The Hudson at Work / Life Under the Docks

The Hudson at Work, also, Life Under the Docks. . , Side 1: The Hudson at Work, Ship radios here often crackle the message “ Circle Line leaving pier (sic) 83, southbound on the North River.” Are you puzzled? Where is the North River?, Back when New York was the Dutch colony New Amsterdam, the Hudson was called the North River – distinguishing it from the East River and the South River (now the Delaware River). Boat captains here use the Dutch name., Circle Line boats, ferries to New Jersey, and tugboats with barges are the most common working vessels here. Basic ingredients for city construction projects come down the Hudson; powdered cement in barges and crushed rock in stone scows. Oil and gasoline go up the river in tanker barges., From around the world, large ships bound as far north as Albany pass this point with oil, molasses, cocoa beans, and gypsum, a mineral used to make sheetrock. Grain and heavy equipment are shipped south out of Albany., North River or Hudson, the waterway before you is a busy place., How wide, how deep…? , How wide is the Hudson here? , Approximately three quarters of a mile across to New Jersey., How deep is the water? , In the channel the river has an average depth of 50 feet at low tide., Side 2: Life Under the Docks, The Hudson’s muddy water hides abundant life under Hudson River park piers. But even a good look might live you in the dark. Many of the animals here resemble plants, blobs of jelly, or completely creatures., Consider the barnacle. Encased in shells, these clam-like creatures are actually cousins of the shrimps and crabs that crawl over the pillars, Shipworms are clams, nor worms. Their shell have evolved into small, sharp wood boring bits that can severely damage wooden docks., The lined seahorse in common here. With its distinctive head and neck, erect posture, and a prehensile tail for holding onto the pilings, this fish does not look fishy., Excepting the fish, which of the creatures on the pilings is the closest kin to humans? The answer is the sea squirt, whose appearance gives it another common name – Sea grape. its larva has a primitive backbone and spinal cord in its tail., Putting a Finger on It, To fully experience the shapes and textures of the creatures living under the piers, upon would need to put on diving gear and take the plunge. That’s not practical for the vast majority of us, so a raised relief panel is offered as a substitute. Trace these animals with your fingertips, or use paper and pencil, crayon, or pastels to make rubbings of the organisms shown here.