Tappan Zee

Tappan Zee
Northern Tappan Zee
EtymologyTuphanne, a Lenape term thought to mean "cold water", and zee, Dutch for Sea
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
Physical characteristics
SourceHudson River, by way of Haverstraw Bay
 • locationCroton-on-Hudson, New York
 • coordinates41°10′03.64″N 73°53′54.65″W / 41.1676778°N 73.8985139°W / 41.1676778; -73.8985139
 • elevation0 ft (0 m)
MouthNorth River (Lower Hudson)
 • location
Dobbs Ferry, New York
 • coordinates
41°00′47.20″N 73°53′28.81″W / 41.0131111°N 73.8913361°W / 41.0131111; -73.8913361
 • elevation
0 ft (0 m)
Length10.5 mi (16.9 km), North-South
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftCroton River, Pocantico River
 • rightSparkill Creek
NOAA Nav Chart12343

The Tappan Zee (English pronunciation: /ˌtæpən ˈziː/ ; also Tappan Sea or Tappaan Zee) is a natural widening of the Hudson River, about 3 miles (4.8 km) across at its widest, in southeastern New York. It stretches about 10 miles (16 km) along the boundary between Rockland and Westchester counties, downstream from Croton Point to Irvington. Its name is from the Tappan people of the Lenape, and the Dutch word zee [zeː], meaning a sea.

Flanked to the west by high steep bluffs of the Palisades, it forms something of a natural lake on the Hudson about 10 miles (16 km) north of Manhattan, in New York City. Communities along the Tappan Zee include Nyack and Piermont on the western side as well as Ossining, Briarcliff Manor, Sleepy Hollow, and Tarrytown on the eastern side.