Monument Mountain is a long

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

ridgeline located in Great Barrington and

Stockbridge, Massachusetts Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,018 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, Stockbridg ...

in the

Berkshires The Berkshires () are highlands located in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut in the United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between the Housatonic and Connecticut River ...

geology. Beside the high point, , the mountain has several distinct features, most notably the open, knife-edge ''Peeskawso Peak,'' located on the southeast side of the mountain within the Monument Mountain reservation managed by

The Trustees of Reservations ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

. The mountain receives over 20,000 visitors per year. ''Devil's Pulpit,'' part of Peeskawso Peak, is a free-standing pillar of stone. ''Flag Rock'', located on the southwest side of the mountain, is an open ledge overlooking the village of Housatonic. The only official trails on the mountain ascend Peeskawso Peak from a parking lot on

Massachusetts Route 7 U.S. Route 7 (US 7) in of Massachusetts is a section of the larger federal route extending from southern Connecticut to the northernmost part of Vermont. The entire route in Massachusetts is within Berkshire County. Route descriptio ...

north of Great Barrington center. There is no fee for members of The Trustees and a parking fee of $5 for non-members. An unnamed waterfall is located to the northeast of Peeskawso Peak along the Hickey Trail. Views from Peeskawso Peak include the Housatonic River Valley,

The Berkshires The Berkshires () are highlands located in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut in the United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between the Housatonic and Connecticut River ...

, the

Taconic Mountains The Taconic Mountains () are a 150-mile-long sub-range of the Appalachian Mountains lying on the eastern border of New York State and adjacent New England. The range, which played a role in the history of geological science, is separated from th ...

, and the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The west side of Monument Mountain drains into the

Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United ...

thence into

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, ...

. The east side of Monument Mountain drains into Konkapot Brook thence into the Housatonic River. In August 1850,

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works ar ...

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (né Hathorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associat ...

and

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (; August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894) was an American physician, poet, and polymath based in Boston. Grouped among the fireside poets, he was acclaimed by his peers as one of the best writers of the day. His most ...

climbed Monument Mountain together. Lucinda Musgrave ''

Lady Lucinda Musgrave Born Jeanie Lucinda Field (1833–1920), Lady Lucinda Musgrave was a prominent American-born promoter of women's charitable projects in at least three British colonies, then in Britain of conservative politics, and the anti-suffrage movement. ...

References

External links

Monument Mountain
The Trustees of Reservations
Trail map
Great Barrington, Massachusetts Mountains of Berkshire County, Massachusetts Rock formations of Massachusetts Stockbridge, Massachusetts {{BerkshireCountyMA-geo-stub