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, the state's
highest point, 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* Historical document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, ...
in
Newcomb, New York.
In 1872
Verplanck Colvin 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 ...
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
Mount Marcy 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, 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. ...
, 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 Sou ...
, where he was officially sworn in as President.
The route is now designated the
Roosevelt-Marcy Trail.
In August 2016, scientists from
Riverkeeper,
CUNY Queens College, and Columbia University's
Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory 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