Adirondack mountains - wikipedia Adirondack mountains For the state park that covers the same area, see Adirondack Park. Adirondack Mountains The Adirondack Mountains from the top of Whiteface Mountain Highest point Peak Mount Marcy Elevation 5,344 ft ( 1,629 m ) Coordinates 44 ° 06 ′ 45 '' N 73 ° 55 ′ 26 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 44.11250 ° N 73.92389 ° W ﻿ / 44.11250 ; - 73.92389 Coordinates : 44 ° 06 ′ 45 '' N 73 ° 55 ′ 26 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 44.11250 ° N 73.92389 ° W ﻿ / 44.11250 ; - 73.92389 Geography Map of the main mountainous regions of the northeastern United States. Strictly speaking, neither the Adirondacks nor the Catskills and Poconos are part of the Appalachian Mountains, having much different origins. Country United States State New York Geology Orogeny Grenville Orogeny Age of rock Tonian The Adirondack Mountains / ædɪˈrɒndæk / form a massif in northeastern New York, United States. Its boundaries correspond to the boundaries of Adirondack Park. The mountains form a roughly circular dome, about 160 miles ( 260 km ) in diameter and about 1 mile ( 1,600 m ) high. The current relief owes much to glaciation. Contents 1 History 2 Geology 3 Ecology 4 See also 5 References History 1876 map of the Adirondacks, showing many of the now obsolete names for many of the peaks, lakes, and communities The earliest written use of the name, spelled Rontaks, was in 1724 by the French missionary Joseph - François Lafitau. He defined it as tree eaters. In the Mohawk language, Adirondack means porcupine, an animal that may eat bark. The Mohawks had no written language at the time so Europeans have used various phonetic spellings. An English map from 1761 labels it simply Deer Hunting Country and the mountains were named Adirondacks in 1837 by Ebenezer Emmons. People first arrived in the area following the settlement of the Americas around 10,000 BC. The Algonquian peoples and the Mohawk nation used the Adirondacks for hunting and travel but did not settle. European colonisation of the area began with Samuel de Champlain visiting what is now Ticonderoga in 1609, and Jesuit missionary Isaac Jogues visited the region in 1642. In 1664 the land came under the control of the English when New Netherland was ceded to The Crown. After the American Revolutionary War, the lands passed to the people of New York State. Needing money to discharge war debts, the new government sold nearly all the original public acreage about 7 million acres for pennies an acre. Lumbermen were welcomed to the interior, with few restraints, resulting in massive deforestation. For the history of the area since industrialization, see The History of Adirondack Park. In 1989, part of the Adirondack region was designated by UNESCO as the Champlain - Adirondack Biosphere Reserve. Geology Whiteface Mountain The rocks of the Adirondack mountains originated about two billion years ago as 50,000 feet ( 15,000 m ) thick sediments at the bottom of a sea located near the equator. Because of continental drift these collided with Laurentia ( the precursor of modern North America ) in a mountain building episode known as the Grenville orogeny. During this time the sedimentary rock was changed into metamorphic rock. It is these Proterozoic minerals and lithologies that make up the core of the massif. Minerals of interest include : wollastonite, mined near Harrisville magnetite and hematite, formerly mined at the Benson Mines, Lyon Mountain, Mineville, Tawahus, and Witherbee. graphite, mined near Hague and Ticonderoga. garnet, mined at the Barton Mine, north of Gore Mountain. anorthosite, visible in road cuts on the New York State Route 3 between Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake. marble zinc : The Balmat - Edwards district on the northwest flank of the massif also in St. Lawrence County was a major zinc ore deposit titanium was mined at Tawahus. Note that even though they all resulted from the Grenville orogeny, neither the Adirondacks ( now uplifted by a hot spot ) nor the Catskills or Poconos ( a dissected plateau formed from delta deposits ) are part of the Appalachian Mountain chain ( faulted and folded by continental collisions ). Around 600 million years ago, as Laurentia drifted away from Baltica ( European Craton ), the area began to be pulled apart forming the Iapetus Ocean. Faults developed, running north to north east which formed valleys and deep lakes. Examples visible today include the grabens Lake George and Schroon Lake. By this time the Grenville mountains had been eroded away and the area was covered by a shallow sea. Several thousand feet of sediment accumulated on the sea bed. Trilobites were the principal life - form of the sea bed, and fossil tracks can be seen in the Potsdam sandstone floor of the Paul Smiths Visitor Interpretive Center. About 10 million years ago the region began to be uplifted. It has been lifted about 7000 feet ( 2100 m ) and is continuing at about 2 millimetres per year, which is greater than the rate of denudation. The cause of the uplift is unknown, but geologists theorize that it is caused by a hot spot in the earth 's crust. The occurrence of earthquake swarms near the center of the massif at Blue Mountain Lake may be evidence of this. Some of the earthquakes have exceeded 5 on the Richter magnitude scale. Starting about 2.5 million years ago a cycle of Pleistocene glacial and interglacial periods began which covered the area in ice. During the most recent episode, the Laurentide ice sheet covered most of northern North America between about 95,000 and c. 20,000 years ago. After this the climate warmed, but it took nearly 10,000 years for all of the 10,000 feet ( 3,000 m ) thick layer of ice to melt. Evidence of this period includes : Eskers : the Rainbow Lake esker bisects the eponymous lake and extends discontinuously for 85 miles. Another long discontinuous esker extends from Mountain Pond through Keese Mill, passing between Upper St. Regis Lake and the Spectacle Ponds, and continuing to Ochre, Fish, and Lydia Ponds in the St. Regis Canoe Area. A 150 foot high esker bisects the Five Ponds Wilderness Area. Glacial erratics : there is a large one at the Newcomb Visitor Information Centre next to the Rich Lake Trail. Kames Moraines The cirques that characterize the Whiteface Mountain. Outwash plains : St. Regis Canoe Area is an outwash plain pitted with kettle holes. Soils in the area are generally thin, sandy, acidic, and infertile, having developed since the glacial retreat. Ecology Spotted turtle at the Wild Center The Adirondack Mountains form the southernmost part of the Eastern forest - boreal transition ecoregion. They are heavily forested, and contain one of the southernmost distribution taiga in North America. The forests of the Adirondacks include spruce, pine and deciduous trees. Lumbering, once an important industry, has been much restricted by the creation of the park. The mountains include many wetlands, of which there are three kinds : Swamps, any wetland including trees and shrubs Marshes, wetlands with water stagnation. These may support bullfrogs and spring peepers, spotted salamanders, great blue heron, American bittern, and painted turtles. Pickerel weed often forms large colonies. Bogs, characterized by plants like sphagnum moss, orchids, and pitcher plants Common birds include the boreal chickadees, gray jays, spruce grouse, black - backed woodpeckers, common loons and crossbills. Nearly 60 percent of the park is covered with northern hardwood forest. Above 2600 feet ( 790 m ) conditions are too poor for hardwoods to thrive, and these trees become mixed with or replaced by balsam fir and red spruce. Above 3500 feet ( 1000 m ) black spruce replace red. Higher still only trees short enough to be covered in snow during the winter can survive. Only a tiny fraction of the area above the tree line is classified as having an alpine climate. show Scenes from the Adirondacks The Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York form the southernmost zone in the Eastern forest - boreal transition ecoregion of North America. The hydrologic source of the Hudson River is near or at Lake Tear of the Clouds, a small tarn in the Adironacks, photo circa 19th - century. Lake George, one of numerous oligotrophic lakes in the Adirondack region, is nicknamed the Queen of American Lakes. Mirror Lake in the Village of Lake Placid in the Adirondacks, site of the 1932 and the 1980 Winter Olympics. Lake Flower in the Village of Saranac Lake, nicknamed the Capital of the Adirondacks. The Adirondack High Peaks region. See also Adirondack High Peaks References Jump up ^ Cherniak, D.J. `` Ebenezer Emmons ( 1799 -- 1863 ) ''. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Retrieved June 23, 2015. Jump up ^ Sulavik, Stephen B. ( 2007 ). Adirondack : of Indians and mountains, 1535 -- 1838. Fleischmanns, N.Y. : Purple Mountain Press. pp. 21 -- 51. ISBN 978 - 1930098794. Jump up ^ `` History of the Adirondack Park ''. New York State Adirondack Park Agency. Retrieved June 23, 2015. Jump up ^ `` UNESCO -- MAB Biosphere Reserves Directory ''. www.unesco.org. Retrieved 2016 - 05 - 21. Jump up ^ Ridge, J.D. ( 1968 ). Ore Deposits of the United States, 1933 -- 1967. New York : The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc. ^ Jump up to : Storey, Mike ( 2006 ). Why the Adirondacks look the way they do : a natural history ( 2 ed. ). ( S.l. ) : Storey. p. 22. ISBN 0 - 9777172 - 0 - 8. Jump up ^ Dyke, A.S. ; Prest, V.K. ( 1987 ). `` Late Wisconsinan and Holocene History of the Laurentide Ice Sheet ''. Géographie physique et Quaternaire. 41 ( 2 ) : 237 -- 263. Jump up ^ Staff, Editorial. `` Sea Serpents in the Adirondacks ? You Bet ! - ''. Retrieved 2015 - 07 - 30. Jump up ^ Olson ; D.M. ; E. Dinerstein ; et al. ( 2001 ), `` Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World : A New Map of Life on Earth '', BioScience, 51 ( 11 ) : 933 -- 938, doi : 10.1641 / 0006 - 3568 ( 2001 ) 051 ( 0933 : TEOTWA ) 2.0.CO ; 2, archived from the original on 2011 - 10 - 14. Jump up ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. ( 1911 ). `` Adirondacks ''. Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 ( 11th ed. ). Cambridge University Press. p. 193. Adirondack Mountains and Adirondack Park Mountains Algonquin Arab Azure Basin Blue Colden Dix Giant Gothics Gray Hadley Iroquois Haystack Marcy Poke - O - Moonshine St. Regis Skylight Whiteface Lakes Blue Mountain Cranberry Fulton Chain George Great Sacandaga Indian Placid Long Raquette Saranacs Schroon Tupper Rivers Ausable Black Bog Boquet Grasse Hudson Marion Moose Oswegatchie Raquette Sacandaga St. Regis Salmon Saranac Schroon Wilderness areas Blue Ridge Dix Mountain Five Ponds Giant Mountain Ha - De-Ron - Dah High Peaks Hoffman Notch Jay Mountain McKenzie Mountain Pepperbox Pharaoh Lake Pigeon Lake Round Lake Sentinel Range Siamese Ponds Silver Lake West Canada Lake William C. Whitney Landmarks Camp Eagle Island Camp Pine Knot Fort Crown Point Fort Ticonderoga Grant Cottage John Brown Farm Santanoni Preserve Counties Clinton Essex Franklin Fulton Hamilton Herkimer Lewis Oneida St. Lawrence Saratoga Warren Washington Communities Blue Mountain Lake Elizabethtown Keeseville Lake George Lake Luzerne Lake Placid Long Lake Newcomb Saranac Lake Speculator Tupper Lake Warrensburg State of New York Albany ( capital ) Topics Bibliography Demographics Economy Education Geography History Healthcare Museums Music Nickname Parks People Politics Sports Symbols Transportation Tourist attractions Politics Administrative divisions Congressional districts Constitution Elections Government Law Regions Adirondack Mountains Allegheny Plateau Capital District Catskill Mountains Central Region ( formerly Central - Leatherstocking ) Central New York Champlain Valley New York City Finger Lakes Holland Purchase Hudson Highlands Hudson Valley Long Island Mohawk Valley Niagara Frontier North Country Ridge and Valley Saint Lawrence Seaway Shawangunks Ski country Southern Tier Southtowns Tech Valley Thousand Islands Tug Hill Upstate Western Metro areas Albany / Schenectady / Troy Binghamton Buffalo / Niagara Falls Elmira / Corning Glens Falls Ithaca Kingston New York City Rochester Syracuse Utica / Rome Watertown Counties Albany Allegany Bronx Broome Cattaraugus Cayuga Chautauqua Chemung Chenango Clinton Columbia Cortland Delaware Dutchess Erie Essex Franklin Fulton Genesee Greene Hamilton Herkimer Jefferson Kings Lewis Livingston Madison Monroe Montgomery Nassau New York Niagara Oneida Onondaga Ontario Orange Orleans Oswego Otsego Putnam Queens Rensselaer Richmond Rockland Saint Lawrence Saratoga Schenectady Schoharie Schuyler Seneca Steuben Suffolk Sullivan Tioga Tompkins Ulster Warren Washington Wayne Westchester Wyoming Yates Places Cities Towns Indian reservations Villages Census - designated places Hudson River watershed Tributaries Batten Kill Black Meadow Creek Bowery Creek Breakneck Brook Canajoharie Creek Caroga Creek Casperkill Catskill Creek Cayadutta Creek Cedar River Claverack Creek Clove Brook Cobleskill Creek Coeymans Creek Coxsackie Creek Cross River Croton River East Branch Croton River East Branch Sacandaga River East Canada Creek Eightmile Creek Esopus Creek Fall Kill Fishkill Creek Fonteyn Kill Fulmer Creek Hannacrois Creek Honnedaga Brook Hoosic River Jackson Creek Jan De Bakkers Kill Kaaterskill Creek Kayaderosseras Kinderhook Creek Kisco River Lake Creek Little Shawangunk Kill Maritje Kill Miami River Mill Creek Mohawk River Moodna Creek Moordener Kill Moyer Creek Muddy Kill Neepaulakating Creek Normans Kill Nowadaga Creek Onesquethaw Creek Oriskany Creek Otsquago Creek Otter Kill Papakating Creek Peekskill Hollow Creek Pocantico River Pochuck Creek Poesten Kill Potic Creek Quassaick Creek Roeliff Jansen Kill Rondout Creek Sacandaga River Sauquoit Creek Saw Kill Saw Mill River Sawyer Kill Schoharie Creek Schroon River Shawangunk Kill Sparkill Creek Sprout Creek Steele Creek Stockport Creek Stony Clove Creek Taghkanic Creek Tenmile Creek Tin Brook Titicus River Verkeerder Kill Vloman Kill Wallkill River Walloomsac River Wappinger Creek Wawayanda Creek West Branch Papakating Creek West Branch Sacandaga River West Canada Creek West Kill Wynants Kill Lakes Alcove Reservoir Ashokan Reservoir Basic Creek Reservoir Beacon Reservoir Bog Brook Reservoir Cedar Lake Chadwick Lake Chub Lake Cross River Reservoir Croton Falls Reservoir Dyken Pond East Branch Reservoir East Caroga Lake Fall Lake Franklinton Vlaie Garnet Lake Glenmere Lake Great Sacandaga Lake Great Vlaie Henderson Lake Honnedaga Lake Indian Lake Lizard Pond Lake Maratanza Muscoot Reservoir Lake Neepaulin New Croton Reservoir Notch Lake Piseco Lake Lake Pleasant Queechy Lake Rondout Reservoir Sacandaga Lake Saratoga Lake Sturgeon Pool Surprise Lake Sylvan Lake Lake Tear of the Clouds Thompson Pond Titicus Reservoir Trout Lake West Caroga Lake Whaley Lake Winnisook Lake Towns Albany Alpine Amsterdam Bayonne Beacon Bedford Beekman Bennington Bethlehem Blooming Grove Carmel Catskill Cliffside Park Clifton Park Cohoes Colonie Cortlandt East Fishkill East Greenbush Edgewater Englewood Cliffs Fishkill Fort Lee Glenville Gloversville Greenburgh Guilderland Halfmoon Herkimer Hoboken Hyde Park Jersey City Kingston Kirkland LaGrange Lloyd Malta Middletown Milton Monroe Montgomery Moreau Mount Pleasant New Castle New Hartford New Paltz New Windsor New York City Newburgh Niskayuna North Adams North Bergen Ossining Peekskill Plattekill Poughkeepsie Queensbury Rome Rotterdam Saugerties Schenectady Shawangunk Somers Southeast Sparta Tenafly Troy Utica Vernon Wallkill Wappinger Warwick Weehawken West New York Whitestown Wilton Yonkers Yorktown Landmarks Adirondack Mountains Adirondack Park Ashokan Bridge Blenheim Bridge Buskirk Bridge Catskill Mountains Champlain Canal Cohoes Falls Copeland Bridge Delaware and Hudson Canal Eagleville Bridge East River Erie Canal George Washington Bridge Harlem River Helderberg Escarpment Hudson Highlands State Park Kaaterskill Clove Kaaterskill Falls Kill Van Kull Kingston -- Rhinecliff Bridge Mid-Hudson Bridge Newburgh -- Beacon Bridge New Tappan Zee Bridge The Palisades Perrine 's Bridge Plotter Kill Preserve Pollepel Island Popolopen Rexleigh Bridge Rip Van Winkle Bridge Salisbury Center Bridge Schoharie Bridge Shushan Bridge Sleepy Hollow Statue of Liberty Taconic Mountains Tappan Zee Bridge Verkeerder Kill Falls Verrazano - Narrows Bridge Walkway over the Hudson Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge West Canada Lake Wilderness Area West Point Mountains of New York Adirondack Mountains Dix Range Dix Mountain Grace Peak Hough Peak Macomb Mountain South Dix Great Range Armstrong Mountain Basin Mountain Gothics Lower Wolfjaw Mountain Saddleback Mountain Sawteeth Upper Wolfjaw Mountain MacIntyre Mountains Algonquin Peak Iroquois Peak Mount Marshall Wright Peak Marcy Group Allen Mountain Cliff Mountain Gray Peak Mount Colden Mount Haystack Mount Marcy Mount Redfield Mount Skylight Others Ampersand Mountain Azure Mountain Bald Mountain Bell Mountain Big Slide Mountain Black Mountain Blake Peak Blue Mountain Cascade Mountain Couchsachraga Peak Dial Mountain Donaldson Mountain Esther Mountain Giant Mountain Gore Mountain Hadley Mountain Hurricane Mountain Jay Mountain Lyon Mountain MacNaughton Mountain McKenzie Mountain Mount Adams Mount Arab Mount Colvin Mount Emmons Mount Jo Mount McGregor Mount Van Hoevenberg Nippletop Noonmark Mountain Nye Mountain Owls Head Mountain Panther Peak Phelps Mountain Pitchoff Mountain Poke - O - Moonshine Mountain Porter Mountain Rocky Peak Ridge Santanoni Peak Seward Mountain Seymour Mountain Silver Lake Mountain Snowy Mountain Spruce Mountain Street Mountain Table Top Mountain Titus Mountain Whiteface Mountain Catskill Mountains Blackhead Mountains Black Dome Blackhead Thomas Cole Mountain Burroughs Range Wittenberg Mountain Cornell Mountain Slide Mountain Devil 's Path Hunter Mountain Indian Head Mountain Plateau Mountain Southwest Hunter Mountain Sugarloaf Mountain ( Greene County ) Twin Mountain West Kill Mountain Others Ashokan High Point Balsam Cap Balsam Lake Mountain Balsam Mountain Bearpen Mountain Big Indian Mountain Doubletop Mountain Eagle Mountain Evergreen Mountain Fir Mountain Friday Mountain Graham Mountain Halcott Mountain Kaaterskill High Peak Lone Mountain Mount Jefferson Mount Sherrill Mount Tremper North Dome North Mountain Old Clump Mountain Overlook Mountain Panther Mountain Peekamoose Mountain Plattekill Mountain Rocky Mountain Rusk Mountain Table Mountain Vly Mountain Windham High Peak Hudson Highlands Anthony 's Nose Beacon Mountain Bear Mountain Breakneck Ridge Buckberg Bull Hill Crow 's Nest Dunderberg Mountain Hook Mountain Popolopen South Mountain Storm King Mountain Sugarloaf Mountain ( Dutchess County ) Sugarloaf Hill Tallman Mountain Taconic Mountains Alander Mountain Berlin Mountain Brace Mountain Misery Mountain Mount Raimer Rounds Mountain White Rock Others Algerine Hill Angel Hill Badeau Hill Baker Hill Bellvale Mountain Bitch Mountain Briar Hill ( Burlington ) Briar Hill ( East Springfield ) Bunn Hill Burke Hill Burying Ground Hill Calder Hill Cape Wykoff Clove Mountain Cornish Hill Crumhorn Mountain Darling Hill Dog Hill Dutch Hill East Hill Eggleston Hill Elliot Hill Filer Hill Fitch Hill Fox Hill ( Hamilton County ) Fox Hill ( Oneida County ) Franklin Mountain Gifford Hill Gill Hill Gross Hill Harris Hill Hawk Hill Hemlock Hill Honey Hill Hooker Mountain Hutchinson Hill Joppenbergh Mountain Kilkenny Hill King Hill Klock Hill Lane Hill Marlboro Mountains Metcalf Hill Morrow Mountain Mount Defiance Mount Markham Mount Moses Mount Peter Mount Rafinesque Mount Tom Mount Wellington Mount Zion Murphy Hill Noahs Rump Otsego County High Point Panther Mountain Pigeon Hill Pine Cobble Pine Hill Pine Mountain Pray Hill Ramapo Mountains Red House Hill Red Ridge Hill Rice Hill Richfield Hill Round Top ( Burlington ) Round Top ( East Winfield ) Rum Hill Saint Regis Mountain Schunemunk Mountain Shacktown Mountain Shankley Mountain Shawangunk Ridge Sisson Hill South Hill Stone Quarry Hill Strain Mountain Todt Hill Tunnicliff Hill Wallface Mountain Weaver Hill Welch Hill Whalen Hill Wilders Hill Windham Mountain Winnie Hill Wooley Hill GND : 4203429 - 2 NARA : 10045462 VIAF : 235541996 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adirondack_Mountains&oldid=827320723 '' Categories : Adirondacks Mountain ranges of New York ( state ) Physiographic provinces Regions of New York ( state ) Upstate New York Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference Coordinates on Wikidata Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with NARA identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Asturianu Bân - lâm - gú Català Cebuano Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Kiswahili Latina Latviešu Lietuvių Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk پنجابی Polski Português Română Русский Slovenčina Slovenščina Suomi Svenska தமிழ் Türkçe Українська 粵語 中文 30 more Edit links This page was last edited on 24 February 2018, at 01 : 38 ( UTC ). 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Question: where are the adirondack mountains on a map
Answer: 44°06′45″N 73°55′26″W﻿ / ﻿44.11250°N 73.92389°W