View from Mount Greylock

http://www.deetfin.com This is the view from atop Mount Greylock all the way up at the top of the tower. Mount Greylock, 3,491 feet (1,064 m), is the highest point in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; its peak is located in the northwest corner of the state in the western part of the town of Adams (near its border with Williamstown) in Berkshire County. Although geologically part of the Taconic Mountains, Mount Greylock is commonly associated with the abutting Berkshire Hills to the east. The mountain is known for its expansive views encompassing five states and the only taiga/boreal forest in the state. A seasonal automobile road (open annually from late May through November 1) climbs to the summit, where stands the iconic 93-foot (28 m) high lighthouse-like Massachusetts Veterans War Memorial Tower. A network of hiking trails traverse the mountain including the 2,174-mile (3,499 km) Appalachian Trail. Mount Greylock State Reservation was created in 1898 as Massachusetts' first public land for the purpose of forest preservation. The summit of Mount Greylock is located in Adams, but the mountain spreads into the towns of North Adams, Williamstown, Cheshire, New Ashford and Lanesborough. Mount Greylock is composed of a north-south oriented central ridge: Saddle Ball Mountain 3,247 ft (990 m); Mount Greylock, the high point (3,491 ft (1,064 m); Mount Fitch (3,110 ft/950 m); and Mount Williams (2,951 ft/899 m); flanked by two subordinate ridges: on the west by Mount Prospect (2,690 ft/820 m) and Stony Ledge (2,560 ft/780 m), and on the east by Ragged Mountain (2,528 ft/771 m). Geographically, Mount Greylock forms an 11-mile (18 km) long by 4.5-mile (7.2 km) wide island-like range between the Hoosac Range to the east, the Green Mountains to the north, the Berkshires to the south and east, and the Taconic Mountains to the west which it is geologically associated; all ranges are associated with the Appalachian mountain chain. On the average, Mount Greylock rises 2,000 feet (610 m) above surrounding river valleys and 1,000 feet (300 m) above the Berkshire and Taconic Mountains. From the summit, views upwards to 70100 miles (110160 km) are possible into five different states: Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire. The ridgeline of the Taconic Mountains continues southwest from Mount Greylock as Brodie Mountain. Mount Greylock is flanked to the north by the Green Mountains escarpment of East Mountain and Pine Cobble. It is flanked to the west across the Green River valley by the Taconic peak Berlin Mountain, and to the east across the Hoosic River valley by the Hoosac Range of the Berkshires. The northwest side of Mount Greylock drains into the Green River, thence into the Hoosic River, Hudson River, and Long Island Sound. The south side of the mountain drains into Town Brook, thence into the Housatonic River and Long Island Sound. The rest of the mountain drains into the Hoosic River.