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Encyclopedia > Adirondack State Park
Long Pond in the Saint Regis Canoe Area.
Enlarge
Long Pond in the Saint Regis Canoe Area.
Adirondack Park
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
[[Image:|288px|]]
Location: New York, USA
Nearest city: Plattsburgh
Coordinates: °′″, °′″
Area: 6 million acres (24,000 km²)
Established: 1892
Visitation: (in )
Governing body: Adirondack Park Agency

The Adirondack State Park, also known as the Adirondack Park, is a large state park in northeast New York. It is the largest state park in the United States, covering a land area about the size of Massachusetts, although more than half the land within is privately owned, including several villages and hamlets and Adirondack Regional Airport. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 479 KB) Summary Long Pond, in the Saint Regis Canoe Area. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 479 KB) Summary Long Pond, in the Saint Regis Canoe Area. ... The Saint Regis Canoe Area is a 19,000 acre area of the Adirondack State Park in in southern Franklin County, New York about 18 miles northeast of Tupper Lake and southwest of Paul Smiths. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... Image File history File links Locator_Dot. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... Plattsburgh is a city in Clinton County, New York, USA. The population was 18,816 at the 2000 census. ... The Adirondack State Park, also known as the Adirondack Park is a large state park in northeast New York. ... State park is a term used in the United States and in Mexico for an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreation, or other reason, and under the administration of the government of a U.S. state or one of the states of Mexico. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  Ranked 44th  - Total 10,555 sq mi (27,360 km²)  - Width 183 miles (295 km)  - Length 113 miles (182 km)  - % water 13. ... Adirondack Regional Airport (IATA: SLK, ICAO: KSLK) is the only commercial airport in New Yorks Adirondack Park, the largest state park in the country. ...

Contents


Park boundaries

The Adirondack Park boundary, commonly referred to as the "Blue Line," contains the entire Adirondack Mountain range as well as some surrounding areas. The park includes all of Hamilton and Essex counties, as well as considerable portions of Clinton, Franklin, Herkimer, St. Lawrence and Warren counties and small sections of Fulton, Lewis, Oneida, Saratoga and Washington counties as well. (The Clinton County towns of Altona and Dannemora, despite being entirely within the park boundary, are specifically excluded from the park by statute, however, due to the large prison facilities in both towns). The Blue Line is the term used in New York state for the boundaries of the Adirondack and Catskill parks, within which can be found the states Forest Preserve. ... Some factual claims in this article need to be verified. ... Hamilton County is a county located in the state of New York. ... Essex County is a county located in the state of New York. ... Clinton County is a county located in the state of New York. ... Franklin County is a county located in the state of New York. ... Herkimer County is a county located in the state of New York. ... St. ... Warren County is a county in the state of New York. ... Fulton County is a county located in the state of New York. ... Lewis County is a county located in the state of New York. ... Oneida County is a county located in the state of New York. ... Location in the state of New York Formed 1791 Seat Ballston Spa Area  - Total  - Water 2,185 km² (844 mi²) 83 km² (32 mi²) 3. ... Washington County is a county located in the state of New York. ... Altona is a town located in Clinton County, New York. ... Dannemora is a town located in Clinton County, New York. ...


Not all of the land within the park is owned by the state, but new sections are purchased or donated frequently. The park contains the highest peaks (High Peaks) in New York State, including Mount Marcy, the highest elevation in the state. About one-half of the park's six million acres (24,000 km²) are in the public domain. The High Peaks is a name for 46 high mountain peaks in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, USA. This group of mountains was originally believed to comprise of the Adirondack peaks higher than 4,000 feet (1219 m). ... Mount Marcy is at 5,344 ft the highest mountain in the Adirondack Mountain Range and the highest point in New York State. ...


History

Adirondack guides (standing) and their Sports
Adirondack guides (standing) and their Sports

The thinking that was to lead to the creation of the Park first appeared in George Perkins Marsh's Man and Nature, published in 1864. Marsh argued that deforestation could lead to desertification: referring to the clearing of once-lush lands surrounding the Mediterranean, he asserted "the operation of causes set in action by man has brought the face of the earth to a desolation almost as complete as that of the moon." Image File history File links Adirondack Guides (standing) and their Sports. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Adirondack Guides (standing) and their Sports. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... George Perkins Marsh (March 15, 1801 – July 23, 1882), an American diplomat and philologist, he is considered by some to be Americas first environmentalist. ... Man and Nature is a book written by George Perkins Marsh in 1864. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ...


The idea for the Park itself first occurred to surveyor Verplanck Colvin in 1870 while taking in the view from atop Seward Mountain. He wrote to the state government that action was necessary to protect the forests or it would be wasted, which would lead to the drying up of the water needed to keep the Erie Canal in operation. Three years later he was appointed to a committee formed to consider how to do this. Verplanck Colvin Verplanck Colvin (1847–1920) was a lawyer and topographical engineer whose understanding and appreciation for the environment of the Adirondack Mountains lead to the creation of the Adirondack Forest Preserve and the Adirondack State Park. ... The Erie Canal (currently part of the New York State Canal System) is a canal in New York State, United States, that runs from the Hudson River to Lake Erie, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. ...


When his term "Adirondack Park" led to some derision and fears from longtime residents of the area that they might be bought out and evicted, proponents of the idea began to use "Adirondack Forest Preserve" instead. Both terms continue in use to this day, with the former referring to the land inside the Blue Line and the latter to that portion owned by the state.


In 1878, Seneca Ray Stoddard produced a topographical survey of the Adirondacks that was influential in the creation of the Park. Seneca Ray Stoddard, self-portrait Seneca Ray Stoddard (1843–1917) was an American landscape photographer known for his photographs of New Yorks Adirondack Mountains. ...


Serious efforts to protect this land began in 1882, when businessmen in New York began to be concerned about the effects of widespread logging. Without trees, the many steep slopes on the mountains in the region were likely to erode, and the silt from the slopes could conceivably have silted up the Erie Canal and the Hudson itself, choking off New York State’s economic backbone. The Hudson River, called Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk in Mahican, is a river running mainly through New York State but partly forming the boundary between the states of New York and New Jersey. ...


In 1885, legislation declared that the land in the Adirondack State Park and the Catskill State Park was to be conserved and never put up for sale or lease. The park was established in 1892, due to the activities of Colvin and other conservationists. The park was given state constitutional protection in 1894, so that the state-owned lands within its bounds would be protected forever ("forever wild"). The part of the Adirondack State Park under government control is referred to as the Adirondack Preserve. The Catskill State Park, also called Catskill Park, is in the Catskill Mountains in New York in the United States. ...


Adirondack Park today

Harris Lake in Newcomb, New York.
Harris Lake in Newcomb, New York.

On-going efforts have been made to re-introduce native fauna that had been lost in the park during earlier exploitation. Animals in various stages of re-introduction include: beaver, fisher, American Marten, moose, lynx, and osprey. Not all of these restoration efforts have been successful yet. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1592x1056, 468 KB) Summary Harris Lake, near Newcomb, New York. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1592x1056, 468 KB) Summary Harris Lake, near Newcomb, New York. ... Newcomb is a town located in Essex County, New York. ... Binomial name Castor canadensis Kuhl, 1820 A taxidermied American Beaver The American Beaver (Castor canadensis) is a large semi-aquatic rodent native to Canada, most of the United States and parts of northern Mexico. ... Binomial name Martes pennanti (Erxleben, 1777) The fisher, Martes pennanti, is a North American marten. ... Binomial name Martes americana (Turton, 1806) The American Marten, Martes americana, is a North American marten sometimes also called the Pine Marten, even though it is a separate species from the European Pine Marten. ... Binomial name Alces alces (Linnaeus, 1758) Moose range map Alces alces, called the moose in North America and the elk in Europe (see also elk for other animals called elk) is the largest member of the deer family Cervidae, distinguished from other members of Cervidae by the form of the... Binomial name Lynx canadensis Kerr, 1792 The Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis) is a close relative of the Eurasian Lynx. ... Binomial name Pandion haliaetus (Linnaeus, 1758) The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is a medium large raptor which is a specialist fish-eater with a worldwide distribution. ...


The park has a year-round population of about 130,000 people in dozens of villages and hamlets. There are more than 3,000 lakes and 30,000 miles (48,000 km) of streams and rivers. Many areas within the park are devoid of settlments and distant from usable roads. A hamlet is (usually — see below) a small settlement, too small or unimportant to be considered a village. ...


The Adirondack Park Agency (created 1971) is a governmental agency that performs long-range planning for the future of the Adirondack State Park. It oversees development plans of private land-owners as well as activities within the Adirondack Preserve. Development by private owners must be reviewed to determine if their plan is compatible with the park.


See also

Eagle Lake, Adirondack region The Adirondack mountain range is a group of mountains in the northeastern part of New York that runs through Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, and Warren counties. ... This is a list of state parks in the U.S. state of New York. ...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
State park - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (326 words)
State park is a term used in the United States and in Mexico for an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreation, or other reason, and under the administration of the government of a U.S. state or one of the states of Mexico.
Perhaps the oldest state park is Georgia's Indian Springs State Park.
Many state park systems date to the 1930s, when dozens of state parks across the country were established with assistance from the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Adirondack State Park - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (779 words)
It is the largest state park in the United States, covering a land area about the size of Massachusetts, although more than half the land within is privately owned, including several villages and hamlets and Adirondack Regional Airport.
He wrote to the state government that action was necessary to protect the forests or it would be wasted, which would lead to the drying up of the water needed to keep the Erie Canal in operation.
When his term "Adirondack Park" led to some derision and fears from longtime residents of the area that they might be bought out and evicted, proponents of the idea began to use "Adirondack Forest Preserve" instead.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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