Should not be confused with West Rock, another traprock summit in Connecticut
West Peak
View from West Peak
Highest point
Elevation1,024 ft (312 m)
Coordinates41°33′45″N 72°50′38″W / 41.56250°N 72.84389°W / 41.56250; -72.84389
Geography
LocationMeriden, Connecticut
Parent rangeHanging Hills / Metacomet Ridge
Geology
Age of rock200 million years
Mountain typefault-block; igneous
Climbing
Easiest routeMetacomet 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 62-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. It is also known as West Peak State Park.

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

< EastNorth ↑
East Peak
Short Mountain

References

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