West Peak (New Haven County, Connecticut)

Should not be confused with West Rock, another traprock summit in Connecticut
West Peak

View from West Peak
Highest point
Elevation 1,024 ft (312 m)
Coordinates 41°33′45″N 72°50′40″W / 41.56250°N 72.84444°W / 41.56250; -72.84444Coordinates: 41°33′45″N 72°50′40″W / 41.56250°N 72.84444°W / 41.56250; -72.84444
Geography
Location Meriden, Connecticut
Parent range Hanging Hills / Metacomet Ridge
Geology
Age of rock 200 million years
Mountain type fault-block; igneous
Climbing
Easiest route Metacomet Trail

West Peak, 1,024 feet (312 m), of the Hanging Hills, is the highest traprock peak in the state of Connecticut. The peak hangs above the city of Meriden 700 feet (213 m) below and is characterized by its vertical cliffs and sweeping views of southern Connecticut, Long Island Sound, and the Berkshires to the west. On a clear day, Mount Tom, in Massachusetts, can be seen 47 miles to the north.

The 51-mile Metacomet Trail crosses West Peak. Activities enjoyed on the peak include hiking, picnicking, and bird watching. West Peak is on an important raptor migration path.

Edwin Howard Armstrong, who invented FM radio and was a network radio pioneer, used West Peak as the location of one of the first FM radio broadcasts, in 1939. His original 70-foot radio mast is still there. Currently, West Peak is home to seven FM broadcast stations, WNPR, WWYZ, WZMX, WDRC-FM, WKSS, WHCN, and WMRQ-FM.

Geology

West Peak, along with the other Hanging Hills, is part of a mountain chain that is a dormant fault line running through the middle of Connecticut and into Massachusetts.

See also

< East North ↑
East Peak
Short Mountain

References

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