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

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

overlooking the mouth of the Farm River 1.2 miles north of

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

. It is the southernmost notable summit of the Metacomet Ridge which extends from Long Island Sound near

, north through the Connecticut River Valley of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

to nearly the

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

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

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, 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. I ...

and the greater Sound and for its unique

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square m ...

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. 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 aphanite, 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 planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

, also called traprock, a

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure 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 fo ...

rock. The hill formed near the end of the

Triassic Period The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is the ...

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 Fault (geology), downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly ...

apart of the

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

n continent from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

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 Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

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 earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

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

Conservation and recreation

Beacon Hill, open to

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

, picnicking,

snowshoeing Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footw ...

, bird watching, 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 A dead end, also known as a ''cul-de-sac'' (; , ), a no-through road or a no-exit road, is a street with only one combined inlet and outlet. Dead ends are added to roads in urban planning designs to limit traffic in residential areas. Some d ...

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 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 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