Jersey City, New Jersey County are sometimes referred to as New York City's Sixth Borough. Jersey City (and most of Hudson County) is located on the peninsula known as Bergen Neck, with a waterfront on the east at the Hudson River and New York Bay and on the west at the Hackensack River and Newark Bay. Its north-south axis corresponds with the ridge of Bergen Hill, the emergence of the Hudson Palisades. The city is the site of some of the earliest European settlements in North America, which grew into each other rather expanding from a central point. This growth and the topography greatly
New Jersey is frequently the target of jokes in American culture, especially from New York City-based television shows, such as "Saturday Night Live". Academic Michael Aaron Rockland attributes this to New Yorkers' view that New Jersey is the beginning of Middle America. The New Jersey Turnpike, which runs between two major East Coast cities, New York City and Philadelphia, is also cited as a reason, as people who traverse through the state may only see its industrial zones. Reality television shows like "Jersey Shore" and "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" have reinforced stereotypical views of New Jersey culture, but Rockland cited