Moss Island

Moss Island

Moss Island is an island in Little Falls, New York, located between the Mohawk River and the New York State Barge Canal. It is composed of an igneous intrusion of syenite, and became an island when canal locks were built so boats could avoid the 40-foot (12 m) falls. It is known for its large 40–50-foot (12–15 m) deep potholes as well as being popular with local rock climbers. It was declared a National Natural Landmark in 1976. Efforts by the local community to turn Moss Island into a New York State Park were begun in 2008.

Moss

Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta sensu stricto. Bryophyta sensu lato may also refer to the parent group, bryophytes, which comprises liverworts, mosses, and hornworts. Mosses typically form dense green clumps or mats, often in damp or shady locations. The individual plants are usually composed of simple leaves that are generally only one cell thick, attached to a stem that may be branched or unbranched and has only a limited role in conducting water and nutrients. Although some species have conducting tissues, these are generally poorly developed and structurally different from similar tissue found in vascular plants. Mosses do not have seeds and after fertilisation develop sporophytes with unbranched stalks topped with single capsules containing spores. They are typically 0.2–10 cm (0.1–3.9 in) tall, though some species are much larger. Dawsonia superba, the tallest moss in the world, can grow to 60 cm (24 in) in height. There are approximately 12,000 species.

Island

An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been part of a continent. Oceanic islands can be formed from volcanic activity, grow into atolls from coral reefs, and form from sediment along shorelines, creating barrier islands. River islands can also form from sediment and debris in rivers. Artificial islands are those made by humans, including small rocky outcroppings built out of lagoons and large-scale land reclamation projects used for development.

moss

Noun

1. Any of various small, green, seedless plants growing on the ground or on the surfaces of trees, stones, etc.; now specifically, a plant of the phylum Bryophyta (formerly division Musci).
2. A kind or species of such plants.

Verb

1. To become covered with moss.
2. To cover (something) with moss.

island

Noun

1. A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, totally surrounded by water.
2. A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, partially surrounded by water; a peninsula; a half-island.

Verb

1. To surround with water; make into an island.
2. To set, dot (as if) with islands.