Editing Catskill Mountains (section)

{{Short description|Mountains in southeastern New York, U.S.}}
{{Use American English|date = September 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = September 2019}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Catskill Mountains
| photo = Central Catskills from Twin south summit.jpg
| photo_size = 300
| photo_caption = [[Slide Mountain (Ulster County, New York)|Slide Mountain]] and nearby peaks as seen from [[Twin Mountain (New York)|Twin Mountain]] in the northern Catskills
| country = United States
| subdivision1 = [[New York (state)|New York]]
| subdivision2_type = Region
| subdivision2 = [[Hudson Valley]], [[Southern Tier]], [[Mohawk Valley]]
| subdivision3_type = [[County (United States)|Counties]]
| subdivision3 = {{hlist|[[Delaware County, New York|Delaware]]|[[Greene County, New York|Greene]]|[[Schoharie County, New York|Schoharie]]|[[Sullivan County, New York|Sullivan]]|[[Ulster County, New York|Ulster]]}}
| settlement_type = Communities
| settlement = {{hlist|[[Ellenville, New York|Ellenville]]|[[Fleischmanns, New York|Fleischmanns]]|[[Hunter (village), New York|Hunter]]|[[Liberty (village), New York|Liberty]]|[[Margaretville, New York|Margaretville]]|[[Hancock, New York]]|[[Palenville, New York|Palenville]]|[[Phoenicia, New York|Phoenicia]]|[[Shandaken, New York|Shandaken]]|[[Shokan, New York|Shokan]]|[[Tannersville, New York|Tannersville]]|[[Wawarsing, New York|Wawarsing]]|[[Windham, New York|Windham]]|[[Woodstock, New York|Woodstock]]}}
| parent = [[Appalachian Mountains|Appalachian]] ([[Allegheny Plateau]])
| borders_on = {{hlist|[[Pocono Mountains|Poconos]]|[[Shawangunk Ridge]]|[[Hudson Valley]]|[[Great Appalachian Valley]]|[[Mohawk Valley]]}}
| subdivision4_type = Rivers
| subdivision4 = {{hlist|[[East Branch Delaware River]]|[[Esopus Creek]]|[[Neversink River]]|[[Rondout Creek]]|[[Schoharie Creek]]|[[West Branch Delaware River]]}}
| geology = [[Sedimentary]]
| age = {{hlist|[[Devonian]]|[[Mississippian age|Mississippian]]}}
| orogeny = 
| area_km2 = 15259
| range_coordinates = 
| length_mi = 111
| length_orientation = N/S
| width_mi = 102
| width_orientation = E/W
| highest = [[Slide Mountain (Ulster County, New York)|Slide Mountain]]
| elevation_ft = 4180
| coordinates = {{coord|41|59|55|N|74|23|11|W|type:mountain|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| map_image = NortheastAppalachiansMap.gif
| map_size = 300
| map_caption = Main regions of the northeast [[Appalachians]], with the Catskills as "C"
}}

The '''Catskill Mountains''', also known as '''the Catskills''', are a [[Physiographic regions of the world|physiographic province]] and [[List of subranges of the Appalachian Mountains|subrange]] of the larger [[Appalachian Mountains]], located in southeastern [[New York (state)|New York]].  As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas close to or within the borders of the [[Catskill Park]], a {{convert|700000|acre|km2|adj=on}} [[Forest Preserve (New York)|forest preserve]] protected from many forms of development under New York state law.

Geologically, the Catskills are a mature [[dissected plateau]], a flat region subsequently uplifted and eroded into sharp [[Terrain|relief]] by watercourses. The Catskills form the northeastern end of the [[Allegheny Plateau]] (also known as the [[Appalachian Plateau]]).<ref name="cc-gis">{{cite web|url=http://www.catskillcenter.org/atlas/geomorphology/geo_1_3dtopography.htm|title=REGIONAL TOPOGRAPHY|website=Catskills GIS Atlas|publisher=Catskill Center|access-date=2009-10-12|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029034005/http://www.catskillcenter.org/atlas/geomorphology/geo_1_3dtopography.htm|archive-date=2009-10-29}}</ref><ref name="USGS-Water">{{cite web | title = Physiographic divisions of the conterminous U. S | publisher = U.S. Geological Survey | url = http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/metadata/usgswrd/XML/physio.xml | access-date = 2007-12-06 }}</ref>

The Catskills were named by early Dutch settlers. They are well known in American society as the setting for films and works of art, including many 19th-century [[Hudson River School]] paintings, as well as for being a favored destination for vacationers from [[New York City]] in the mid-20th century. The region's many large resorts gave many young [[Stand-up comedy|stand-up comedians]] an opportunity to hone their craft. Since the late 19th century, the Catskills have been a haven for artists, musicians and writers, especially in and around the towns of [[Woodstock, New York|Woodstock]] and [[Phoenicia, New York|Phoenicia]].