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The Adirondack mountain range is located in the northeastern part of New York that runs through Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties.
The mountains are often included by geographers in the Appalachian Mountains, but they are geologically more similar to the Laurentian Mountains of Canada.[1] They are bordered on the east by Lake Champlain and Lake George, which separate them from the Green Mountains in Vermont. They are bordered to the south by the Mohawk Valley and to the west by the Tug Hill Plateau, separated by the Black River. This region is south of the St. Lawrence River.
Adirondack State park
The Adirondack Mountains are contained within the 6.1 million acres (25,000 km²) of the Adirondack Park, which includes a constitutionally-protected Forest Preserve of approximately 2.3 million acres (9,300 km²). About 43% of the land is owned by the state, with 57% private inholdings, heavily regulated by the Adirondack Park Agency. [1] The Adirondack Park contains thousands of streams, brooks and lakes, most famously Lake Placid, adjacent to the village of Lake Placid, two-time site of the Olympic Winter Games, the Saranac Lakes, favored by the sportsmen who made the Adirondacks famous, and Raquette Lake, site of many of the first Great Camps.
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondacks do not form a connected range, but is an eroded dome consisting of many summits, isolated or in groups, often with little apparent order. There are over one hundred summits, ranging from under 1200 to over 5000 feet (370 m to 1500 m) in altitude; the highest peak, Mount Marcy (sometimes also called Tahawus, although that was never its true name), at 5344 ft (1629 m), is near the eastern part of the group. Other noted High Peaks include Algonquin Peak (formerly Mt. McIntyre), 5114 ft (1559 m), Haystack 4960 ft (1512 m), Skylight 4926 ft (1501 m), Whiteface 4867 ft (1483 m), Dix 4857 ft (1480 m), and Giant 4627 ft (1410 m).
46 Adirondack High peaks
Forty-six of the tallest mountains are considered "the 46" Adirondack High Peaks — those over 4,000 ft (1,219 m), thanks to a survey done around the start of the 20th century. Since then, better surveys have shown that four of these peaks (Blake Peak, Cliff Mountain, Nye Mountain, and Couchsachraga Peak) are in fact just under 4,000 ft, and one peak just over 4,000 ft (MacNaughton Mountain) was overlooked. There are many fans of the Adirondack Mountains who make an effort to climb all of the original 46 mountains (and most go on to climb MacNaughton as well), and there is a Forty Sixers club for those who have successfully reached each of these peaks. Twenty of the 46 remain trailless, so climbing them requires bushwhacking or following herd paths to the top.
Tourism and recreation
The mountain peaks are usually rounded and easily scaled. There used to be many railroads in the region but most are no longer functioning. The surface of many of the lakes lies at an elevation above 1500 ft (450 m); their shores are usually rocky and irregular, and the wild scenery within their vicinity has made them very attractive to tourists. Cabins, hunting lodges, villas and hotels are numerous. The resorts most frequented are in and around Lake Placid, Lake George, Saranac Lake, Schroon Lake and the St. Regis Lakes.
Although the climate during the winter months can be severe, with absolute temperatures sometimes falling below −30 °F (−35 °C) pre wind chill, a number of sanatoriums were located there in the early 1900s because of the positive effect the air had on tuberculosis patients. The heavily forested region is the most southerly distribution of the boreal forest or taiga in the North American continent. The forests of the Adirondacks include spruce, pine and broad-leafed trees. Lumbering, once an important industry, has been much restricted since the establishment of the State Park in 1892.
Hunting and fishing are allowed in the Adirondack Park, although in many places there are strict regulations. Because of these regulations, the large tourist population has not overfished the area, and as such, the brooks, rivers, ponds and lakes are well stocked with trout and black bass. In Adirondack Park, approximately 260 species of birds have been recorded, of which over 170 breed here. Because of its unique taiga habitat, the park has many breeding birds not found in most areas of New York and other mid-Atlantic states, such as Boreal Chickadees, Gray Jays, Bicknell's Thrushes, Spruce Grouse, Philadelphia Vireos, Rusty Blackbirds, American Three-toed Woodpeckers, Black-backed Woodpeckers, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bay-breasted Warblers, Mourning Warblers, Common Loons and the crossbills.
At the head of Lake Placid stands Whiteface Mountain, from whose summit one of the finest views of the Adirondacks can be obtained. Two miles (3 km) southeast of this lake, at North Elba, is the old farm of the abolitionist John Brown, which contains his grave and is frequented by visitors. Lake Placid outflow is a major contributor to the Ausable River, which for a part of its course flows through a rocky chasm 100 feet to 175 feet (30 m to 53 m) deep and rarely more than 30 ft (10 m) wide. At the head of the Ausable Chasm are the Rainbow Falls, where the stream makes a vertical leap of 70 ft (20 m).
Another impressive feature of the Adirondacks is Indian Pass, a gorge about between Algonquin and Wallface Mountains. The latter is a majestic cliff rising several hundred feet from the pass. Keene Valley, in the center of the High Peaks, is another picturesque region, presenting a pleasing combination of peaceful valley and rugged hills.
July 4th, 2006, marked the dedication and opening celebration of The Wild Center/Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks. The 30 million dollar facility is in Tupper Lake, NY. The new museum, designed by the firm that built the Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC, has extensive exhibits about the natural history of the region. Many of the exhibits are live, including otters, birds, fish and porcupines. The Museum has trails to a river and pond on its campus.
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