The Adirondack Mountains are located in the Adirondack Forest Preserve located in Northern New York State near the Canadian Border. The Forest Preserve has over 6 million acres of land in its borders. It is the largest park in the Lower 48 States. Of those 6 million acres, 2.5 million acres is state land and the state buys more every year. The ADK Forest Preserve is also unique because the New York State Constitution protects its land.

Geology and Natural History

The Adirondacks are part of the Canadian Shield, not the much younger Appalachian Range. The mountains of the Great Range are formed from metanorthosite, except for Armstrong, which is comprised syenite gneiss. The reason for this difference is linked to the origin of the Adirondack Mountains themselves.

Much of the rock that we see in the High Peaks and the Adirondacks in general was formed about 1 billion years ago as the basement rock to a very large mountain range that would rival the size of the Himalayas. The rock we see today was miles below the surface, where it was metamorphisized. Over time these mountains eroded away and other geologic events happened, such as the European plate colliding with the North American plate. These events cracked the bedrock forming faults. These faults didn�t necessarily follow the arrangement of ridges and valleys of the ancient mountain range. The faults were then filled by magma forming igneous rocks. Much of this rock lay dormant while other geological events were happening, such as the formation of the Appalachian Mountains.

The processes responsible for the mountain ranges we see today are being debated. One theory states that sometime in the Tertiary Period (approximately 30 million years ago) something caused uplift (perhaps a hot spot), which pushed the bedrock towards the surface, which is still happening. Over time, erosion (in particular glacial erosion) carved out the softer rock inside the faults leaving the harder metamorphic rock behind, which are the ranges we see today.

A competing theory states that the Himalaya-sized mountain range was so heavy, that it depressed the crust and mantle beneath. As these mountains eroded, they weighed less, and the current uplift is due to a rebounding effect of the crust and mantle beneath.

This website provides more geology info.

Also check out: Adirondack Park Agency Geology Page
Adirondack Park Agency Wildlife Page
Adirondack Park Agency Natural Communities Page

Climate and Weather

Average Highs and Lows in degrees Fahrenheit
Town (Elev. above sea level)	Jan.	Mar.	May	Jul.	Sept.	Nov.
Northville (800 ft.)	10-30	20-40	45-70	60-80	50-70	30-45
Lake Placid (1,880 ft.)	5-30	15-40	40-65	55-80	45-70	25-45

High Peaks Area

The High Peaks are a group of 46 mountains located in the central Adirondacks with elevations above 4,000 feet, as measured by Verplank Colvin for the 1897 USGS survey and subsequently listed in Russell M.L. Carson's "Peaks and People of the Adirondacks"(1926). Since his original measurements, the elevations of Blake, Cliff, Nye, and Couchsacraga have been determined to be less than 4,000 feet; and the elvation of McNaughton has been shown to be greater than 4,000 feet. However, since the original 46ers (those who climbed each of the 46 High Peaks) climbed the mountains according to Colvin's measurements, the Adirondack Forty-Sixers, Inc. organization still utilizes Colvin's survey as the standard.

The High Peaks Area contains several groups/ranges, including the:
Great Range
MacIntyre Range
Dix Range
Colvin Range
Santanoni Group
Seward Group

List of the 46 Adirondack High Peaks Created by anita514

Other High Peaks Area Mountains
MacNaughton	4,000+- ft.
Moose Mountain	3,898
Wallface	3,700 ft.
Hurricane Mtn.	3,694 ft.
Pitchoff	3,600 ft.
Noonmark	3,556 ft.
Mount Adams	3,520 ft.
Ampersand	3,241 ft.
Catamount	3,166 ft.
Mt. Van Hovenberg	2,940
Mt. Jo	2,876 ft.
Rooster Comb	2,762 ft.
Poke-O-Moohshine	2,180 ft.

Villages in the High Peaks region include Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, Lake Placid, Wilmington, Keene, Keene Valley, and Newcomb.

Northern Area

St.Regis Mountain

Central

Central Mountains on SP

Snowy Peak	3,899 ft.
Pillsbury Mt	3,597
Chimney Mt.	2,721 ft.

West Central

Pharoah Mt.

Lake George Mountains

Black Mountain	2,665 ft.
Erebus	2,527 ft.
Buck Mountain	2,330 ft.

Sources

Introduction: About the Adirondack Park

History: Adirondack History
Adirondack History Trivia
History of the Adirondack Park
A Nice Timeline
Adirondack Museum

Geology and Natural History: Submitted by lumberzac (Webshots Page) and WalksWithBlackflies

Books: 1) Goodwin, Tony. Guide to Adirondack Trails: High Peaks Region. Lake George, NY, 2000.
2) Schlimmer, E. Thur Hiker's Guide to America.Camden, ME, 2005.

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