Hazen's Notch is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

in Westfield, in the northern

Green Mountains The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont. The range runs primarily south to north and extends approximately from the border with Massachusetts to the border with Quebec, Canada. The part of the same range that is in ...

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 ...

. Hazen's Notch was named after

Moses Hazen Moses Hazen (June 1, 1733 – February 5, 1803) was a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Born in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, he saw action in the French and Indian War with Rogers' Rang ...

, who in 1779 led the construction of the

Bayley Hazen Military Road The Bayley–Hazen Military Road was a military road that was originally planned to run from Newbury, Vermont, to St. John's, Quebec, not far from Montreal. The southern , running from Newbury to Hazen's Notch near the Canada–United States bor ...

. The road was planned to extend from Newbury, Vermont, to

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu () is a city in eastern Montérégie in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec, about southeast of Montreal. It is situated on the west bank of the Richelieu River at the northernmost naviga ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, not far from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, to facilitate an invasion of Canada during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

; it had reached this point when construction stopped.Hazen Military Road, F.W. Baldwin, ''The Vermonter'', Vol. XI, No. 16, White River Junction, Vermont, November 1906, pages 297-323. The notch is defined by the cliffs of Sugarloaf Mountain to the north and by Haystack Mountain to the south. The

height of land A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a single ...

of the pass is located in

Hazen's Notch State Park Hazen's Notch State Park is a 307-acre state park in the town of Westfield, Vermont, in Orleans County. The park features the height of land of Hazen's Notch, a mountain pass in the northern Green Mountains of Vermont. It is located on Vermont ...

, in Orleans County, about east of the boundary between Orleans and

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

Counties. Located on the south side of the road at the height of land in Hazen's Notch is a stone tablet inscribed with the words "Terminus of the Hazen Road, 1779" which was placed there by the Orleans County Historical Society on August 21, 1903. The geology of the Hazen's Notch area in Westfield and Montgomery is primarily Hazen's Notch Formation of schist with intrusions of Belvidere Mountain Amphibolite and two areas of ultramafic rocks all of which grades into Jay Peak Formation in the lower elevations.Hazen's Notch Association, Hazen's Notch, Vermont, A Natural History. On the east side, Hazen's Notch drains into the East Branch of the

Missisquoi River The Missisquoi River is a transboundary river of the east shore of Lake Champlain (via Missisquoi Bay), approximately long, in northern Vermont in the United States and southern Quebec in Canada. It drains a rural area of the northern Green Mount ...

, which drains into

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type = , ...

, thence into

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Richelieu River The Richelieu River () is a river of Quebec, Canada, and a major right-bank tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises at Lake Champlain, from which it flows northward through Quebec and empties into the St. Lawrence. It was formerly kno ...

, the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...

, and into the

Gulf of Saint Lawrence , image = Baie de la Tour.jpg , alt = , caption = Gulf of St. Lawrence from Anticosti National Park, Quebec , image_bathymetry = Golfe Saint-Laurent Depths fr.svg , alt_bathymetry = Bathymetry ...

. To the west, the gap is drained by Wade Brook, which drains into the Trout River, thence the Missisquoi River. The

Long Trail The Long Trail is a hiking trail located in Vermont, running the length of the state. It is the oldest long-distance trail in the United States, constructed between 1910 and 1930 by the Green Mountain Club. The club remains the primary organiza ...

, a 272-mile (438-km) hiking

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...

running the length of Vermont, crosses Hazen's Notch between Haystack Mountain, 1.5 mi (2.5 km) to the south, and Sugarloaf Mountain immediately to the north. The State of Vermont has designated as the Hazen's Notch Natural Area.State of Vermont, Agency of Natural Resources, Dept. Forests, Parks and Recreation, Hazen's Notch State Park The Long Range Management Plan emphasizes protection of natural resources while allowing for undeveloped recreation. The plan includes a detailed geological, natural, cultural and recreational history of Hazen's Notch.VT ANR Long Range Management Plan, Hazen's Notch State Park

References

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vermont/HistoryHazenMilitaryRoad.html https://fpr.vermont.gov/sites/fpr/files/State_Lands_Administration/Lands_Management_Planning/Library/HazensNotchLRMP.pdf

External links

* Mountain passes of Vermont Westfield, Vermont Northeast Kingdom, Vermont Landforms of Orleans County, Vermont {{Vermont-geo-stub

See also

References

External links