The Bronx as of 2010 had a population of 1.4 million, and it is one of the five boroughs of New York City. The four other boroughs are Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island, and in its total their metropolitan area has nearly 20 million people.
On this day August 9th, in 1639, The Bronx is settled by Jonas Bronck. Bronck was a Dutch immigrant to New Netherland, the area around modern-day New York (NYC proper was called New Amsterdam, for the Dutch capital, under Dutch colonial rule). The Bronx River and borough are named after him. The Bronx River divides the Bronx in half and stretches 24 miles; providing fresh water to New York City. The West is hillier and closer to Manhattan, while the Eastern side is flatter and closer to Long Island.
The Bronx is one of the most densely populated areas in America, coming in third only to two of its neighboring boroughs, Manhattan and Brooklyn. A quarter of its land area is dedicated to parks, which include the Bronx Zoo. The Bronx Zoo is 265 acres, making it the largest metropolitan zoo. There are thousands of animals in the magnificent place and it surely can be marked as a geographical treasure!