Goffle Brook
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Goffle Brook is a tributary of the Passaic River which flows south through a section of both Passaic County and Bergen County in New Jersey and drains the eastern side of the First Watchung Mountain. Heading up the brook from the confluence with the Passaic River, one encounters the towns of Hawthorne, Ridgewood, Midland Park, and Wyckoff.
The brook, like the river it feeds into, has tributaries of its own. Traveling north along the brook from its mouth, the first tributary encountered is Janes Brook, in Hawthorne. Much of this small stream, which can be found in the wooded, southern section of Goffle Brook Park, was plowed under at some point, but a small portion of it still funnels water into Goffle Brook. The second (and much more significant) tributary of Goffle Brook is Deep Voll Brook or Deep Brook (captioned name used by the USGS in 1995), which joins Goffle Brook just north of Goffle Hill Road at the far northern end of Goffle Brook Park. (Note: Deep Voll is a corruption of the Dutch Diepte Voll or Depe Voll. It literally translates to Deep Fall.) Deep Voll Brook runs from northwest to southeast, draining a section of Hawthorne and Wyckoff. After Deep Voll Brook are two other smaller streams that junction Goffle Brook relatively close to each other. Both of these less significant tributaries appear to be unnamed. Beyond these two tributaries is yet another tiny tributary that drains a small swamp at the head of a manmade lake called Gypsy Pond. This tributary also appears to have no name.
Continuing north, past the tributary at Gypsy Pond, Goffle Brook ultimately splits into six different smaller branches which comprise the head of Goffle Brook. These headstreams all drain water from portions of Midland Park and Wyckoff, though a section of one of these branches extends into Waldwick as well.
Four significant dams exist along Goffle Brook. In Hawthorne, a dam just south of Goffle Hill Road forms the Duck Pond. In Ridgewood, a dam just north of Rock Road forms a small pond, and a bigger dam just a little further upstream holds back Gypsy Pond. A fourth dam exists just to the west of where Goffle Road crosses the brook in Midland Park.
