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The Taconic Range is part of a chain of mountains
extending from southwestern Vermont into eastern New York
and western Massachusetts and Connecticut. They are among
the oldest mountains in North America and have been worn low
by millions of years of erosion.
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The Taconic Mountains are a place of contrasts. Some
places are high, and other places are as low as 700 feet
above sea level. Some places are dry, and the others are
wet, seepy hillsides and wetlands. Some places are moderate
in climate, like the lowlands, and others are harsh and
cold, like the top of Mount Everett. Some of the hills are
gently sloping, while others are noticeably knobby. Some
places have lime-rich bedrock and others have lime-poor
slate. Although the Taconic Mountains are a variable
biophysical region, they have a geologic past that ties them
together and makes them a place with a real identity.
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The plateau is approximately four miles wide at its
widest point and approximately 12 miles long and 65 miles
around. Because the mountains are clustered in a broad
plateau rather than a string of peaks, you can't see all the
peaks from all the valleys. Views of the plateau from the
east will show different peaks than views from the west. The
tallest peak on the plateau is Mt. Everett, which rises more
than 2600 feet above sea level and can be easily seen
from the north, east, and south. The lowest areas of our
landscape are still 700 feet above sea level, so the peaks
rise approximately 2,000 feet above the lowlands that
surround them.
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