Tappan Zee

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The Tappan Zee (or Tappan Sea) is a natural widening of the Hudson River, approximately 3 mi (5 km) across at its widest, in southeastern New York State in the United States. It stretches for approximately 10 mi (16 km) along the boundary between Rockland and Westchester counties, downstream from Croton Point to Irvington. It derives its name from the Tappan tribe of Native Americans, and the Dutch word zee, meaning a wide expanse of water.

Flanked by high steep bluffs of the New Jersey Palisades in the Hudson Valley, it forms somewhat of a natural lake on the Hudson approximately 10 mi (16 km) north of Manhattan. Communities along the Tappan Zee include Nyack and Haverstraw on the western side, as well as Ossining, Tarrytown, and Croton-on-Hudson on the eastern side. It is crossed by the Tappan Zee Bridge, opened in 1955 and approximately 3.1 mi (5 km) long, connecting Nyack and Tarrytown.

On September 14, 1609, the explorer Henry Hudson entered the Tappan Zee while sailing upstream from New York Harbor. At first Hudson, believed the widening of the river indicated that he had found the Northwest Passage. He proceeded upstream as far as present-day Albany before concluding that no such strait existed there.

The Tappan Zee is mentioned several times in Washington Irving's famous short story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". The tale took place in the vicinity of Tarrytown, next to Irving's own home at Sunnyside.