Historic topographic maps are reviewed to locate landfills constructed
within New York City during four time intervals between 1844 and 1994
. A total of 184.75 km(2) (45,650 acres) of landfill are identified (a
pproximately 20% of the study area). Data are not available to determi
ne the fill composition at most sites but literature sources indicate
that municipal solid waste (MSW) has been an important source of fill
since at least 1891. Qualitative temporal trends in the spatial distri
bution of landfills and the composition and thickness of MSW landfills
are observed. The oldest landfills are clustered in the vicinity of t
he early urban center (southern New York County) but expand in spatial
distribution after the turn of this century. Logs of borings through
10 MSW landfills show that waste landfills built prior to the mid-1950
s contain abundant ash (coal ash is common in the oldest landfills) an
d are relatively thin (3-7 m) with no topographic mounding. In MSW lan
dfills built since that time, uncombusted organic matter is abundant,
thicknesses increase greatly (16-27 m), and pronounced topographic mou
nding is observed. Most landfills identified in this study were built
on tidal wetlands. Fine-grained wetland deposits underlying the landfi
lls and close proximity to large surface-water bodies favor lateral tr
ansport of leachate from MSW landfills in shallow ground water and loc
al discharge to surface water. The wide distribution of historic landf
ills and common use of MSW for fill indicates that these sites should
be considered in investigations of ground water, surface water, and se
diment quality in New York City and other urban areas where extensive
historic landfilling has occurred.