Lamentation Mountain
| Lamentation Mountain | |
|---|---|
View of the Hanging Hills from Lamentation Mountain
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 720 ft (220 m) |
| Parent peak | 41° 34' 27"N, 72° 45' 45"W |
| Coordinates | 41°34′27″N 72°45′45″W / 41.57417°N 72.76250°WCoordinates: 41°34′27″N 72°45′45″W / 41.57417°N 72.76250°W |
| Geography | |
| Location | Middletown, Berlin, and Middlefield, Connecticut |
| Parent range | Metacomet Ridge |
| Geology | |
| Age of rock | 200 Ma |
| Mountain type | Fault-block; igneous |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | Mattabesett Trail |
Lamentation Mountain, or Mount Lamentation, 720 feet (220 m), is a traprock mountain located 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north of Meriden, Connecticut. It is part 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. Lamentation Mountain is known for its scenic vistas, extensive cliff faces, unique microclimate ecosystems, and rare plant communities. It rises steeply 550 feet (170 m) above the city of Meriden to the south with west-facing cliffs of 200 feet (61 m) or more. The cliff line, described by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association as "perhaps the most scenic traprock ridge walk in the state" is a prominent landscape feature visible for miles. The mountain is traversed by the 50-mile (80 km) Mattabesett Trail.
Lamentation Mountain takes its name from an incident in 1653 when a member of a nearby colony became lost on the mountain for three days before he was found by a search party. Also known from a legend in the 1700s when a Native American Girl committed suicide by jumping off the Mountaintop from the loss of her love.
Roughly 3 miles (5 km) long by 0.75 miles (1.21 km) wide, Lamentation Mountain is located within the towns of Middletown, Berlin, and Meriden, Connecticut.
Crescent Lake, (formerly called Bradley Hubbard Reservoir), lies nestled in the gap between Lamentation Mountain and Chauncey Peak. The lake provides emergency drinking water to the city of Meriden. Silver Lake, visible from the cliffs, is located in the low gap between Lamentation Mountain and Cathole Mountain.
The Metacomet Ridge continues west from Lamentation Mountain to become Cathole Mountain of the Hanging Hills; it continues south as Chauncey Peak. Another, lower extension continues 8 miles (13 km) north culminating in the uplands of Rocky Hill, Connecticut. The southern half of Lamentation Mountain drains into the Quinnipiac River, thence to Long Island Sound; the northern half to the Mattabesett River, then to the Connecticut River, thence to Long Island Sound.
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Wikipedia