Felix M. Warburg Hall of New York State Environment

An October view near Stissing Mountain.

Ninety miles north of New York City in Dutchess County lies Stissing Mountain and the village of Pine Plains. Here, as in other parts of the world, each individual feature of the landscape is the home of definite plants and animals whose lives depend upon their environment and upon each other.

This hall is intended to give you a better understanding of a living landscape.

Get Tickets  »

This hall is included with any admission.

Join as a Museum Member

Enjoy free tickets for General Admission, special exhibitions, giant-screen movies, planetarium shows, and more!

Learn More »
The Allosaurus and Barosaurus dinosaur mounts in a dramatic staged face-off in the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda. In a dramatic representation of an imagined prehistoric encounter between predator and prey, a Barosaurus rears up to protect its young from an attacking Allosaurus. The enormous Barosaurus is the world’s tallest freestanding dinosaur mount, and composed of casts of real bone, since fossils are too heavy to support in this way.

Support for this digital resource is provided by
the Dyson Foundation.

In This Hall

Glaciation This case contains a triassic sandstone slab showing evidence of glaciation, and photographs of glacial features in the present landscape. Geological History and Structure Midway between the Hudson River and the Connecticut state line is the sharp profile of Stissing Mountain. Relations of Plants to Geology and Soil These six display cases show landscapes shaped by different rocks. The type of rock affects the composition of soil and influences... Soils and Soil Conservation This case contains three large soil sections, as well as a collection of rocks that weather into sands, silts, and clays. Life in The Soil Life in the soil is ordinarily invisible to man, but it is an important factor in the existence of life above. Roots in the Soil Roots serve as anchorage for plants and help to reduce soil erosion. But their chief function is to absorb water from the soil, thereby... Rotation of Farm Crops in Dutchess County, New York Crops of this region are connected almost entirely with the dairy industry, either as fodder or for soil enrichment. The Apple Orchard in Dutchess County, New York Friends and enemies of the orchard. Fertilizers in the Soil In the fall man takes crops away, and unless he makes replacements of some sort, the soil becomes poor and useless. From Field to Lake A block of ice embedded in sand and gravel melted about 15,000 years ago, leaving this pond known as a glacial kettle. Life in the Water This two-part section illustrates the cycle of nutrition and decay in the water and a lake's seasonal cycle. Seasons in the Woods This three-part diorama shows how plant life changes seasonally in the woods. Agriculture This five-part diorama describes land use from before European settlement through the 1950's. The Changing Forest Progressive changes after fire, cattle grazing, and forest cutting. New York State Geologic Map A color-coded map showing elevation of the region from Hudson, New York, at the top down to New York City at the bottom. An October Afternoon Near Stissing Mountain Every living thing, over a long period of time, has become adjusted to survive in a particular habitat. Bird's Eye View of Stissing Mountain and the Valley Of Fine This region was chosen as a basis for the hall because it has mountains, natural lakes, forests, a variety of rock formations and...