Beacon Hill, (est.) above sea level, is a traprock outcrop located southeast of

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

overlooking the mouth of the Farm River 1.2 miles north of Long Island Sound. It is the southernmost notable summit of the

Metacomet Ridge The Metacomet Ridge, Metacomet Ridge Mountains, or Metacomet Range of southern New England is a narrow and steep fault-block mountain ridge known for its extensive cliff faces, scenic vistas, microclimate ecosystems, and rare or endangered plants. ...

which extends from Long Island Sound near

, north through the

Connecticut River Valley The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

to nearly the

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

border. Beacon Hill is known for its scenic ledges overlooking a surrounding

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is domin ...

and the greater Sound and for its unique

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squ ...

ecosystems and rare plant communities. Beacon Hill is traversed by several trails, most notably the Branford Trail. The ''Shoreline Trolley Museum'' runs trolley service to the base of the hill. Beacon Hill should not be confused with Beacon Hill of New Haven, another traprock hill, to the west.

Geography

Beacon Hill rises steeply above the surrounding landscape and (est.) above Long Island Sound. It is roughly long by 0.3 miles (0.5 km) wide. The hill lies within the town of Branford. The Farm River runs along the west side of the hill and a tributary salt marsh extends around the south and southeast sides. U.S. 1 borders the hill to the north and separates it from

Saltonstall Mountain Saltonstall Mountain, also known as Saltonstall Ridge (''Lonotonoquet'' in Quinnipiac), with a high point of (est.) above sea level, is a traprock mountain ridge located east of New Haven, Connecticut and north of Long Island Sound. It is part ...

. A small rock quarry (Johnson's Quarry) abandoned in 1942, occupies the south end of the hill. The Metacomet Ridge continues north from Beacon Hill as Saltonstall Mountain. Low outcrops of traprock continue south from the hill to the shore of Long Island Sound and out into the sound as tide-swept rock outcrops and tiny islands.

Geology and ecology

Beacon Hill, like much of the Metacomet Ridge, is composed of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

, also called traprock, a

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

rock. The hill formed near the end of the

Triassic Period The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...

with the

rifting In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-graben wi ...

apart of the North American continent from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...

Lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

welled up from the rift and solidified into sheets of strata hundreds of feet thick. Subsequent

faulting In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...

and

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

activity tilted the strata, creating the cliffs of Beacon Hill. Hot, dry upper slopes, cool, moist ravines, and mineral-rich ledges of basalt talus produce a combination of

ecosystems on the mountain that support plant and animal species uncommon in greater Connecticut. (See

for more information on the geology and ecosystem of Beacon Hill).

Conservation and recreation

Beacon Hill, open to

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 Histor ...

picnicking A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

, snowshoeing,

bird watching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

, and other passive pursuits, is isolated from the surrounding suburban areas of Branford and East Haven by salt marsh, riverway, and other wetlands. The hill is steep, with talus slopes in several locations, and offers scenic vistas of Long Island Sound and protected salt marsh from a number of outlooks. Several hiking trails cross the property, most notably the Branford Trail, which loops around the circumference of the town of Branford, passing through a number of scenic conservation areas. ''Short Beach'', also a Branford Land Trust property, lies 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south of Beacon Hill along the Branford Trail. An historic trolley, run by the non-profit Shoreline Trolley Museum, drops hikers and picnickers at a platform at the base of Beacon Hill. The Shoreline Trolley is the oldest running suburban trolley in the United States. Parking for Beacon Hill and the Branford Trail is located on a cul-de-sac at the end of Dominican Road in Branford, less than 0.25 miles (0.3 km) south of U.S. 1 near the East Haven border. Beacon Hill and several surrounding parcels were conserved by the cooperative effort of the Branford Land Trust, the state of Connecticut, the Town of Branford, and other partners.

References

* Farnsworth, Elizabeth J
Metacomet-Mattabesett Trail Natural Resource Assessment
July 17, 2004. Cited November 1, 2007. *

Raymo, Chet Chet Raymo (born September 17, 1936 in Chattanooga, Tennessee) is a noted writer, educator and naturalist. He is Professor Emeritus of Physics at Stonehill College, in Easton, Massachusetts. His weekly newspaper column ''Science Musings'' appear ...

and Raymo, Maureen E. ''Written in Stone: A Geologic History of the Northeastern United States''. Globe Pequot, Chester, Connecticut, 1989.
Branford Land Trust
Cited Dec. 21, 2007.
Branford Electric Railway Association
Cited Dec. 22, 2007. * Bass, Sharon

The New York Times, March 26, 1989.

External links

Beacon Hill trail map and brochure
Dated 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2019-07-27.
Branford Trail map and brochure: Short Beach
Dated 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2019–07.27.
Branford Land Trust

Town of Branford
{{Mountains of Connecticut Branford, Connecticut Metacomet Ridge, Connecticut Protected areas of New Haven County, Connecticut Mountains of Connecticut Landforms of New Haven County, Connecticut Nature reserves in Connecticut

Geography

Geology and ecology

Conservation and recreation

See also

References

External links