Mount Nonotuck

Coordinates: 42°16′48″N 72°37′13″W / 42.28000°N 72.62028°W / 42.28000; -72.62028
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Mount Nonotuck
igneous
Climbing
Easiest routeAuto road

Mount Nonotuck, 827 feet (252 m), is the northernmost peak of the

Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts and part of the larger Metacomet Ridge which stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border. Rugged and considered scenic, the peak rises steeply from the river valley 700 feet (210 m) below. It is located within the town of Holyoke.[1]

The 110-mile (180 km)

cross country skiing.[2]

History

Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Connecticut River Oxbow (now a lake), immortalized by the famous landscape painter Thomas Cole just before natural flooding and erosion separated it from the Connecticut River, is visible from the ruins.[3][4]

Geology and ecology

Mount Nonotuck, like much of the Metacomet Ridge, is composed of

rifting apart of the North American continent from Africa and Eurasia. Lava welled up from the rift and solidified into sheets of strata hundreds of feet thick. Subsequent faulting and earthquake activity tilted the strata, creating the cliffs and ridges of Mount Nonotuck.[5] Hot, dry upper slopes, cool, moist ravines, and mineral-rich ledges of basalt talus produce a combination of microclimate ecosystems on the mountain that support plant and animal species uncommon in greater Massachusetts.[6] (See Metacomet Ridge
for more information on the geology and ecosystem of Mount Nonotuck).

See also

References

  1. ^ The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail Guide. 9th Edition. The Appalachian Mountain Club. Amherst, Massachusetts, 1999.
  2. ^ Ryan, Christopher. "Mt. Tom Reservation" 3rd ed. Map. Hamilton I. Newall Printing, Amherst, Massachusetts. 1994.
  3. ^ Mt. Holyoke Range Historical Timeline Cited November 27, 2007.
  4. ^ Roque, Oswaldo Rodriguez (1982). "The Oxbow" by Thomas Cole: Iconography of an American Landscape Painting. Metropolitan Museum Journal. pp. 63-7.
  5. Raymo, Maureen E.
    Written in Stone: A Geologic History of the Northeastern United States. Globe Pequot, Chester, Connecticut, 1989.
  6. ^ Farnsworth, Elizabeth J. "Metacomet-Mattabesett Trail Natural Resource Assessment. Archived 2007-08-07 at the Wayback Machine" 2004. PDF wefile cited November 1, 2007.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mount_Nonotuck&oldid=1055436463"