|
Taconic Skyline Trail
The Taconic Skyline Trail is a multi-use trail in the Taconic Mountains of Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The trail extends from U.S. Route 20 in Hancock, Massachusetts, less than east of the New York border, north along the ridgecrest of the Taconic Range within Pittsfield State Forest and officially ending at Brodie Mountain Road on the Hancock/ Lanesborough town line. Originally built as a hiking trail, the Taconic Skyline Trail sees heavy use by all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles and is now officially maintained for primarily motorized use. The trail is used less frequently for mountain biking but is no longer recommended for hikers, who are encouraged to use the parallel, non-motorized Taconic Crest Trail. However, the trail is still open to hikers. Recent grants through the Massachusetts DCR's Commonwealth Connections project have provided 40,000 dollars to ATV clubs for trail surface rehabilitation. Forest types the Taconic Skyline Trail are mixed oak-hic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Berkshire County (pronounced ) is a county on the western edge of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield. The county was founded in 1761. The Berkshire Hills are centered on Berkshire County. Residents are known as Berkshirites. It exists today only as a historical geographic region, and has no county government, with the exception of the retirement board for former county workers, and certain offices such as the sheriff and registry of deeds. Law and government Of the fourteen Massachusetts counties, Berkshire County is one of eight that exists today only as a historical geographic region; it has limited county government. Berkshire County government was abolished effective July 1, 2000. Most former county functions were assumed by state agencies, and there is no county council or commission. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Spruce
''Picea rubens'', commonly known as red spruce, is a species of spruce native to eastern North America, ranging from eastern Quebec and Nova Scotia, west to the Adirondack Mountains and south through New England along the Appalachians to western North Carolina.Farjon, A. (1990). ''Pinaceae. Drawings and Descriptions of the Genera''. Koeltz Scientific Books . This species is also known as yellow spruce, West Virginia spruce, eastern spruce, and he-balsam. Description Red spruce is a perennial, shade-tolerant, late successional coniferous tree that under optimal conditions grows to tall with a trunk diameter of about , though exceptional specimens can reach tall and in diameter. It has a narrow conical crown. The leaves are needle-like, yellow-green, long, four-sided, curved, with a sharp point, and extend from all sides of the twig. The bark is gray-brown on the surface and red-brown on the inside, thin, and scaly. The wood is light, soft, has narrow rings, and has a sligh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smith Mountain (Massachusetts)
Smith Mountain is the name of over thirty summits in the United States, including: *Smith Mountain, a range in northern Pittsylvania County, Virginia, from which Smith Mountain Lake gets its name. *Smith Mountain (Taconic Mountains) Smith Mountain, , is a prominent peak in the Taconic Mountains of western Massachusetts, USA. The mountain is located in Pittsfield State Forest and is traversed by the multi-use Taconic Skyline Trail. The summit is known for its extensive sta ..., a peak in western Massachusetts. * Smith Mountain (Death Valley), a peak in Death Valley National Park in California. {{geodis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doll Mountain
Doll Mountain, , is a prominent peak in the Taconic Mountains of western Massachusetts. The mountain is located in Pittsfield State Forest. The summit is wooded and trailless, but the multi-use Doll Mountain Trail traverses its northern slopes. The mountain is wooded with northern hardwood tree species. Doll Mountain is located within Hancock, Massachusetts. The Taconic ridgeline continues north from Doll Mountain as Smith Mountain, south as Holy Mount and its ridge spur called Mount Lebanon, and to the east as Shaker Mountain. It is bordered by West Hill and The Knob to the west across the Wyomanock Creek valley. The west side of the mountain drains into Wyomanock Creek, then into Kinderhook Creek, thence into the Hudson River and Long Island Sound. The east side drains into Lily Brook, thence to the Housatonic River and Long Island Sound. References *''Massachusetts Trail Guide'' (2004). Boston: Appalachian Mountain Club.Commonwealth Connections proposal PDF download Retrieved ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Department Of Conservation And Recreation (Massachusetts)
The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. The DCR's mission is "To protect, promote and enhance our common wealth of natural, cultural and recreational resources for the well-being of all." The agency is the largest landowner in Massachusetts. History and structure The Department of Conservation and Recreation was formed in 2003 under Governor Mitt Romney, when the former Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) and Department of Environmental Management (DEM) were merged to form the DCR. The DCR is under the general management of the Commissioner of the DCR. The general administration divisions; Human Resources Division, the Financial Division, and External and Legislative Affairs, report directly to the Commissioner. DCR is responsible for the stewardship of its lands, from general maintenance—s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Williamstown, Massachusetts
Williamstown is a town in the northern part of Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,513 at the 2020 census. A college town, it is home to Williams College, the Clark Art Institute and the Tony-awarded Williamstown Theatre Festival. History Originally called West Hoosac, the area was first settled in 1749. Prior to this time its position along the Mohawk Trail made it ideal Mohican hunting grounds. Its strategic location bordering Dutch colonies in New York led to its settlement, because it was needed as a buffer to stop the Dutch from encroaching on Massachusetts. Fort West Hoosac, the westernmost blockhouse and stockade in Massachusetts, was built in 1756. The town was incorporated in 1765 as Williamstown according to the will of Col. Ephraim Williams, who was killed in the Fre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brodie Mountain
Brodie Mountain, , is a prominent long ridgeline in the Taconic Mountains of western Massachusetts, known for the former Brodie Mountain ski area, which closed in 2002. The ridge has eight well defined summits, three of which have names: Sheep's Heaven Mountain, , the ridge's southern prominatory; Beoadic Mountain, the ridge high point, just north of Sheep's Heaven; and East Mountain, located at the top of the former ski area at the center of the ridge. A northern summit, , is shown as "Brodie Mountain" on maps that predate the Brodie Mountain ski area. Geography The Taconic Skyline Trail formerly ran north over Sheep's Heaven Mountain to the Brodie Mountain ski area at the East Mountain summit, but has been discontinued on Brodie Mountain, although the former route, now an unsanctioned ATV trail, still exists. An older route once traversed the entire ridge from south to north, but the northern sections fell into disuse in the 1970s and are totally obscured. The former ski area ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richmond, Massachusetts
Richmond is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,407 at the 2020 census. History Present day Richmond was first settled by Micah Mudge and Ichabod Wood in 1759. Mudge migrated up to Richmond from Connecticut via the Housatonic River, while Wood came from Rehoboth on the eastern seaboard. It is thought that the two did not make contact until after the first winter, as their initial settlements were separated by about three miles of dense wilderness. By 1762, as settlers continued to migrate to the area, Massachusetts was putting pressure on committees to organize all unmarked land into townships. Under The Act of 1762, the land encompassing present day Richmond, MA and Lenox, MA was purchased from two Indian Sachems named Yokun and Ephraim. Two distinct villages began to form, separated by the six-mile mountain ridge known today as Yokun Ridge—Yokuntown to the ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Massachusetts Route 41
Route 41 is a extension of Connecticut Route 41 into Massachusetts. It begins at the Connecticut state line in Sheffield and ends at U.S. Route 20 (US 20) in Pittsfield. Route 41 was the original alignment for New England Interstate Route 4 south of Great Barrington prior to 1930. Route description Massachusetts Route 41 begins in the southwest corner of the town of Sheffield at the Connecticut state line, where it continues as Connecticut Route 41 into the town of Salisbury. It heads mostly northbound, east of Mount Everett and the southern Taconic mountain range. In neighboring Egremont, the road becomes concurrent with Route 23, turning northeastward into Great Barrington. In Great Barrington, it meets the eastern end of Route 71 before meeting U.S. Route 7 south of the town center. South of this point, U.S. Route 7 formerly followed the path of Route 41. The three roads head through the center of town concurrently, just east of the Housatonic River, before Rou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A History of Walking'', 101-24. NYU Press, 2004. Accessed March 1, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qg056.7. Religious pilgrimages have existed much longer but they involve walking long distances for a spiritual purpose associated with specific religions. "Hiking" is the preferred term in Canada and the United States; the term "walking" is used in these regions for shorter, particularly urban walks. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, the word "walking" describes all forms of walking, whether it is a walk in the park or backpacking in the Alps. The word hiking is also often used in the UK, along with rambling , hillwalking, and fell walking (a term mostly used for hillwalking in northern England). The term bushwalking is end ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal that supplied manual labor jobs related to the conservation and development of natural resources in rural lands owned by federal, state, and local governments. The CCC was designed to supply jobs for young men and to relieve families who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression in the United States Robert Fechner was the first director of this agency, succeeded by James McEntee following Fechner's death. The largest enrollment at any one time was 300,000. Through the course of its nine years in operation, three million young men took part in the CCC, which provided them with shelter, clothing, and food, together with a wage of $30 (equivalent to $1000 in 2021) per month ($25 of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sedimentary Rock
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles to settle in place. The particles that form a sedimentary rock are called sediment, and may be composed of geological detritus (minerals) or biological detritus (organic matter). The geological detritus originated from weathering and erosion of existing rocks, or from the solidification of molten lava blobs erupted by volcanoes. The geological detritus is transported to the place of deposition by water, wind, ice or mass movement, which are called agents of denudation. Biological detritus was formed by bodies and parts (mainly shells) of dead aquatic organisms, as well as their fecal mass, suspended in water and slowly piling up on the floor of water bodies (marine snow). Sedimentation may also occur as dissolved minerals precipitate from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
