Tekoa Mountain

Tekoa Mountain
Tekoa Mountain
Elevation 1,121 ft (342 m)
Parent peak 42° 10' 07"N, 72° 48' 47"W
Translation "Trumpet blast" or "place of fastening down" (Hebrew)
Location
Location Montgomery and Russell, Massachusetts
Range Berkshires
Coordinates 42°1007N 72°4847W / 42.16861°N 72.81306°W / 42.16861; -72.81306Coordinates: 42°1007N 72°4847W / 42.16861°N 72.81306°W / 42.16861; -72.81306
Geology
Type Metamorphic rock
Climbing
Easiest route White dot trail starting near the tracks by the Mass Pike bridge.

Tekoa Mountain, 1,121 feet (342 m), is a dramatic, rocky high point overlooking the Westfield River Gorge at the eastern edge of the Berkshire plateau in the towns of Montgomery and Russell, Massachusetts. Tekoa Mountain, very prominent from the "Jacob's Ladder" section of U.S. Route 20 in the town of Russell, is not a true mountain but a cleaver jutting from a dissected plateau; it was produced by glacial action and through continuous erosion by the Westfield River and Moose Meadow Brook before and after the last ice age.

With nearby Shatterack Mountain, another cleaver, Tekoa Mountain forms a 700 ft (210 m) high knobby cliff face and gorge wall along the northeast side of the Westfield River as it plunges from the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts into the Connecticut River Valley. Much of the face of Tekoa Mountain is barren or populated by sparse tree cover exacerbated by frequent fires which support partially fire-dependent tree species such as pitch pine and scrub oak. The mountain is also the habitat of the New England cottontail, a species in decline in Massachusetts, as well as a state endangered species which is not identified here due to problems with poaching for sale. Tekoa Mountain has been targeted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's Connecticut River Valley conservation plan as a "high priority" ecosystem.

Contents

Geography

Tekoa Mountain overlooks the Westfield River Gorge and the Connecticut River Valley. The town of Russell and its villages, Woronoco and Crescent Mills, lie at the foot of the mountain along the Westfield River. From the summit ledges, the cities of Westfield and Springfield, Massachusetts are visible to the east. The southwest and northeast sides of Tekoa Mountain are steep and rugged with frequent cliff faces and rocky overlooks; to the north, the topography gradually flattens out as Tekoa Mountain merges with the upland plateau of Montgomery. The southwest side of Tekoa Mountain drains into the Westfield River, thence into the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound; the northeast side drains into Moose Meadow Brook, thence the Westfield River.

History

The Tekoa Mountain region was originally inhabited by Native Americans of the Woronoake tribe. During the American Revolutionary War, the north (plateau) side of the mountain was the location of a secret, pro-revolution musket factory operated by early 18th century settler Richard Falley Jr.; the summit was used as a lookout to watch for British spies. Tekoa Mountain was named after the biblical fortress and settlement of Tekoa, translated alternately as a place "fastening down" or "a trumpet blast." According to 2 Books of Chronicles 11:5, Tekoa was built as a city for the defense of Judah; a high place, its elevation offered a strategic military advantage and provided a vantage point from which to send signals to Jerusalem and other allied cities. It is unknown if the mountain was named with this history in mind.

Recreation

Much of Tekoa Mountain lies within the Tekoa Mountain Wildlife Management Area, managed by the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. The eastern portion of the mountain are part of the Westfield Watershed lands, owned by the City of Westfield, with public access provided under a Conservation Easement to the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. These areas are open to hunting, hiking and other forms of non-motorized recreation. There are a few in-holdings of privately owned land. A number of unofficial trails and woods roads traverse Mount Tekoa, however, no officially designated or maintained trails exist. All motorized vehicles, including ATVs, are prohibited from the Wildlife Management Area and Watershed lands. The mountain and surrounding highland is part of a conservation effort by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to secure critical habitats along the greater Connecticut River Valley.

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Tekoa — may refer to:* Tekoa, Washington, a town in the United States * Tekoa Mountain, a ridge in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, United States * Tuqu , also known as Teqoa, Palestinian town in the West Bank. * Tekoa, Gush Etzion, Israeli settlement in …   Wikipedia

  • Mountain Meadow Preserve — Open Space Preserve Agricultural Preserve Location Williamstown, Massachusetts and Pownal, Vermont …   Wikipedia

  • Tekoa, Tekoah —    Pitching of tents; fastening down, a town of Judah, about 12 miles south of Jerusalem, and visible from the city. From this place Joab procured a wise woman, who pretended to be in great affliction, and skilfully made her case known to David.… …   Easton's Bible Dictionary

  • Monument Mountain (reservation) — This article is about the open space reservation. For the mountain on which the reservation is located, see Monument Mountain (Berkshire County, Massachusetts) Coordinates: 42°14′50.4″N 73°20′26.6″W /  …   Wikipedia

  • October Mountain State Forest — is a state forest in Lee, Massachusetts, U.S.A. The 16,500 acre (67 km2) forest, the largest state forest in Massachusetts, is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation with scenic trails leading to Schermerhorn Gorge. Herman… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Massachusetts state forests — Massachusetts, with forests covering 3,060,000 acres (12,400 km2) (59%) of its land area, administers more than 500,000 acres (2,000 km2)[1] of state forest, wildlife and watershed land under the cabinet level Executive Office of Energy …   Wikipedia

  • Monroe State Forest — Coordinates: 42°43′16″N 72°59′41″W / 42.72111°N 72.99472°W / 42.72111; 72.99472 …   Wikipedia

  • Chapel Brook — Open Space Reserve Location Ashfield, Massachusetts Biome open ledg …   Wikipedia

  • Mount Sugarloaf State Reservation — Observation tower on South Sugarloaf in the fall Sugarloaf Mountain State Reservation, managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, is located in Deerfield, Massachusetts, just west of the Connecticut River. The park… …   Wikipedia

  • Tantiusques — Coordinates: 42°3′26″N 72°7′52″W / 42.05722°N 72.13111°W / 42.05722; 72.13111 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/9291694 Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”