Hominy Hills facts for kids

The Hominy Hills are a group of small hills in New Jersey, USA. They are found in Monmouth County, New Jersey, near the towns of Colts Neck, Howell, Wall, and Tinton Falls. These hills are not very tall, but they reach over 300 feet (91 meters) high. The highest point is called Throckmorton Hill, which is 307 feet (93 meters) tall. It's also the highest spot in Howell Township.

Where are the Hominy Hills?

The Hominy Hills stretch about four miles from west to east. They are located between the towns of Freehold and Asbury Park. A large part of these hills is inside the Naval Weapons Station Earle.

The hills act like a natural wall, separating different river systems. To the north, water flows into the Swimming River. To the south, water flows into the Manasquan River and the Shark River. This natural separation is called a drainage divide.

Important Hills in the Range

Here are some of the main hills you can find in the Hominy Hills, listed from west to east. All of these hills are inside the Naval Weapons Station Earle:

• Throckmorton Hill: This is the tallest hill, at 307 feet (93.57 meters) high. It's also known as Hominy Hill proper. A road called Lunga Road goes up this hill. In the past, there was a fire lookout tower here. Now, a water tower stands nearby.
• Cranberry Hill: This hill is 244 feet (74.37 meters) tall. You can find it southeast of where Esperance and Macassar roads meet. A fire road crosses over it.
• Huckleberry Hill (or Lippincott Hill): Also 244 feet (74.37 meters) high, this hill is located between Esperance Road and Munda Road. The very beginning of the Shark River is found south of this hill.

How the Hominy Hills Formed

The Hominy Hills are a type of landform called a cuesta. This means they have one steep side and one gentle slope. They are made of layers of sand, mud, and gravel that are not stuck together very tightly. These materials come from the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

The very top layer of the hills is called the Cohansey Formation. It's made of sand, gravel, and a tough material called ironstone. This hard layer acts like a protective cap. It keeps the softer layers underneath, like the Kirkwood Formation, from wearing away easily. The steep side of the hills faces north, while the gentler slope faces south.

Plants and Animals

The Hominy Hills are part of the Pinelands region. This area has many different types of forests. You can find forests mainly with pine trees, forests mainly with oak trees, and mixed forests. The most common tree here is the pitch pine (Pinus rigida).

Many kinds of oak trees also grow here, including:

• Black oak (Quercus velutina)
• White oak (Quercus alba)
• Post oak (Quercus stellata)
• Chestnut oak (Quercus prinus)
• Scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea)
• Blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica)

These forests often have trees spaced far apart, letting a lot of sunlight reach the ground.

The area under the trees is often thick with shrubs. You can find black huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata) and early lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum). Other plants like mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) and sheep laurel (Kalmia angustifolia) are also present. Bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) grows in large amounts.

The Hominy Hills pine land extends from near Centreville and Green Grove westward about 6 miles, and its greatest breadth from north to south is a little more than 3 miles. It includes the southern part of Shrewsbury and Atlantic Townships, and about 2 square miles of Howell Township. The surface is quite hilly, the highest of the Hominy Hills rising to 308 feet above tide, and the whole tract is very poor, the soil being white sand on the lowlands and white sandy gravel and coarse white sand on the hills. A great deal of the lowland is also too wet for cultivation, even if otherwise fit. With a few exceptions this tract is all in forest, the timber nearly all pine, small and stunted - looking.

Many animals live in the Hominy Hills. You might see whitetailed deer, gray squirrels, and red squirrels. Chipmunks and red foxes also make their homes here. A wide variety of birds can be found, including Turkey Vultures and Red Tail Hawks.

Recreation and Public Access

Most of the Hominy Hills are located within the Naval Weapons Station Earle. Because of this, there are no public areas for recreation directly within the hills. However, the Hominy Hill Golf Course is operated by the Monmouth County Park System. This golf course is actually located in the lower areas just north of the Hominy Hills.