Standing high about New York’s landscape are the Adirondack Mountains which as stood as a towering monument since the ice age. Small alpine glaciers formed over 5 million years ago over the northeastern United States. As the glaciers moved through the Adirondack Region, stones were deposited by the glaciers and scattered throughout the landscape. There were huge chunks of ice that broke away from the glaciers and became buried underneath the gravel and sand which washed off of the ice. As the huge chunks of ice melted kettle holes or small depressions formed. When these kettle holes went beneath the water they formed ponds. You can see these ponds when you are hiking in the high peaks.
Over thousands of years glaciers carved the landscape and soon mountains began to form. The Adirondack Mountains don’t form a range unlike the Appalachians and the Rockies but instead there is a 160 mile dome of over 100 peaks. The mountains were formed from ancient rocks that are over 1,000 million years old. Geologically speaking the dome is basically a newborn. The peaks of the Adirondacks range in height from 1,200 feet to over 5,000 feet tall. The tallest summits are the High Peaks standing at over 4,000 feet tall. There are four peaks that were later discovered that stand less than 4,000 feet known as the Adirondack High Peaks.
The tallest peaks of all is Mt. Mercy at 5,344 feet. It has the most distinctive features of all the Adirondack landscape. Mt. Mercy is home to the highest lake which is Lake Tear of the Clouds at 4,292 feet and feeds into the Hudson River.
The Adirondacks form the southernmost of the Eastern boreal eco region and is the largest forest in the world. The word Adirondack is actually a negative term that was given to the Algonquin tribe by the Mohawk tribe and mean “barkeaters”. Adirondak also spelled Adriondack was named by Ebenezer Emmons who was a geologist. Adirondack Park received the title of Forever Wild in 1885 by New York State and became a Forest Preserve, however, timber was still cut. The park was deemed Forever Wild to stop clear cutting of the forest and polluting of the rivers and streams.
Adirondack Park can be easily found on maps by a thin blue line that shows 6 million acres of both state and privately owned land.
Because the continued threat of deforestation has stopped trees like pine, spruce, maple, hemlock and beech are flourishing. People from all over the country come to see the breathtaking Adirondack foliage in the fall. The Adirondacks is truly a wild place.
It took thousands of years to form the Adirondack Mountains. It is the first place to get the status of Forever Wild in the country. The Adirondacks are cherished as the outdoor playground for the entire United States.