Clove Lakes natural area

Forest Ave., Victory Blvd., bet. Clove Rd. and Brookside Ave., Royal Oak Rd.

Clove Lakes Park, with almost 134 acres of forests, lakes, streams and trails, derives its name from the Dutch word "kloven," meaning cleft. This particular cleft is the valley and brook between Emerson and Grymes Hills. The valley was deepened by the Wisconson Glacier 20,000 years ago. The brook that ran through the valley originated in Clove Swamp and ran to the Kill Van Kull. The damming of this brook over the years created the different lakes and ponds in the area.

The northwest section of the park is home to New York City's largest single-trunked tree, a tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera). At over 110 feet tall and at least three hundred years old, with a diameter of 93 inches, this tree survived the settlers' extensive logging and clearing during colonization.

Also of interest in Clove Lakes Park are the outcroppings of serpentine rock at the crest of the hills. The spine of Staten Island is a broad ridge of serpentinite, which was formed during the Ordovician period (435-500 million years ago) when heat and pressure altered rocks rich in magnesium and iron. Ash green in color, serpentinite is named after the patterns in the rock that resemble snake skin. Its mineral composition includes fibrous chrysotile (known commercially as asbestos), talc, oluvine (green lava grains) as well as ferromagnesia, a mineral containing magnesium and iron.