Berkshires

This article is about a region in the United States. For the English county, seeBerkshire.For other uses, seeBerkshire (disambiguation).

TheBerkshires(locally/ˈbɜːrkʃɪərz,-ʃərz/) arehighlandslocated in westernMassachusettsand northwesternConnecticutin the United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between theHousatonicandConnecticut Rivers.Highlands of northwest Connecticut may be seen as part of the Berkshires and sometimes called theNorthwest Hillsor Litchfield Hills. The segment of theTaconic Mountainsin Massachusetts is often considered a part of the Berkshires, although they are geologically separate and are a comparatively narrow range along New York's eastern border.

Berkshires
Berkshire Hills, Berkshire Mountains, The Berks
Highest point
Peak	Mount Greylock
Elevation	3,488 ft (1,063 m)
Coordinates	42.6376°N 73.1662°W/42.6376; -73.1662
Dimensions
Length	98 mi (158 km) north-south
Geography
Berkshires labeled as B
Country	United States
States	Massachusetts Connecticut
Range coordinates	42°10′0.325″N73°8′58.385″W
Geology
Rock type	Metamorphic

Also referred to as the Berkshire Highlands, Berkshire Hills, Berkshire Mountains, and Berkshire Plateau, the region enjoys a vibrant tourism industry based on music, arts, and recreation. Geologically, the mountains are asubrangeof theAppalachian Mountains.

The Berkshires were named among the 12 Last Great Places byThe Nature Conservancy.

Definition

The term "The Berkshires" has overlapping but non-identical political, cultural, and geographic definitions.

Political

Politically,Berkshire County, Massachusetts,was formed as a governmental unit in 1761. It includes the western extremity of the state, with its western boundary borderingNew Yorkand its eastern boundary roughly paralleling the watershed divide separating theConnecticut Riverwatershed from theHousatonic RiverandHoosic Riverwatersheds. However, like most other counties in Massachusetts, the active governmental role of Berkshire County has been abolished, so has no legal or governmental function.

Cultural

The Berkshires region of Massachusetts, with Berkshire County in dark purple.

Culturally, the term "Berkshires" includes all of the highland region in western Massachusetts west of the Connecticut River and lowerWestfield River.The cultural region also includes theTaconic Mountainsbordering 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 royalgovernor(in office 1760–1769), named the area "Berkshire" to honorhis home county in England.In the present, the name of the modern American region is pronounced differently (BERK-sheer, -⁠shər) to the modern English County (BARK-sheer, -⁠shər).

Geographic

TheMount Greylockmassif seen from the west in winter, with the deep valley known as "The Hopper" directly below the summit

Geologically and physically, the Berkshires are the southern continuation of theGreen MountainsofVermont,distinct from them only by their lower average elevation and by virtue of what side of the border they fall on. In physical geography, the Berkshires extend from theHousatonic RiverandHoosic Rivervalleys in western Massachusetts, to theConnecticut Rivervalley 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 east from the upper Housatonic River valley in the northwest part of the state.

Geologically, the Berkshires are bordered on the west by theTaconic Mountains,the south by theHudson Highlands,and to the east, they are bordered by theMetacomet Ridge.They are on the average 1,000 ft (300 m) lower and less prominent than the Green Mountains of Vermont, and form a broad,dissected plateaupunctuated 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 whenAfricacollided withNorth America,pushing up theAppalachian Mountainsand forming thebedrockof 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 (210 to 370 m).One of the high points is Spruce Mountain, at 2,710 feet (830 m). The highest point in the Berkshires physiographic region is Mt. Greylock at 3488 feet.

Rivers

The Housatonic River, Hoosic River,Westfield River,andDeerfield Riverwatersheds drain the Berkshire region in Massachusetts; in Connecticut the main river drainages are theFarmington River,theNaugatuck River,theShepaug River,and theHousatonic River.

Counties

The Berkshire hills runs through:

• Berkshire County, Massachusetts(far Western Massachusetts)
• Hartford County, Connecticut(Hartland, Granby)
• Franklin County, Massachusetts(Leyden, Colrain, Shelburne, Conway, Charlemont, Heath, Buckland, Hawley, Ashfield, Rowe, Monroe)
• Hampden County, Massachusetts(Tolland, Chester, Granville, Blandford, Russell, Montgomery)
• Hampshire County, Massachusetts(Chesterfield, Goshen, Williamsburg, Westhampton, Huntington, Worthington, Cummington, Middlefield, Plainfield)
• Litchfield County, Connecticut(County South of Massachusetts border.)

Municipalities

The largest municipalities associated with the Berkshires cultural region includePittsfield,North Adams,Great Barrington,Williamstown,Stockbridge,Lee,andLenox, Massachusetts.

History

During theAmerican RevolutionaContinental Armyforce underHenry Knoxbrought captured cannons fromFort Ticonderogaby ox-drawn sleds south along the west bank of theHudson Riverfrom the fort toAlbany,where he then crossed the Hudson. Knox and his men continued east through the Berkshires and finally arrived inBoston.This feat, known as the "Noble train of artillery",was accomplished in the dead of winter, 1775–1776. The Berkshires is also home toHancock Shaker Village,which is the oldest continuously working farm in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. Hancock Shaker Village is a landmark destination of 750 acres, 20 historic Shaker buildings, and over 22,000 Shaker artifacts. On the National Historic Register, it is one of the most comprehensively interpreted Shaker sites in the world.

Ecology

A view of the Berkshires from nearNorth Adams, Massachusetts

The Berkshires lie within theNew England/Acadian forestsecoregion.

Similarly, theU.S. Environmental Protection Agencyin Massachusetts (Griffith et al. 1994) 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 bedrocklimestoneandmarblewhich contribute to calcareous wetlands unique in Massachusetts. The alkalinepHwaters support a diversity of plants and animals intolerant of more acidic waters, some of which are state-listed rare or endangered. Combined with the richmesic forestsranging from thenorthern hardwoodto thetaigaor sub-alpine, the Berkshires have 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 fromPittsfield, Massachusetts,in the west toHatfield, Massachusetts,in the east, and fromGoshen, Connecticut,in the south to theVermontborder in the north.

Today, efforts are being made by many organizations to preserve and manage this region for biological diversity and sustainable human development.

Tourism

The Berkshires have numerous shops, motels, hotels, museums, and trails,including part of theAppalachian Trail,large tracts of wilderness and parksBerkshire Botanical GardenandHebert ArboretumThe area includesBash Bish Falls,the tallest waterfall in Massachusetts.

The Berkshire region is noted as a center for the visual and performing arts, many institutions which are associated withWilliams College.The art museums include theNorman Rockwell Museum,theClark Art Institute,theMassachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art(Mass MoCA),Berkshire Museum,Hancock Shaker Village, and theWilliams College Museum of Art(WCMA). Performing-arts institutions in the Berkshires includeTanglewood Music CenterandBoston University Tanglewood InstituteinLenox,the summer home of theBoston Symphony Orchestra;theBang on a CanSummer Festival for contemporary music inNorth Adams;Shakespeare & Companyin Lenox;summer stock theatrefestivals such as the Williamstown Theatre Festival inWilliamstown,Barrington Stage CompanyinPittsfield,the Berkshire Theatre Festival inStockbridge,and Berkshire Playwrights Lab inGreat Barrington;and America's first and longest-running dance festival,Jacob's Pillow,in the town ofBecket.

See also

• BerkShares
• Berkshire County
• Berkshire,England
• FamousBerkshire Cottages:
  • Edith Wharton'sThe Mount
  • Naumkeag
  • Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum
• Geography of Massachusetts
• List of mountains in Massachusetts
• List of subranges of the Appalachian Mountains
• Litchfield Hills
• Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
• Taconic Mountains
• Williams College

External links

• Berkshire Visitors Bureau
• Massachusetts State Parks in the Berkshires