The
Taconic Mountains or
Taconic Range are a
physiographic section of the larger
New England province and part of the
Appalachian Mountains, running along the eastern border of
New York State and adjacent New England from northwest
Connecticut to western
Massachusetts, north to central western
Vermont in the town of
Brandon, after which they lose prominence and dwindle into scattered hills and isolated peaks which continue north toward
Burlington, Vermont. To the south, they fade into the
Hudson Highlands range.
[Day Hiker's Guide to Vermont 5th ed. (2006). Green Mountain Club: Waterbury Center, Vermont][Raymo, Chet and Maureen E. (1989). Written in Stone: A Geologic History of the Northeastern United States. Chester, Connecticut: Globe Pequot.][Doll, Charles G. (1961). United States Geologic Survey: Washington]In Massachusetts and Connecticut, the Taconic Mountains are often popularly grouped as part of the
Berkshires; in Vermont they are similarly grouped as part of the
Green Mountains. However, the Taconic Mountains are geologically distinct from the Berkshires and Green Mountains.
The highest peak of the Taconic Mountains is
Mount Equinox 3,816 feet (1163 m), located in
Manchester, Vermont.
Mount Greylock 3,492 ft (1,064 m), the highest point in Massachusetts, and
Mount Frissell 2,454 feet (748 m), the highest point in Connecticut, are also part of the Taconic Mountains. The range is popular for
outdoor recreation; it contains several hundred miles of trails including sections of the
Appalachian Trail and over sixty designated areas of land protected by federal, state, county, and municipal, government agencies and non-profit organizations.
Natural resource extraction has been an important industry in the Taconic Mountains; extraction industries have included
marble,
limestone,
slate, and
iron mining as well as
logging and
charcoaling.
[Massachusetts Trail Guide (2004). Boston: Appalachian Mountain Club.][Biomap:Guiding Land Conservation for Biodiversity in Massachusetts (2001). Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Boston][Yokun Ridge (2005). Berkshire Natural Resources Council. Pittsfield, Massachusetts.][Mount Greylock (2001). Berkshire Natural Resources Council. Pittsfield, Massachusetts][South Taconic Range (2002). Berkshire Natural Resources Council. Pittsfield, Massachusetts][Bomoseen State Park (1989). Vermont Agency of Natural Resources: Waterbury Center, Vermont.]History
"Taconic", a
Native American name, was once transliterated as the Taghkanic or Taughannock, meaning "in the trees" and used as the name of a
Lenape chieftan. Taghkanic is still used in parts of western (New York) for both features within and without the Taconic Mountains region.
Geology and physiography
The Taconic mountain range was formed from the collision of the
North American Plate into a
volcanic island arc, similar to modern-day
Japan, during the late
Ordovician period, around 440 million years ago.
The western side of the Taconics rise gradually from a series of hills in eastern New York to a sharp mountain crest along the west border of the New England states; the east side of the Taconics falls off abruptly where river valleys divide it from the Berkshires and Green Mountains. The total length of the range is about with a varying width of 5 to .
The Taconic Mountains are a
physiographic section of the larger
New England province, which in turn is part of the larger
Appalachian physiographic division.
Geography
The Taconic Mountains begin in northwest Connecticut and northeast
Dutchess County, New York and extend through western
Berkshire County, Massachusetts and the adjacent counties in New York, then along the border of New York and Vermont. In New York, a wide region of foothills gradually rises to the crest of the Taconic Mountains along the state's eastern border. To the east, the Taconic Mountains fall off abruptly, ending in the valleys of the
Housatonic River, the upper
Hoosic River, and the greater Valley of Vermont.
The Berkshires and the
Green Mountains rise to the east of the Taconics. To the west, the Taconic foothills are bordered by the
Hudson River Valley and, near the northern terminus of the Taconic Mountains, they are touched on by the eastern foothills of the
Adirondak Mountains in
Washington County, New York.
Because the Taconic Mountains are geologically related and contiguous with the
Hudson Highlands, the southern boundary of the Taconics is difficult to define. Some notable South Taconic peaks include Mount Frissell, the south slope of which contains the highest point in Connecticut at 2,379 feet (725 m); Bear Mountain 2,326 feet (709 m), the highest mountain peak in Connecticut;
Alander Mountain 2,239 feet (682 m) and
Brace Mountain 2,311 feet (704 m),
Mount Everett 2,624 ft (800 m), the highest point in the South Taconic subrange and the home of an upland
pitch pine and
scrub oak biome; and
Mount Fray 1,893 feet (577 m), home of the
Catamount Ski Area.
Bash Bish Falls, reputedly Massachusetts' highest waterfall, is located in the South Taconic Range. The Appalachian Trail traverses the eastern escarpment of the range; the 15.7 mi (25.3 km)
South Taconic Trail traverses the western escarpment. The South Taconic area is among the numerous "Last Great Places in America," designated from time to time, by
The Nature Conservancy, in part due to its extensive forest and vulnerability to development.
Central Segment and Upper Hoosic River Valley RegionNorth of Catamount Ski Area, the higher hills shift slightly west and become somewhat less prominent. North of White Hill the Green River cuts through the range. Immediately beyond this, notable summits include Bald Mountain, , and Harvey Mountain 2,067 feet (630 m), , part of the newly created
Harvey Mountain State Forest in New York and the site of extensive
heath barrens; and Beebe Hill 1,762 feet (537 m), , with its abrupt, expansive views of the
Hudson River valley from a summit firetower.
Several miles to the east of Harvey Mountain a series of ridges and summits are designated The Stockbridge-
Yokun Ridge Reserve and are zoned for conservation purposes by the U.S. Forest Service. The area extends from the Massachusetts Turnpike to the southerly neighborhoods of Pittsfield, and summit elevations range roughly between 1,500 and .
At Pittsfield, the crest shifts west once again to hills contained within Pittfield State Forest, Balance Rock and Bates Memorial State Park, where heights include
Holy Mount 1,968 feet (600 m), once the location of religious rituals practiced by a former
Shaker community and
Berry Hill 2,200 feet (670 m), notable for its extensive stands of wild
azalea.
North of
Jiminy Peak , the valley of Kinderhook Creek cuts through the hills. Here the western-most ridgeline is dominated by Misery Mountain and
Berlin Mountain 2,818 feet (859 m) and extending into
Pownal, Vermont; the eastern-most, which terminates in
Williamstown, Massachusetts is ruled by Mount Greylock 3,491 feet (1,064 m), the highest point in Massachusetts. Between these is the long ridge of Brodie Mountain. The area hosts three long distance trails (The Appalachian Trail, the
Taconic Crest Trail, and the
Taconic Skyline Trail) and an extensive network of smaller trails.
North of the Massachusetts border, the profile of the Taconic Range is cut and eroded by the
Hoosic River as it turns west and then south toward its confluence with the Hudson River, and by its tributary rivers in the vicinity of
Bennington, Vermont. Mount Anthony , notable for its caves and as the location of
Southern Vermont College, stands as a satellite peak above the surrounding eroded terrain. North of Bennington, the range gradually rises to its highest prominence with peaks such as Mount Equinox 3,850 feet (1,175 m), the high point of the Taconic Mountains, and
Dorset Mountain 3,770 feet (1,150 m), a
New England 100 Highest list summit. Other notable summits include
Grass Mountain 3,109 feet (948 m), a
New England Fifty Finest list mountain; and Mount Aeolus , the location of several defunct
limestone quarries and the site of
Aelous Cave an important
bat hibernaculum. Designated hiking trails are located on Mount Equinox, Dorset Mountain, and Mount Aeolus, and several other peaks within the region.
Immediately north of
Danby, Vermont, the Taconic Range broadens and becomes shorter. It exhibits several parallel ridgelines, dominated to the west by mountains composed of
slate and similar rock, most notably the ridgeline of Saint Catherine Mountain , with its conspicuous long cliff face visible from
Wells and
Poultney. The area around
Lake Saint Catherine contains extensive
slate quarries. The ridgeline to the east, composed of
schist and
phyllite, is dominated by the escarpment of Tinmouth Mountain , overlooking the Valley of Vermont to the east in the town of
Tinmouth. A field of less descript ridges and peaks lies between these two summits.
[DeLorme Topo 6.0 (2004). Mapping software. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme.]Near the end of the range, in the vicinity of
Rutland, Vermont, the Taconic Mountains show several prominent peaks with dramatic, irregular cliff faces clearly visible from
U.S. Route 4 west of the city of Rutland; these include Herrick Mountain 2,726 feet (831 m); Grandpa's Knob , the former site of the world's first large-scale electricity-producing
windmill; and the
butte-like Bird Mountain (also called Birdseye Mountain) , home of the Bird Mountain Wildlife Management Area and notable as an important
raptor migration path and nesting site. Also part of the Taconic Mountains are the foothills of the
Lake Bomoseen region west of Birdseye and Granpa's Knob, notable for their extensive
slate quarrying operations. North of Grandpa's Knob, the Taconic Range soon diminishes into scattered hills which extend north into the
Burlington, Vermont region. Isolated summits in this area include
Snake Mountain (Vermont) , a
Nature Conservancy preserve featuring a variety of rare and endangered species; and
Mount Philo , home of
Mount Philo State Park with its mountaintop campground.
Conservation Status
A narrow strip along the entire Western border of Massachusetts has been designated by the U.S.
Forest Service for potential conservation as the "Taconic Mountains Forest Legacy Area" under its
Forest Legacy Program. The designated area averages perhaps a mile in width extending east of the state line, but is considerably wider in the southern Taconics region and middle section of
Berkshire County. The district in Massachusetts abut parts of New York State and Connecticut that carry similar designations under the federal program, which affords subsidies for the acquisition of conservation easements when available for purchase. The "Stockbridge-
Yokun Ridge Reserve was designated as such at a slightly earlier date under the same federal program, which is aimed at close coordination with state and local government authorities.
,
See also
