Short Mountain (Connecticut)

Short Mountain
View from Short Mountain; Hanging Hills in distance
Highest point
Elevation	530 ft (160 m)
Parent peak	41° 36' 09"N, 72° 49' 27"W
Coordinates	41°36′09″N 72°49′27″W / 41.60250°N 72.82417°W / 41.60250; -72.82417Coordinates: 41°36′09″N 72°49′27″W / 41.60250°N 72.82417°W / 41.60250; -72.82417
Geography
Location	Southington and Berlin, Connecticut
Parent range	Metacomet Ridge
Geology
Age of rock	200 Ma
Mountain type	fault-block; igneous
Climbing
Easiest route	Metacomet Trail

Short Mountain is a traprock mountain located in south central Connecticut 5 miles (8 km) north of the city of Meriden. It is part of the narrow Metacomet Ridge that extends from Long Island Sound near New Haven, Connecticut, north through the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts to the Vermont border. Short Mountain is known for its scenic cliffs, unique microclimate ecosystems, and rare plant communities. It is traversed by the 51-mile (82 km) Metacomet Trail.

Short Mountain, located in the towns of Southington and Berlin, Connecticut, rises steeply 200 feet (61 m) above the Quinnipiac River valley to the west and the Mattabesett River valley to the east, with a high point of 530 feet (160 m). It is roughly 1 mile (1.6 km) long by 0.5 miles (800 m) wide, although the steepness of the terrain makes the actual square mileage much larger. The Metacomet Ridge continues south from Short Mountain as the Hanging Hills and north as Ragged Mountain.

Short Mountain, like much of the Metacomet Ridge, is composed of basalt, also called traprock, a volcanic rock. The mountain formed near the end of the Triassic Period with the rifting apart of the North American continent from Africa and Eurasia. Lava welled up from the rift and solidified into sheets of strata hundreds of feet thick. Subsequent faulting and earthquake activity tilted the strata, creating the cliffs and ridgeline of Short Mountain. Hot, dry upper slopes, cool, moist ravines, and mineral-rich ledges of basalt talus produce a combination of microclimate ecosystems on the mountain that support plant and animal species uncommon in greater Connecticut. Short Mountain is also a raptor migration path. (See Metacomet Ridge for more information on the geology and ecosystem of Short Mountain).