page_title: North Adams, Massachusetts
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: North Adams, Massachusetts / Geography
caption_attribution_description: Railroad Bridge and weir on the Hoosic River, seen from the parklet at the end of Alton Place in North Adams, Massachusetts.
context_page_description: North Adams is a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its population was 13,708 as of the 2010 census. Best known as the home of the largest contemporary art museum in the United States, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams has in recent years become a center for tourism, culture and recreation.
context_section_description: According to the United States Census Bureau, North Adams has a total area of 20.6 square miles (53.4 km²), of which 20.3 square miles (52.7 km²) is land and 0.27 square miles (0.7 km²), or 1.31%, is water. North Adams is bordered by Clarksburg to the north, Florida to the east, Adams to the south, and Williamstown to the west.
  North Adams is located in the valley created by the Hoosic River, which has been walled and floored with concrete in portions to prevent floods. The city's Natural Bridge State Park contains the only natural white marble bridge in North America. Formed by glacial melt by 11,000 BC, the arch and abandoned quarry have long attracted attention from hikers, including Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1838, who wrote of it (among other local features) in his An American Notebook. To the east, the city is bordered by the western face of the Hoosac Range, with visibility on its West Summit extending throughout the tri-state area. To the southwest, the city has the northern end of Mount Greylock State Reservation, ending at Mount Williams, which at 2,951 feet (899 m) above sea level is the highest point in the city. The Appalachian Trail passes through the western part of the city, crossing the summit of Mount Williams and briefly passing through Williamstown before heading north towards Vermont.
caption: The Hoosic River runs through the city and was essential to its growth, providing power for the mills that were built along its banks as well as those of its branches.
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