While most of the New York metropolitan dialect heard in New Jersey is rhotic, that of Newark and Jersey