Lake Tear of the Clouds is a small tarn located in the town of Keene, in Essex County, New York, United States, on the southwest slope of

Mount Marcy Mount Marcy (Mohawk: ''Tewawe’éstha'') is the highest point in New York, with an elevation of . It is located in the Town of Keene in Essex County. The mountain is in the heart of the Adirondack High Peaks region of the High Peaks Wildern ...

, the state's

highest point A list of highest points typically contains the name, elevation, and location of the highest point in each of a set of geographical regions. Such a list is important in the sport of highpointing. A partial list of highpoint lists is below: World ...

, in the

Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular ...

. It is the highest pond in the state at . It is often cited as the highest

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

, via Feldspar Brook, the Opalescent River and Calamity Brook. The Hudson River as named actually begins several miles southwest at the outlet of

Henderson Lake Henderson Lake or Lake Henderson may refer to: * Henderson Lake (New York), a lake in the Adirondacks which is considered to be the official source and start of the Hudson River * Henderson Lake (British Columbia), the former name of Hucuktlis Lake, ...

Newcomb, New York Newcomb is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 436 at the 2010 census. The town is on the western border of the county. It is by road southwest of Plattsburgh, southwest of Burlington, Vermont, northeast of ...

. In 1872

Verplanck Colvin Verplanck Colvin (January 4, 1847 – May 28, 1920) was a lawyer, author, illustrator and topographical Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features t ...

described the lake as part of a survey of the Adirondack Mountains. He wrote: On September 14, 1901, then-US

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

was at Lake Tear of the Clouds after returning from a hike to the

summit when he received a message informing him that President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

, who had been shot two weeks earlier but was expected to survive, had taken a turn for the worse. Roosevelt hiked down the mountain back to the Upper Tahawus Club,

Tahawus, New York Tahawus (also called Adirondac, or McIntyre, pronounced ) was a village in the Town of Newcomb, Essex County, New York, United States. It is now a ghost town situated in the Adirondack Park. Tahawus is located in Essex County within the unpop ...

, where he had been staying. He then took a midnight stage coach ride through the Adirondacks to the Adirondack Railway station at

North Creek, New York North Creek is a census-designated place and hamlet in the Adirondack Park, in the town of Johnsburg, in Warren County, New York, United States. It is an area known for skiing ( Gore Mountain), hiking and other outdoor recreational activities. I ...

, where he discovered that McKinley had died. Roosevelt took the train to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, where he was officially sworn in as President. The route is now designated the Roosevelt-Marcy Trail. In August 2016, scientists from

Riverkeeper Riverkeeper is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection of the Hudson River and its tributaries, as well as the watersheds that provide New York City with its drinking water. It started out as the Hudson River Fisherman' ...

CUNY , mottoeng = The education of free people is the hope of Mankind , budget = $3.6 billion , established = , type = Public university system , chancellor = Fél ...

Queens College, and Columbia University's

Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory The Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) is the scientific research center of the Columbia Climate School, and a unit of The Earth Institute at Columbia University. It focuses on climate and earth sciences and is located on a 189-acre (64 h ...

gathered water samples at the lake to complete a first-of-its kind water quality test along the entire span of the Hudson River.

References

External links

Story of Theodore Roosevelt's Trip
{{authority control Adirondack Park Tear of the Clouds Hudson River Tear of the Clouds