The Berkshires, is a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts
and Connecticut, although the term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to
the portion of the mountain range that lies within Massachusetts. The portion of the Berkshires
that extends into Connecticut is commonly referred to by locals as either the Northwest
Hills or Litchfield Hills. Also referred to as the Berkshire Hills, Berkshire
Mountains, and Berkshire Plateau, the region enjoys a vibrant tourism industry based on
music, arts, and recreation.
Definition The term "The Berkshires" has overlapping
but non-identical political, cultural, and geographic definitions.
Political Politically, Berkshire County, Massachusetts
was a governing body formed in 1761; it includes the western extremity of the state, with its
western boundary bordering New York and its eastern boundary roughly paralleling the watershed
divide separating the Connecticut River watershed from the Housatonic River-Hoosic River watersheds.
Geologically and physically, the Berkshires are the southern continuation of the Green
Mountains of Vermont, distinct from them only by their average lower elevation and by virtue
of what side of the border they fall on. In physical geography, the Berkshires extend
from the Housatonic River and Hoosic River valleys in western Massachusetts, to the Connecticut
River valley in north central Massachusetts, and to the foot of the lower Westfield River
valley in south central Massachusetts. In Connecticut, where they are referred to as
"the Litchfield Hills," they extend from the upper Housatonic River valley in the north-west
part of the state, south along the western border of the state, east to the Farmington
River valley in north central Connecticut, south to the Quinnipiac River valley in central
Connecticut, then south-west to the Housatonic River valley in southwest Connecticut.
Cultural Culturally, the term "Berkshires" includes
all of the highland region in western Massachusetts west of the Connecticut River and lower Westfield
River, and, all of north-west Connecticut from the Farmington River valley in the northern
part of the state in a diagonal arc west to Winsted and Litchfield, then southwest to
Lake Candlewood on the New York border and ending in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The cultural
region also includes the Taconic Mountains bordering New York, which are geologically
distinct from the Berkshires orogeny. Southwest Vermont and the Taconic region of New York
are occasionally grouped with the Berkshires cultural region.
Sir Francis Bernard, the Royal Governor, named the area "Berkshire" to honor his home county
in England. Geographic
Geologically, the Berkshires are bordered on the west by the Taconic Mountains, the
marble valleys of the Hoosic River and Housatonic River and, further south, by the Hudson Highlands;
to the east, they are bordered by the Metacomet Ridge geology. They are on the average 1,000 ft
lower and less prominent than the Green Mountains of Vermont, and form a broad, dissected plateau
punctuated by hills and peaks and cut by river valleys. The Berkshires topography gradually
diminishes in profile and elevation from west to east and from north to south, except where
rivers have cut deep gorges and sharp bluff faces into the Berkshire plateau.
Formation The Berkshires and related Green Mountains
formed over half a billion years ago when Africa collided with North America, pushing
up the Appalachian Mountains and forming the bedrock of the Berkshires. Erosion over hundreds
of millions of years wore these mountains down to the hills that we see today.
Elevation The average regional elevation of the Berkshires
ranges from about 700 to 1,200 feet. The geologic high point is Crum Hill, 2,841 feet of Monroe,
Massachusetts; however, nearby Mount Greylock of the Taconic Mountains, 3,491 feet, the
highest point in the state of Massachusetts, is considered the high point of the Berkshires
cultural region. Rivers
The Housatonic River, Hoosic River, Westfield River, and Deerfield River watersheds drain
the Berkshires region in Massachusetts; in Connecticut the main river drainages are the
Farmington River, the Naugatuck River, the Shepaug River, and the Housatonic River.
Counties The Berkshire mountain range runs through:
Berkshire County, Massachusetts Hartford County, Connecticut
Franklin County, Massachusetts Hampden County, Massachusetts
Hampshire County, Massachusetts Litchfield County, Connecticut
Municipalities The largest municipalities associated with
the Berkshires cultural region include Pittsfield, North Adams, Adams, Great Barrington, Williamstown,
Massachusetts; Granby; Torrington; and Winsted, Connecticut.
History During the American Revolution a Continental
Army force under Henry Knox brought captured cannons from Fort Ticonderoga by ox-drawn
sleds south along the west bank of the Hudson River from the fort to Albany where he then
crossed the Hudson. Knox and his men continued east through the Berkshires and finally arrived
in Boston. This feat, known as the "Noble train of artillery", was accomplished in the
dead of winter, 1775-1776. Ecology
The Berkshires lie within the New England-Acadian forests ecoregion.
Similarly, the United States Environmental Protection Agency in Massachusetts has defined
six ecoregions within this area: Taconic Mountains, Western New England Marble Valleys, Lower
Berkshire Hills, Berkshire Highlands, Vermont Piedmont, and Berkshire Transition. Each region
is distinct from the others providing a unique habitat assemblage.
Much of the Hoosic and Housatonic River Valleys have underlying bedrock limestone and marble
which contribute to calcareous wetlands, unique to Massachusetts. The alkaline pH waters support
a diversity of plants and animals intolerant of more acidic waters, some which are state-listed
rare or endangered. Combined with the rich mesic forests ranging from the northern hardwood
to the taiga or sub-alpine, makes for a valuable, biologically diverse ecosystem.
The classic study of the vegetation of the Berkshire Highlands was Egler's 1940 monograph,
covering the flora of an area stretching roughly from Pittsfield, MA in the west to Hatfield,
MA in the east, and from Goshen, CT in the south, north to the Vermont border.
Today, efforts are being made on behalf of many organizations to preserve and manage
this region for biological diversity and sustainable human development. Recreation directly related
to this ecology is a popular area for trout fishing, and the area's relative pristineness
contributes to the popularity of nature walks in the region. See also: Natural History of
the Berkshires Tourism
The Berkshires are a popular tourist attraction and vacation getaway, serving the same function
in relation to Connecticut and Massachusetts that the Catskills do in New York and the
Poconos for Pennsylvania. With numerous trails, including part of the Appalachian Trail, large
tracts of wilderness, parks like Kent Falls, Berkshire Botanical Garden and Hebert Arboretum
the Berkshires are very popular with nature lovers. The area includes Bash Bish Falls,
the tallest waterfall in Massachusetts. It should be noted that most of the Appalachian
Trail and Bash Bish Falls are physically located in the nearby Taconic mountain range. The
Berkshires are also home to dozens of summer camps, some of which date back to the turn
of the 20th century. The Litchfield Hills of Northwestern Connecticut
feature the covered bridges of Kent and West Cornwall, fly fishing, canoeing and spectacular
fall foliage along the Housatonic River valley and the quiet woods and hills of the Appalachian
trail and also Algonquin State Forest in Colebrook. The Berkshire region is noted as a center
for the visual and performing arts; its art museums include the Norman Rockwell Museum,
the Clark Art Institute, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Williams
College Museum of Art. At Williams College, the Chapin Library displays a wide selection
of rare books and documents. Performing-arts institutions in the Berkshires include Tanglewood
Music Center and Boston University Tanglewood Institute [1] in Lenox, the summer home of
the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Berkshire Choral Festival, the Bang on a Can Summer
Festival for contemporary music in North Adams; Shakespeare & Company in Lenox; summer stock
theatre festivals such as the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, Barrington
Stage Company in Pittsfield, MA and the Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge; and America's
first and longest-running dance festival, Jacob's Pillow.
The Kripalu Center of Stockbridge, "North America's largest residential facility for
holistic health and education", represents a different category of tourism, that oriented
to yoga and allied remedies. See also
BerkShares Famous Berkshire Cottages: Naumkeag, Edith
Wharton's The Mount, Ventfort Hall and Arundel Hall, used in the book The Penderwicks
Litchfield Hills Taconic Mountains
Massachusetts geography List of mountains in Massachusetts
Berkshire References
External links Macaroni Kid Berkshires Edition Find all the
family-friendly events going on each week in the Berkshires!
Berkshire Visitor's Bureau Massachusetts State Parks in the Berkshires