Mount Ascutney
Overview
Monadnock
A monadnock or inselberg is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain...
located in southern Vermont. It is not the highest peak in Windsor County, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, however, that honor falling to Gillespie Peak to the west. Particularly noteworthy about Ascutney are its granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
outcrops, one of which, near its peak, serves as a launching point for hang-gliders. The mountain is very steep, and its trails traverse a Vermont state forest.
The name "Ascutney" comes from the Abenaki word Ascutegnik, which was the name of a settlement near where the Sugar River
Sugar River (New Hampshire)
The Sugar River is a 27.0 mile long river located in western New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Connecticut River, which flows to Long Island Sound....
meets the Connecticut River
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...
.
