Totowa is a Passaic County borough located west of Paterson along the Passaic River and the lower slopes of the Watchung Mountains. Interstate 80, U.S. Route 46, and Route 23 provide extensive access toward Wayne, Newark, New York City, and the wider northern New Jersey highway network. Totowa contains established residential neighborhoods, apartment communities, schools, parks, shopping centers, offices, warehouses, and industrial properties. Union Boulevard and Totowa Road serve as important local corridors connecting different sections of the borough. The community developed from earlier agricultural and mill areas into a major suburban employment and commercial center during the twentieth century. Industrial districts are concentrated near highways and the river, while residential streets rise toward higher ground. Totowa borders Paterson, Woodland Park, Little Falls, Wayne, and Haledon, giving it close ties to both urban Passaic County and the suburban communities farther west.