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82-586: This ecoregion has a humid continental climate with warm summers and cold winters. This ecoregion is bordered by the oak -dominated Northeastern coastal forests on the coastal plain to the south, the Gulf of St. Lawrence lowland forests on the coasts and islands of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence , and to the north and northeast the Eastern forest-boreal transition and the Eastern Canadian forests . There

164-685: A Csa climate well inland to ensure hot summers and cold winters. They are generally found in the highly elevated areas of south-eastern Turkey ( Hakkâri ), north-western Iran, northern Iraq, parts of Central Asia , parts of the High Atlas mountain range in central Morocco and very small parts of the Intermountain West in the United States. This climate zone does not exist at all in the Southern Hemisphere, where

246-540: A canopy than bogs. The most characteristic trees of southern and low altitude New England swamps are hemlock ( Tsuga canadensis ), northern white cedar ( Thuja occidentalis ), tamarack ( Larix laricina ), balsam poplar ( Populus balsamifera ), red maple ( Acer rubrum ), atlantic white cedar ( Chamaecyparis thyoides ), tupelo ( Nyssa sylvatica ) and black ash ( Fraxinus nigra ). Often cool, moist shaded ravines are dominated by pure stands of hemlocks in this range. In northern and high altitude swamps of New England

328-614: A classification). More extreme and inland humid continental climates, sometimes known as "hyper-continental" climates, are found in northeast China , southern Siberia , Mongolia , Kazakhstan , most of the southern interior of Canada , and the Upper Midwest , where temperatures in the winter resemble those of adjacent subarctic climates (with long, drier, generally very cold winters) but have longer and generally warmer summers (in occasional cases, hot summers). A more moderate variety, found in places like Honshu , east-central China,

410-512: A great number of passerine birds. The area is particularly important as a feeding ground for birds migrating on the Atlantic Flyway . The region is home to reptiles such as bog turtles ( Glyptemys muhlenbergii ), common snapping turtles ( Chelydra serpentina ), common box turtles ( Terrapene carolina ), painted turtles ( Chrysemys picta ), and timber rattlesnakes ( Crotalus horridus ). Animal species or subspecies that once roamed

492-521: A high rate of leeching of nutrients out of the soil. It is also noted for a high rate of precipitation , year round, as rain and snow, which contributes to much of the leeching. The dominant canopy species of this area include red pine ( Pinus resinosa ), balsam fir ( Abies balsamea ), paper birch ( Betula papyrifera ), red spruce ( Picea rubens ), which northwards, is replaced by white spruce ( Picea glauca ). Also present are jack pine ( Pinus banksiana ), and white pine ( Pinus strobus ) which

574-516: A marked reduction in wintry precipitation, which increases the chances of a wintertime drought ( w ). Snowfall occurs in all areas with a humid continental climate and in many such places is more common than rain during the height of winter. In places with sufficient wintertime precipitation, the snow cover is often deep. Most summer rainfall occurs during thunderstorms , and in North America and Asia an occasional tropical cyclone (or

656-698: A role in the history of geological science, is separated from the Berkshires and Green Mountains to the east by a series of valleys, principally those of the Housatonic River , Battenkill River and Otter Creek . The Taconics' highest point is Mount Equinox in Vermont at 3,840 feet (1,170 m); among many other summits are Dorset Mountain , Mount Greylock and Mount Everett . Forests are predominately maple-beech-birch with some spruce-fir at higher elevations, "and oak and hickory common to

738-739: A subarctic climate. In the Southern Hemisphere , it exists in well-defined areas only in the Southern Alps of New Zealand , in the Snowy Mountains of Australia in Kiandra, New South Wales and the Andes Mountains of Argentina and Chile . Since climate regimes tend to be dominated by vegetation of one region with relatively homogenous ecology, those that project climate change remap their results in

820-526: A thermal profile, but because of semi-arid precipitation portions of it are grouped into the BSk category. In Europe , it is found in much of Central Europe : Germany (in the east and southeast part of the country), Austria (generally below 700 m (2,297 ft)), Poland , Czech Republic , Slovakia , Hungary (generally above 100 m (328 ft)), Croatia (mostly Slavonia region), in much of Eastern Europe : Ukraine (the whole country except

902-618: A unique flora . The wetland of the New England area exhibit considerable diversity across the range and elevations within the three category: bogs , swamps , and bottomlands. Swamps and bogs are specific habitats whereas bottomlands are any moist area including riparian zones, lake and pond banks, and the moist area surrounding bogs, marshes and swamps. Bogs are wetland areas, characterized by acid hydric soils composed of peat . Bogs can occur at any elevation in this ecoregion. They are often sphagnum heath areas dominated by shrubs in

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984-518: A variety of rare and endangered species; and Mount Philo 968 feet (295 m), home of Mount Philo State Park with its mountaintop campground. Natural resource extraction has been an important industry in the Taconic Mountains; extraction industries have included marble , limestone , slate , and iron mining as well as logging and charcoaling . Along with various state properties, some mentioned elsewhere in this article,

1066-447: Is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold (sometimes severely cold in the northern areas) and snowy winters. Precipitation is usually distributed throughout the year, but often these regions do have dry seasons. The definition of this climate in terms of temperature

1148-873: Is also a disjunct patch of forest-boreal transition on the Adirondack Mountains . In Canada, the New England-Acadian forests ecoregion includes the Eastern Townships and Beauce regions of southern Quebec , half of New Brunswick and most of Nova Scotia , and in the United States , the North Country of New York State, most of Maine , the Lake Champlain and the Champlain Valley of Vermont ,

1230-399: Is also an important canopy species in southern New England's seaboard lowlands. White pine ( Pinus strobus ) and red pine ( Pinus resinosa ), are also an important part of this mixed forest. The pioneer trees of this forest are quaking aspen ( Populus tremuloides ) and paper birch ( Betula papyrifera ). Wetlands are defined anywhere by an abundance of water , hydric soils , and

1312-623: Is also found on parts of the Fundy coast in Maine and the Maritimes, the northern parts of this ecoregion where the summers are cool. The coniferous forest goes by many names, including: Boreal forest, fir-spruce forest, the North Woods, and the taiga . It is noted in New England for its "harsh" conditions such as cold, subarctic temperatures, a short growing period, sandy-gravely acidic soil, and

1394-442: Is as follows: the mean temperature of the coldest month must be below 0 °C (32.0 °F) or −3 °C (26.6 °F) depending on the isotherm, and there must be at least four months whose mean temperatures are at or above 10 °C (50 °F). In addition, the location in question must not be semi-arid or arid . The cooler Dfb , Dwb , and Dsb subtypes are also known as hemiboreal climates. Although amount of snowfall

1476-422: Is found in areas of richer soil in the lower elevations of this forest. The presence of paper birch ( Betula papyrifera ), a successional species, is often an indication of past disturbances such as fire or logging in the forest. Typical woody understory and shrub layer species include moosewood ( Acer pensylvanicum ), low-bush blueberry ( Vaccinium angustifolium ) and other heath species, especially

1558-521: Is found in northern Kazakhstan , southern Siberia , parts of Mongolia , northern China , and highland elevations in the Koreas . Like its hot-summer counterpart, these climates are typically dry in the winter and bitterly cold due to the Siberian High (often with winter temperatures comparable to their nearby subarctic climates ), while summers are warm and long enough to avoid classification as

1640-711: Is larger than the current Taconic Mountains, extending westward toward the Hudson River . It formed during the Ordovician period in the collision of the North American Plate into a volcanic island arc . Geologist E-An Zen proved this allochthon's existence in 1966 via a study of the region's faulting, although it had been proposed around 1906 by Rudolf Ruedemann and separately by Arthur Keith , each using concepts associated with French geologist Marcel Alexandre Bertrand . Their proposals regarding

1722-467: Is less extreme than the most inland hyper-continental variety. Using the Köppen climate classification , a climate is classified as humid continental when the temperature of the coldest month is below 0 °C [32.0 °F] or −3 °C [26.6 °F] and there must be at least four months whose mean temperatures are at or above 10 °C (50 °F). These temperatures were not arbitrary. In Europe,

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1804-565: Is less seasonally uniform in the west. The western states of the western United States (namely Montana , Wyoming , parts of southern Idaho , most of Lincoln County in Eastern Washington , parts of Colorado , parts of Utah , isolated parts of northern New Mexico , western Nebraska , and parts of western North and South Dakota ) have thermal regimes which fit the Dfa climate type, but are quite dry, and are generally grouped with

1886-412: Is likely from a Delaware word meaning "in the trees". The spelling "Taghkanic", among several variant transliterations, is current for about a half-dozen locales, mostly within the immediate region. As written English, the term appears in a 1685 petition for the right to purchase land in western Massachusetts. Timothy Dwight IV used the name "Taughkannuc Mountain" in an account of his 1781 ascent of

1968-404: Is not a factor used in defining the humid continental climate, snow during the winter in this type of climate is almost a guarantee, either intermittently throughout the winter months near the poleward or coastal margins, or persistently throughout the winter months elsewhere in the climate zone. Humid continental climates are generally found between latitudes 40° N and 60° N , within

2050-724: Is noted during the autumn of deciduous forests. In the poleward direction, these climates transition into subarctic climates featuring short summers (and usually very cold winters) allowing only conifer trees. Moving equatorword, the hot-summer continental climates grade into humid subtropical climates (chiefly in North America and Asia) while the warm-summer continental climates grade into oceanic climates (chiefly in Europe), both of which have milder winters where average temperatures stay above 0°C (or -3°C). Some continental climates with lower precipitation (chiefly in Central Asia and

2132-591: Is often particularly abundant in these communities. These forests also go by the names: hemlock-northern hardwoods, and mixed forests. The northern hardwoods are located in the seaboard lowlands and south of the coniferous forests, but there is considerable blending of the two communities. These forests are typical of elevations below 700 m. Elements of these communities mix extensively with coniferous forest elements between 700 m and 900 m, and also from mid- latitude Vermont and New Hampshire north to central Maine where coniferous forest elements begin to dominate. Typically

2214-701: Is to be found in northern China including Manchuria and parts of North China , south-east Russia , and over much of the Korean Peninsula ; it has the Köppen classification Dwa . Much of central Asia , northwestern China , and southern Mongolia has a thermal regime similar to that of the Dfa climate type, but these regions receive so little precipitation that they are more often classified as steppes ( BSk ) or deserts ( BWk ). Dsa climates are rare; they are generally restricted to elevated areas adjacent to mid-latitude Mediterranean climate regions with

2296-700: The Berkshire Natural Resources Council and the Nature Conservancy have been active in the region. The U.S. Forest Service has designated several areas within the Taconics under its Forest Legacy Program , which affords subsidies for the acquisition of conservation easement, although practical effects have been limited. Minor fragments of the Green Mountain National Forest are located in

2378-698: The Black Sea coast), Belarus , Russia (mostly central part of European Russia ), south and central parts of the Nordic countries not bathed by the Atlantic Ocean or North Sea : Sweden (historical regions of Svealand and Götaland ), Denmark , Finland (south end, including the three largest cities ), Norway (most populated area), all Baltic States : Estonia , Latvia , Lithuania and also in parts of: Romania (generally above 100 m (328 ft)), Bosnia and Herzegovina , Turkey and in

2460-482: The Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland , (generally above 100 m (328 ft)). It has little warming or precipitation effects from the northern Atlantic. The cool summer subtype is marked by mild summers, long cold winters and less precipitation than the hot summer subtype; however, short periods of extreme heat are not uncommon. Northern Japan has a similar climate. In Asia, this climate type

2542-484: The Dfa climate type is present near the Black Sea in southern Ukraine , the Southern Federal District of Russia , southern Moldova , Serbia , parts of southern Romania , and Bulgaria , but tends to be drier and can be even semi-arid in these places. In East Asia, this climate exhibits a monsoonal tendency with much higher precipitation in summer than in winter, and due to the effects of

New England–Acadian forests - Misplaced Pages Continue

2624-538: The Korean Peninsula , parts of Eastern Europe , parts of southern Ontario , much of the American Midwest , and the Northeast US , the climate combines hotter summer maxima and greater humidity (similar to those found in adjacent humid subtropical climates ) and moderately cold winters and more intermittent snow cover (averaging somewhat below freezing, too cold for a more temperate classification), and

2706-1516: The Mahoosuc Range , Big Reed Forest Preserve in Piscataquis County , and Baxter State Park in Maine; Tobeatic Game Reserve / Kejimkujik National Park , Cape Breton Highlands National Park , the Strait of Canso coast and Tangier Grand Lake in Nova Scotia; Nash Stream Forest, Franconia Notch State Park and the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire, including the Great Gulf Wilderness, Dry River Wilderness , Crawford Notch , Sandwich Range Wilderness and Mount Nancy ; Mount Mansfield , Camel's Hump , Putnam State Forest , Victory State Forest and Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont, including Lye Brook Wilderness ; Mont Orford , Frontenac National Park , Mont Mégantic and Bic National Park in Quebec; and Fundy National Park in New Brunswick. Humid continental climate A humid continental climate

2788-1036: The New England and Maritime Appalachian Highlands is similar throughout the Nova Scotia highlands including the Cobequid Hills and the Pictou-Antigonish Highlands on the mainland and the Cape Breton Highlands , the Chaleur Uplands of New Brunswick, the New England Uplands , the White Mountains and Mont Mégantic on the New Hampshire/Quebec border, the Green Mountains of Vermont and their southern extension

2870-603: The Nova Scotia peninsula with the highest peaks being the White Mountains of New Hampshire . The climate consists of warm summers and cold snowy winters with the Atlantic Ocean bringing rain all year round. The seaboard lowlands of this region, which extends to mid-coastal Maine, exhibits a more mild climate and has somewhat distinct vegetation in which hardwoods play a more important role. The forests of this area were radically cleared for agricultural land by

2952-604: The Sutton Mountains , and the Taconic Mountains . Some of western Vermont is in the Adirondack province, but generally exhibits similar vegetation. Areas of particular interest include areas of serpentine rocks , peat bog and fen . Alpine communities are essentially regions of Arctic tundra , or treeless tundra-like communities. These are restricted to the tops of mountains that reach above

3034-757: The Taconic Skyline Trail )s. North of the Massachusetts border, the profile of the Taconic Range is cut by the Hoosic River in the vicinity of Bennington, Vermont . Mount Anthony 2,320 feet (710 m), notable for its caves and as the location of the former Southern Vermont College , stands as a satellite peak above the surrounding eroded terrain. North of Bennington, the range gradually rises to its highest prominence with peaks such as Mount Equinox 3,850 feet (1,170 m),

3116-565: The carnivorous plants : round-leaved sundew ( Drosera rotundifolia ), and pitcher plant ( Sarracenia purpurea ). Other common herbs of the poor soils of bogs include false mayflower ( Maianthemum trifolium ), and some orchids , particularly, bog candles ( Platanthera dilatata ). The most common trees that invade bogs as they fill in are black spruce ( Picea mariana ), northern white cedar ( Thuja occidentalis ), larch ( Larix laricina ) and black ash ( Fraxinus nigra ). Swamps are typically characterized by hydric soils and have more of

3198-521: The tree line , about 1300 metres (4,265 feet). Mountaintops of Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island (highest point 1,755 feet) may have minor alpine biota, krumholtz and other aspects, as do many other smaller isolated peaks throughout the region. Full-blown alpine communities are found on Washington and the other White Mountains of New Hampshire and on Mount Katahdin in Maine. Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula , vegetatively similar to Maine and New Brunswick, also has extensive treeless uplands—which are rare in

3280-516: The 19th century and then renewed as many of these farms were abandoned following the migration westward. Today the area is largely a mosaic of habitats influenced locally by micro-climatic differences (especially proximity to the Atlantic, and ecological disturbances ). Essentially, there are four important community types which show considerable diversity and blending across this physiographic province . These communities are: alpine communities on

3362-443: The 19th century. This area includes a locally significant and expansive area of undisturbed forest, although only a fraction is assured protection from development. Mount Washington State Forest and Taconic State Park are among the larger public properties within the immediate region. The highest summit here is Mount Everett 2,624 feet (800 m), home of a pitch pine and scrub oak biome . Others include Mount Frissell ,

New England–Acadian forests - Misplaced Pages Continue

3444-600: The 20th century, it became attached to the theory of an Ordovician mountain-building event involving much of what is now eastern North America named the " Taconic Orogeny ". The range is part of the Taconic Allochthon , a local rock structure which traveled to its current position from about 25 miles to the east through low-angle thrusting. Rocks of this allochthon are older than the strata lying beneath, and consist of slate , phyllite , and schist , "plus some minor lenses of limestone ." The Taconic allochthon

3526-591: The Canadian Prairie Provinces and below 40°N in the high Appalachians . In Europe, this subtype reaches its most northerly latitude in Bodø at the 67°N . High-altitude locations such as Flagstaff, Arizona , Aspen, Colorado and Los Alamos, New Mexico in the western United States exhibit local Dfb climates. The south-central and southwestern Prairie Provinces also fits the Dfb criteria from

3608-542: The Taconic Mountains are the foothills of the Lake Bomoseen region west of Birdseye and Grandpa's Knob, notable for their extensive slate quarrying operations. North of Grandpa's Knob, the Taconic Range soon diminishes into scattered hills which extend north into the Burlington, Vermont region. Isolated summits in this area include Snake Mountain 1,281 feet (390 m), a Nature Conservancy preserve featuring

3690-765: The Taconics' central segment includes New York's Beebe Hill and Harvey Mt. State Forest, Berlin State Forest, Pittsfield State Forest and the contiguous Taconic Ridge State Forest and Taconic Trail State Park in New York and Massachusetts, respectively, as well as the Mount Greylock State Reservation . Within this segment are also three long-distance trails (the Appalachian Trail , the Taconic Crest Trail , and

3772-617: The Taconics, however, were viewed as unproven and controversial until Zen's work. An earlier and largely separate dispute over the age of the Taconic Mountains based on the region's sparse fossil record began in the 1830s and centered on the theory of Ebenezer Emmons of Williams College that the range was older than its surroundings with a distinct geology he named "the Taconic System." In opposing Emmons' theory, James Hall of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute initially gained prominent support from famed international scientists of

3854-547: The Western United States) grade into semi-arid climates with similar temperatures but low precipitation. A hot summer version of a continental climate features an average temperature of at least 22 °C (71.6 °F) in its warmest month. Since these regimes are restricted to the Northern Hemisphere, the warmest month is usually July or August. High temperatures during the warmest month tend to be in

3936-420: The central and northeastern portions of North America , Europe , and Asia . Occasionally, they can also be found at higher elevations above other more temperate climate types. They are rare in the Southern Hemisphere , limited to isolated high altitude locations, due to the larger ocean area at that latitude, smaller land mass, and the consequent greater maritime moderation. In the Northern Hemisphere, some of

4018-604: The city of Rutland; these include Herrick Mountain 2,726 feet (831 m); Grandpa's Knob 1,976 feet (602 m), the former site of the Smith–Putnam wind turbine , the first large-scale electricity-producing wind turbine ; and the butte -like Bird Mountain (also called Birdseye Mountain) 2,216 feet (675 m), home of the Bird Mountain Wildlife Management Area and notable as an important raptor migration path and nesting site. Also part of

4100-400: The classification symbol defines seasonal rainfall as follows: while the third letter denotes the extent of summer heat: Within North America, moisture within this climate regime is supplied by the Great Lakes , Gulf of Mexico and adjacent western subtropical Atlantic . Precipitation is relatively well distributed year-round in many areas with this climate ( f ), while others may see

4182-425: The continents either do not penetrate low enough in latitude or taper too much to have any place that gets the combination of snowy winters and hot summers. Marine influences are very strong around 40°S and such preclude Dfa , Dwa , and Dsa climates from existing in the southern hemisphere. Also known as hemiboreal climate , areas featuring this subtype of the continental climate have an average temperature in

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4264-437: The crest shifts west once again to hills contained within Pittsfield State Forest and the contiguous Balance Rock Park and Bates Memorial State Park, where heights include Holy Mount 1,968 feet (600 m), (once the location of religious rituals practiced by a former Shaker community) and Berry Hill 2,200 feet (670 m), notable for its extensive stands of wild azalea . North of Jiminy Peak 2,392 feet (729 m),

4346-432: The day, including Louis Agassiz and Charles Lyell . Emmons died in 1863, yet as late as the 1880s two leading geologists of the era James Dwight Dana (Yale University) and Jules Marcou wrote of their continued and sometimes bitter disagreements over Emmons' theory. This early phase of ideas about the Taconic Mountains is compared with the Great Devonian Controversy that preoccupied British geologists for part of

4428-461: The dominant canopy species change to tamarack, black spruce ( Picea mariana ) and balsam fir ( Abies balsamea ). The understory across the range consists of a number of Viburnum species, among others. The bottomlands and margin areas in the northern hardwood communities are primarily dominated by: red maple ( Acer rubrum ), balsam poplar ( Populus balsamifera ), black ash ( Fraxinus nigra ), eastern cottonwood ( Populus deltoides ), and

4510-494: The east, composed of schist and phyllite , is dominated by the 7-mile (11 km) escarpment of Tinmouth Mountain 2,835 feet (864 m), overlooking the Valley of Vermont to the east in the town of Tinmouth . A field of less descript ridges and peaks lies between these two summits. Near the end of the range, in the vicinity of Rutland, Vermont , the Taconic Mountains show several prominent peaks with dramatic, irregular cliff faces clearly visible from U.S. Route 4 west of

4592-419: The family Ericaceae including: leather leaf ( Chamaedaphne calyculata ), bog rosemary ( Andromeda polifolia ), Labrador tea ( Ledum groenlandicum ), bog laurel ( Kalmia polifolia ), and American cranberry bushes ( Vaccinium macrocarpon ). Throughout New England these areas are often artificially made for cranberry monocultures by commercial farms . Common components of the herb layer in bogs includes

4674-437: The form of climate regimes as an alternative way to explain expected changes. For a more comprehensive list, see Continental climate#List of locations with a continental climate . Taconic Mountains The Taconic Mountains ( / t ə ˈ k ɒ n ɪ k / ) are a 150-mile-long sub-range of the Appalachian Mountains lying on the eastern border of New York State and adjacent New England. The range, which played

4756-742: The genera Gaylussacia and Vaccinium . Woody plants of the ground cover layer include American wintergreen ( Gaultheria procumbens ) and partridge berry ( Mitchella repens ). Common wildflowers include star flower ( Trientalis borealis ), bluebead Lilly ( Clintonia borealis ), foam flower ( Tiarella cordifolia ), bunchberry ( Cornus canadensis ), twinflower ( Linnaea borealis ), dewdrops ( Dalibarda repens ), wild sarsaparilla ( Aralia nudicaulis ), and Canada mayflower ( Maianthemum canadense ). Trilliums , and yellow lady slippers (genus Cypripedium ) are also common showy wildflowers. The herbaceous layer also includes many mosses , lichens , and ferns . Bracken fern ( Pteridium aquilinum )

4838-442: The harsher northwestern faces. Common dominant components of the heaths are alpine bilberry ( Vaccinium uliginosum ) and mountain cranberry ( Vaccinium vitis-idaea ). Coniferous forests are found in the White Mountain regions and the northern parts of New England Uplands , primarily the middle interior of Maine and northwards and especially in areas between 1300 metres (4,265 feet) and 900 metres (2,953) feet ) elevation. It

4920-409: The high 20s to low 30s °C (80s °F), while average January afternoon temperatures are near or well below freezing. Frost-free periods typically last 4 to 7 months in this climate regime. Within North America , this climate includes portions of the central and eastern United States from east of 100°W to south of about the 44°N to the Atlantic . Precipitation increases further eastward in this zone and

5002-526: The high point of the Taconic Mountains, and Dorset Mountain 3,770 feet (1,150 m), a New England 100 Highest list summit. Other notable summits include Grass Mountain 3,109 feet (948 m), a New England Fifty Finest list mountain; and Mount Aeolus 3,230 feet (980 m), the location of several defunct marble quarries and the site of Aeolus Cave an important bat hibernaculum . Designated hiking trails are located on Mount Equinox, Dorset Mountain, and Mount Aeolus, and several other peaks within

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5084-429: The highest mountains, coniferous forests, northern hardwood forests, and wetlands. There are no clear boundaries between the coniferous forests and the hardwood forests in the New England-Acadian ecoregion . The prevalence in the canopy of red pine ( Pinus resinosa ) and red spruce ( Picea rubens ) distinguish the transition forests of New England from those in the Great Lakes region to the west. The vegetation of

5166-439: The humid continental climate covers a much larger area than the hot subtype. In North America, the climate zone covers from about 42°N to 50°N latitude mostly east of 100°W , including parts of Southern Ontario , the southern half of Quebec , The Maritimes , and Newfoundland , as well as the northern United States from eastern North Dakota east to Maine . However, it can be found as far north as 54°N , and further west in

5248-421: The humid continental climates, typically in around Hokkaido , Sakhalin Island , northeastern mainland Europe , Scandinavia , Nova Scotia , and Newfoundland are closer to the sea and heavily maritime-influenced and comparable to oceanic climates , with relatively cool summers, significant year-round precipitation (including high amounts of snow) and winters being just below the freezing mark (too cold for such

5330-403: The northeast of Harvey Mountain is West Stockbridge Mountain and the Lenox Mountain massif; taken together, modern conservationists have named these two separate areas Yokun Ridge , an 9-mile (14 km) zone extending from the Massachusetts Turnpike to the southerly neighborhoods of Pittsfield at elevations ranging between roughly 1,000 and 2,000 feet (300 and 610 m). At Pittsfield,

5412-558: The range; the 21.3-mile (34.3 km) South Taconic Trail traverses the western escarpment, passing near Bash Bish Falls , reputedly Massachusetts' highest waterfall. From Catamount Ski Area north to the Hoosic River Valley, a straight-line distance of about 50 miles, the crest initially shifts slightly west. Notable summits in the southern part of this segment are Bald Mountain, 1,768 feet (539 m), and Harvey Mountain, 2,057 feet (627 m), as well as Beebe Hill , 1,726 feet (526 m), with its summit fire tower. Several miles to

5494-500: The region after the arrival of European settlers. This forest has been radically altered over centuries by clearance for agriculture, mining and urban development including Halifax, Nova Scotia and summer homes in Quebec. Today only about 5% of the forest remains in its natural state. Logging is still a major industry in some parts, especially Maine and Quebec and agriculture is still extensive in western New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Vermont. Important areas of forest remaining include

5576-433: The region are the eastern wolf ( Canis lycaon ), eastern cougar ( Puma concolor couguar ), Allegheny woodrat ( Neotoma magister ), sea mink ( Neogale macrodon ), wolverine ( Gulo gulo ), passenger pigeon ( Ectopistes migratorius ), heath hen ( Tympanuchus cupido cupido ), boreal woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou ), and the eastern elk ( Cervus canadensis canadensis ), all of which were wiped out from

5658-484: The region. Immediately north of Danby, Vermont , the Taconic Range broadens and becomes lower. It exhibits several parallel ridgelines, dominated to the west by mountains composed of slate and similar rock, most notably the ridgeline of Saint Catherine Mountain 1,200 feet (370 m), with its conspicuous 5-mile (8.0 km) long cliff face visible from Wells and Poultney . The area around Lake Saint Catherine contains extensive slate quarries. The ridgeline to

5740-456: The region. These tall mountains serve as refugia for arctic plants left over from the retreat of the Laurentide glacier at the end of the last ice age (the Wisconsin glaciation ). The truest alpine tundra communities are located on the harsh western and northwestern slopes of tall mountains. The western slopes are typically heath dominated communities composed of plant of the family Ericaceae , changing to grasses and sedges toward

5822-537: The remnants thereof). Though humidity levels are often high in locations with humid continental climates, the "humid" designation means that the climate is not dry enough to be classified as semi-arid or arid . By definition, forests thrive within this climate. Biomes within this climate regime include temperate woodlands, temperate grasslands, temperate deciduous or evergreen forests, coniferous forests, and coniferous swamps. Within wetter areas, maple , spruce , pine , fir , and oak can be found. Fall foliage

5904-722: The richer the soils , and the more temperate the climate , the more dominant hardwoods will be. This forest type is considered the northern extension of the mixed mesophytic deciduous forest . The four dominant canopy species of the hemlock-northern hardwood forests are sugar maple ( Acer saccharum ), beech ( Fagus grandifolia ), yellow birch ( Betula alleghaniensis ) and hemlock ( Tsuga canadensis ). Other common canopy associates include white ash ( Fraxinus americana ), red maple ( Acer rubrum ), and northern red oak ( Quercus rubra ), which becomes less and less common northwards, dropping out almost entirely by mid-Vermont, New Hampshire, and inland Maine. White oak ( Quercus alba )

5986-1310: The silver maple ( Acer saccharinum ). The bottomlands and margin areas of the coniferous forests consist of: red maple, silver maple, white cedar, and balsam poplar. In wet areas throughout the region many sub-canopy species of willow ( Salix spp.) occur, as does speckled alder ( Alnus rugosa ), which is very common. The region is home to a variety of wildlife, including American black bears ( Ursus americanus ), eastern moose ( Alces alces ), white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ), eastern coyotes ( Canis latrans ssp.), red foxes ( Vulpes vulpes ), gray fox ( Urocyon cinereoargenteus ), snowshoe hares ( Lepus americanus ), bobcats ( Lynx rufus ), Canada lynx ( Lynx canadensis ), North American porcupines ( Erethizon dorsatum ), North American river otters ( Lontra canadensis ), fishers ( Pekania pennanti ), North American beavers ( Castor canadensis ), American martens ( Martes americana ), muskrats ( Ondatra zibethicus ), raccoons ( Procyon lotor ), Virginia opossums ( Didelphis virginiana ), and endemic New England cottontails ( Sylvilagus transitionalis ). The forests are habitat for wild turkey ( Meleagris gallopavo ), mallard duck ( Anas platyrhynchos ), wood duck ( Aix sponsa ), great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus ), and

6068-531: The south and at lower elevations." Parts of the Taconics are in the New England-Acadian forests ecoregion . Although mostly private property, the Taconics contain a half-dozen sizable state forests and parks, as well as many preserves of lesser acreage protected by land trusts. Several hundred miles of trails are within these mountains, including parts of the Appalachian Trail . Taconic

6150-527: The south slope of which contains the highest point in Connecticut at 2,379 feet (725 m); Bear Mountain 2,326 feet (709 m), the highest mountain peak in Connecticut; Alander Mountain 2,239 feet (682 m), Brace Mountain 2,311 feet (704 m),; and Mount Fray 1,893 feet (577 m), home of the Catamount Ski Area . The Appalachian Trail traverses the eastern escarpment of

6232-585: The steppe ( BSk ) climates. In the eastern and Midwestern United States, Pennsylvania , Ohio , Illinois , Indiana , southern New York , most of Connecticut and Rhode Island , and eastern Massachusetts fall into the hot-summer humid continental climate. In Canada, this climate type exists only over portions of Southern Ontario . In the Eastern Hemisphere, this climate regime is found within interior Eurasia and east-central Asia. Within Europe,

6314-488: The strong Siberian High much colder winter temperatures than similar latitudes around the world, however with lower snowfall, the exception being western Japan with its heavy snowfall. Tōhoku , between Tokyo and Hokkaidō and Western coast of Japan also has a climate with Köppen classification Dfa , but is wetter even than that part of North America with this climate type. A variant which has dry winters and hence relatively lower snowfall with monsoonal type summer rainfall

6396-554: The summit later named Mount Everett . Dwight's account was deemed the "first recorded ascent" of that peak in a 1989 text on regional hiking history. The term first entered geological literature in 1819 with Chester Dewey 's "Sketch of the Mineralogy and Geology of the Vicinity of Williams' College". It gained prominence in the field when Dewey's protégé Emmons proposed the existence of a "Taconic System" in 1839 (see above). In

6478-590: The uplands and coastal plain of New Hampshire , northwestern Massachusetts , and ends down in the highlands of extreme northwestern portion of Connecticut . This entire area is sometimes referred to as the Atlantic Northeast . Specific areas include the Bay of Fundy coast, northern Appalachian Mountains including the uplands and the Saint John River valley of New Brunswick and the highlands of

6560-462: The valley of Kinderhook Creek cuts through the hills. Here the westernmost ridgeline is dominated by Misery Mountain and Berlin Mountain 2,818 feet (859 m) and extending into Pownal, Vermont . In this vicinity is Mount Greylock 3,491 feet (1,064 m), the highest point in Massachusetts and the long ridge of 2,621 feet (799 m) Brodie Mountain . Significant public property within

6642-435: The warmest month below 22 °C (72 °F). Summer high temperatures in this zone typically average between 21–28 °C (70–82 °F) during the daytime and the average temperatures in the coldest month are generally well or far below the −3 °C (27 °F) (or 0 °C (32.0 °F)) isotherm. Frost-free periods typically last 3–5 months. Heat spells lasting over a week are rare. The warm summer version of

6724-455: The −3 °C (27 °F) average temperature isotherm (line of equal temperature) was near the southern extent of winter snowpack . In the United States, it is more common to use the 0 °C [32.0 °F] isotherm instead. The 10 °C (50 °F) average temperature was found to be roughly the minimum temperature necessary for tree reproduction and growth. Wide temperature ranges are common within this climate zone. Second letter in

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