Adirondack Mountains

Adirondack Mountains
a mountain range in NE New York: a part of the Appalachian Mountains. Highest peak, Mt. Marcy, 5344 ft. (1629 m). Also called Adirondacks.

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Mountains in northeastern New York state, U.S. They extend south from the St. Lawrence River valley and Lake Champlain to the Mohawk River valley.

The Adirondack region covers more than 6 million acres (2.4 million hectares). It has more than 40 summits higher than 4,000 ft (1,219 m); the tallest, Mount Marcy (5,344 ft [1,629 m]), is the state's highest. Samuel de Champlain became the first European to sight the Adirondacks in 1609. The area was sparsely settled when in 1892 the state legislature created Adirondack Park, which has grown over the years to become, at more than 5 million acres (2 million hectares), the largest U.S. state or national park outside of Alaska.

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▪ mountains, New York, United States
 mountains in northeastern New York state, U.S. They extend southward from the St. Lawrence River (Saint Lawrence River and Seaway) valley and Lake Champlain (Champlain, Lake) to the Mohawk River valley. The mountains are only sparsely settled, and much of the area exists in a primitive natural state, protected by state law.

      Although they are frequently included in the Appalachian Mountain system (Appalachian Mountains), the Adirondack Mountains are related geologically to the great plateau of the Canadian Shield. The Adirondacks were formed some one billion years ago and have been subjected to hundreds of millions of years of erosion and glaciation, notably the glaciations of the Pleistocene Epoch (1,600,000 to 10,000 years ago). The Adirondacks region is circular in outline, domelike in appearance, and covers more than 9,400 square miles (24,300 square km). The region is made up of hundreds of peaks and foothills, with more than 40 summits higher than 4,000 feet (1,200 metres); the tallest are Mount Marcy (Marcy, Mount), which is the highest point in the state at 5,344 feet (1,629 metres), and Algonquin Peak of Mount McIntyre at 5,114 feet (1,559 metres). Although the peaks are primarily rounded in shape, several of the higher ones, including Whiteface Mountain (4,867 feet [1,483 metres]), reveal bare rock walls in vertical escarpments.

      The Adirondack Mountains are covered with spruce, hemlock, and pine forests (forest) interspersed with hardwoods on the lower slopes; white-tailed deer and black bear are the largest species of wildlife. The action of retreating glaciers during the last Pleistocene Ice Age left the area covered by glacial till (intermingled clay, sand, gravel, and boulders) and created the many spectacular gorges, waterfalls, lakes, ponds, and swamps for which the region is noted. Some 2,300 lakes and ponds dot the landscape. More than 31,000 miles (50,000 km) of rivers and streams radiate from the upland region into the St. Lawrence, Hudson (Hudson River), and Mohawk rivers and Lakes Ontario (Ontario, Lake) and Champlain. Summers in the Adirondacks are moderated by cool mountain breezes, and winters, though cold, are mitigated by dry air and clear skies.

      The name Adirondack is derived from an Iroquois word meaning “eater of tree bark,” a derisive term bestowed by them upon a neighbouring Algonquin tribe. The French explorer Samuel de Champlain (Champlain, Samuel de) became the first European to sight the Adirondacks in 1609, but the area resisted all but sparse settlement until the late 19th century. In 1892 the New York state legislature created Adirondack Park, which has grown over the years to nearly 9,400 square miles (24,300 square km), making it the largest American state or national park outside of Alaska. The park covers almost one-fifth of the state and is about the size of Vermont. The state-owned Adirondack Forest Preserve now comprises some 3,900 square miles (10,100 square km) within the park and is a popular tourist area. The majority of the land in Adirondack Park, however, is privately owned and used for lumbering, agriculture, and recreation. The mining of iron ore, graphite, and titanium has been replaced by the mining of wollastonite (a form of calcium silicate) and garnet.

      Numerous parks, private resort villages, and state campsites in the Adirondacks provide facilities for camping, swimming, hiking, and canoeing, especially around the Saranac River and Lake Placid. Winter sports include Olympic ski and bobsled runs at Lake Placid and other sites, snowmobiling, and ice skating. Good highways provide access to some parts of the region, but its more remote portions are accessible only to hikers or canoeists. Historic landmarks in the area include Fort Ticonderoga (Ticonderoga), Saratoga National Historical Park (Saratoga, Battles of), Lake George (George, Lake), and Plattsburgh. The Adirondack Museum, on a campus of exhibit buildings near Blue Mountain Lake, houses relics of human activity in the mountains since colonial times.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Adirondack Mountains — [ad΄ə rän′dak΄] mountain range in NE New York: highest peak, Mt. Marcy: also Adirondacks …   English World dictionary

  • Adirondack Mountains — Geobox|Range name=Adirondack Mountains image caption=Lake Placid, in the Adirondack region. image size=256 country=United States region type=State region=New York highest=Mount Marcy highest elevation imperial=5344 highest lat d=44|highest lat… …   Wikipedia

  • Adirondack Mountains — p1p5 Adirondack Mountains Lake Placid See in den Adirondack Mountains Höchster Gipfel Mount Marcy ( …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Adirondack Mountains — Sp Adiròndako kalna Ap Adirondack Mountains L Apalačų kk. dalis, JAV (Niujorko v ja) …   Pasaulio vietovardžiai. Internetinė duomenų bazė

  • Adirondack Mountains — Adirondacks Adirondacks Chaînes du nord est des Appalaches Géographie Altitude 1 629 m …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Adirondack Mountains — noun a mountain range in northeastern New York State; a popular resort area • Syn: ↑Adirondacks • Instance Hypernyms: ↑range, ↑mountain range, ↑range of mountains, ↑chain, ↑mountain chain, ↑chain of mountains …   Useful english dictionary

  • Adirondack Mountains — geographical name mountains NE New York …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Adirondack Mountains — Ad′i•ron′dack Moun′tains [[t]ˈæd əˈrɒn dæk, ˌæd [/t]] n. pl. geg a mountain range in NE New York: a part of the Appalachian Mountains. Highest peak, Mt. Marcy, 5344 ft. (1629 m). Also called Ad i•ron′dacks …   From formal English to slang

  • ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS —    a high lying, picturesque, granite range in the State of New York; source of the Hudson …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Adirondack Mountains —   …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

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