Hanging Hills

Geobox|Range
name=Hanging Hills
other_name=Metacomet Ridge

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image_size=260
image_caption=View of East Peak and Castle Craig from South Mountain. Merimere Reservoir and Mine Island visible beneath
country=United States
state= Connecticut
state1=
state2=
state3=
length_imperial=3
length_orientation=east-west
highest=West Peak
highest_elevation_imperial=1024
highest_lat_d=
highest_long_d=
geology=fault-block
geology1=igneous, sedimentary
period=Triassic/ Jurassic


map_size=
map_caption= The Hanging Hills of south central Connecticut are a range of mountainous traprock ridges overlooking the city of Meriden and the Quinnipiac River Valley convert|900|ft|m|0|lk=on below. They are a sub-range of the narrow, linear Metacomet Ridge that extends from Long Island Sound near New Haven, Connecticut, north through the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts to the Vermont border. A popular outdoor recreation resource, the range is known for its microclimate ecosystems, rare plant communities, and expansive views from cliffs that rise abruptly over convert|700|ft|m|0|lk=on above the surrounding landscape.Farnsworth, Elizabeth J. (2004) [http://www.mmmtrail.org/NaturalResourcesAssessmentFinal.pdf "Metacomet-Mattabesett Trail Natural Resource Assessment."] . Retrieved November 20, 2007.] The Hanging Hills encompass the 1,800 acre Hubbard Park, designed with the help of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead [http://www.visitnewhaven.com/pdfs/trails/Meriden/TrailMapHubbardPark.pdf "Hubbard Park"] . Brochure. South Central Regional Council of Governments. Retrieved December 13, 2007.] The 51 mile (80k) Metacomet Trail traverses the range.

Geography

.

The south, east, and west sides of the Hanging Hills drain into the Quinnipiac River, thence into Long Island Sound; the north side into the Mattabesett River, to the Connecticut River, thence to Long Island Sound. Several notable reservoirs and natural bodies of water are located within the Hanging Hills or beneath its slopes, including Kenmere Reservoir, Hallmere Reservoir, Elmere Reservoir, Beaver Pond, Silver Lake, Mirror Lake, and Slopers Ponds."DeLorme Topo 6.0" (2006). Mapping Software. DeLorme, Yarmouth, Maine.] Merimere Reservoir, nestled between South Mountain and East Peak and punctuated by the rocky mass of Mine Island, is considered particularly scenic. [http://cttrips.blogspot.com/2006/01/hanging-hills-of-meriden-legend.html Connecticut Windows on the Natural World] . Retrieved December 13, 2007.]

History

The Hanging Hills' Hubbard Park was financed by Walter Hubbard, local entrepreneur and president of the Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Company. Hubbard elicited the assistance of notable landscape architect Fredrick Law Olmstead in drawing up the design. [http://www.cityofmeriden.org/CMS/default.asp?CMS_PageID=426&PrinterVersion=True City of Meriden] . Retrieved December 13, 2007]

Edwin Howard Armstrong, a network radio pioneer who invented FM radio, used West Peak for the location of one of the first FM radio broadcasts in 1939. His original convert|70|ft|m|0|lk=on tall radio mast still stands on the peak. Currently West Peak is home to six FM broadcast stations, including WPKT, WWYZ, WKSS, WDRC-FM, WPHH and WHCN. [ [http://www.twiar.org/aaarchives/WB009.txt This Week in Amateur Radio.] Retrieved December 13, 2007]

Geology

rocks. Several of these faults break the Metacomet Ridge north of Meriden. Stream erosion and glacial ice carved canyons along these faults, dividing the ridge into the finger-like promontories of the Hanging Hills. Merimere Reservoir was built in the fault-controlled valley between East Peak and South Mountain.

Ecosystem

The Hanging Hills host a combination of microclimates unusual in New England. Dry, hot upper ridges support oak savannas, often dominated by chestnut oak and a variety of understory grasses and ferns. Eastern red cedar, a dry-loving species, clings to the barren edges of cliffs. Cooler north facing backslopes tend to support extensive stands of eastern hemlock interspersed with the oak-hickory forest species more common in the surrounding lowlands. Narrow ravines crowded with hemlock block sunlight, creating damp, cooler growing conditions with associated cooler climate plant species. Talus slopes are especially rich in nutrients and support a number of calcium-loving plants uncommon in eastern Connecticut. Because the traprock ridges generate such varied terrain, they are the home of several plant and animal species that are state-listed or globally rare. [ [http://www.connix.com/~harry/twep.htm The Traprock Wilderness Recovery Strategy] . Retrieved December 13, 2007]

The Hanging Hills are also an important seasonal raptor migration path.] .

Recreation

The Hanging Hills are popular outdoor recreation resource. Hubbard Park features a bandshell and flower gardens and is the site of a variety of local festivals and concerts, most notably the spring "Daffodil Festival". A park road leads to Castle Craig Tower and is open from April through October from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. A number of trails, most notably the 51 mile (80k) blue-blazed Metacomet Trail (maintained by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association), traverse the range. Trails are open to hiking, backcountry skiing, and snowshoeing; roads are open to bicycling and mountain biking. Swimming is prohibited. Rock climbing, prohibited within Hubbard Park, is enjoyed on Cathole Mountain. From the top of the Hanging Hills' many cliffs it is possible to see much of the Quinnipiac River Valley region, Long Island Sound, and the distant higher peaks of southern New England. ["Connecticut Walk Book: A Trail Guide to the Connecticut Outdoors." 17th Edition. The Connecticut Forest and Park Association. Rockfall, Connecticut. Undated.]

Conservation

Much of the Hanging Hills have been conserved as parkland, municipal water supply, or conservation easement. Private landowners also hold significant acreage, particularly on the east and north sides of the range. In 2000, the Hanging Hills were included in a study by the National Park Service for the designation of a new National Scenic Trail now tentatively called the New England National Scenic Trail, which would include the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail in Massachusetts and the Mattabesett Trail and Metacomet Trail trails in Connecticut. [ [http://www.mmmtrail.org/ Monadnock, Metacoment, Mattabesett National Scenic Trail Study] . Cited Nov. 4, 2007.]

A number of regional and local non-profit organizations are active in conserving the landscape and ecosystems of the Hanging Hills, most notably the Connecticut Forest and Park Association, the Meriden Land Trust [http://www.meridenlandtrust.com/] , and the Berlin Land Trust [http://berlinlandtrust.org/] .

The Black Dog of the Hanging Hills

The Black Dog of the Hanging Hills is a supernatural hound that appears in local folklore (see also Black dog for similar legends in other places). Folklore holds that it has haunted the region since the early 1800s and that it manifests as a small black dog, often gregarious in nature, who leaves no footprints and makes no sound. According to the legend, to see the Black Dog the first time results in joy while a second sighting results in misfortune. Seeing the Black Dog a third time is said to be a death omen. At least six deaths have been blamed on third meetings with the Black Dog.

One of the earliest accounts of the dog was published in the "Connecticut Quarterly," (April-June, 1898) by New York geologist W.H.C. Pynchon. According to Pynchon, in February 1891 he and geologist Herbert Marshall of the USGS were conducting geologic research in the Hanging Hills when they saw the dog. Pynchon had seen the dog once before. Marshall, who had seen the dog twice, scoffed at the legend. Shortly after the two of them saw the dog, Marshall slipped on the ice atop one of the cliffs and plunged to his death. His body was recovered by authorities. Reports of the Black Dog continue to circulate today. [ [http://www.curbstone.org/index.cfm?webpage=107 Curbstone Press] Cited Dec. 13, 2007]

ee also

* Metacomet Ridge
* Metacomet Trail
* Mattabesett Trail
* Black dog (ghost)

* Adjacent summits:

References

External links

* [http://www.visitnewhaven.com/pdfs/trails/Meriden/TrailMapHubbardPark.pdf Map of Hubbard Park]
* [http://www.ctwoodlands.org/ Connecticut Forest and Park Association]
* [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.1528: U.S. Congress "New England National Scenic Trail Designation Act."]
* [http://www.mmmtrail.org/DocsForLinks/MMMExecSummary.pdf NPS brochure for National Scenic Trail proposal.]
* [http://www.curbstone.org/index.cfm?webpage=107 Legend of the Black Dog]
* [http://www.meridenlandtrust.com/ Meriden Land Trust]
* [http://berlinlandtrust.org/ Berlin Land Trust]
* [http://www.connix.com/~harry/twep.htm The Traprock Wilderness Recovery Strategy]
* [http://www.cityofmeriden.org/ The City of Meriden]