Mount Toby, , is the highest summit of a sprawling collection of mostly wooded hills and knolls that rise from a distinct plateau-like upland in the towns of

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

and Leverett, Massachusetts, just east of the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

. This mountain mass, part of the Metacomet Ridge geology, is oval shaped and roughly three miles by two miles wide. Although three of the subordinate peaks have names of their own (Roaring Mountain, Ox Hill, Bull Hill), none of them are noteworthy on their own, and the designation “Mount Toby” is most often used (locally and formally) to describe the entire geologic mass."Mount Toby Ecosystem.”
The Mount Toby Partnership. University of Massachusetts Amherst. PDF webfile, cited November 30, 2007.
''Guidebook for Field Trips in the Connecticut Valley Region of Massachusetts and Adjacent States''. vol. 2, 84th annual meeting, New England Intergollegiate Geological Conference, The Five Colleges. Amherst, Massachusetts. October 9–10-11, 1992: 488–535. Cited from the web, Dec. 1, 2007. This article, therefore, describes the entire Mount Toby upland. Mount Toby is notable for its high

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

, attractive woodlands,

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

s, and its glacial kettle ponds (most notably ''Cranberry Pond''). Although the summit is wooded, there is a fire tower, open to the public, which provides 360-degree views of Amherst and the Holyoke Range in the south; the

and Mount Sugarloaf to the west; Mount Snow, Mount Ascutney, and

Mount Monadnock Mount Monadnock, or Grand Monadnock, is a mountain in the town of Jaffrey, New Hampshire. It is the most prominent mountain peak in southern New Hampshire and is the highest point in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, Cheshire County. It lies sou ...

in the north; and the nearby Peace Pagoda in Leverett to the east. Additionally, there are several cliffs located on the lower south and southwest facing slopes overlooking the Connecticut River Valley and the town of Sunderland.Christopher J. Ryan. ''Mount Toby Trail Map''. Fourth edition. Newall Printing, Amherst, Massachusetts, 1999.

History

Mount Toby is named for Captain Elnathan Toby, a settler from colonial Springfield, said to be the first Caucasian to summit the mountain. Like other peaks in the Connecticut River Valley in the 18th century, a resort hotel was built on the summit of Mount Toby, but it burned down a year after it was constructed, and was not rebuilt. The land was subsequently acquired by the Massachusetts Agricultural College (now the University of Massachusetts Amherst), and is currently part of the ''Mount Toby State Demonstration Forest'' owned and managed by the University.

Geology and ecosystem

Mount Toby is considered one of the most biodiverse areas in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

Fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

and

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

species are particularly prolific on the mountain; forty-two of forty-five possible native fern species grow there as do rare orchids such as the Showy Lady Slipper and the Ram's Head Lady Slipper. Unlike the surrounding region, Mount Toby was never cleared of its timber during New England's intensive agricultural period in the 18th and 19th centuries; it has remained wooded throughout, although timber harvesting has played a part in its history. Geologically speaking, Mount Toby is composed of a sedimentary conglomerate base known as ''Mount Toby Conglomerate''. It is associated with the geologic processes which created the Metacomet Ridge that extends through

from

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

to the

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

border. Mount Toby is part of a larger geologic layer cake. The bottom layer is composed of arkose sandstone, visible across the Connecticut River on Sugarloaf Mountain in Deerfield, Massachusetts. The middle layer is composed

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

; it is most visible as the geology of the Pocumtuck Ridge, to the north. The top (youngest) layer is composed of Mount Toby Conglomerate. About 200 million years ago, as the continent of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

began rifting apart from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

, a series of

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

and deposition episodes interspersed with heavy basalt

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

flows created this layer cake. Faulting and earthquakes tilted the layers diagonally; subsequent erosion and

glacial A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

activity exposed the tilted "layers" of sandstone, basalt, and erosion-resistant conglomerate visible today. Although not composed of trap rock, Mount Toby is a closely associated with the trap rock Metacomet Ridge by virtue of its origin via the same rifting and uplift that created those mountains. The west and south sides of Mount Toby drain via a series of brooks into the

, thence

. The east side drains into Long Plain Brook, thence the Connecticut River. The north side drains into Cranberry Pond Brook, thence the Connecticut River.

Waterfalls

Located on the east side of the mountain is a series of waterfalls, pools, potholes, chutes, and cascades that plummet one hundred feet over rugged conglomerate ledges. The falls are most scenic in the spring and following periods of heavy precipitation; in the winter they are usually frozen over, and during dry periods the flow is often reduced to a trickle. Roaring Brook Falls is accessible by trail only. ''Gunn Brook Falls'', located on the lower west side of the mountain, near the Connecticut River, and accessible via a short path from a public road, is smaller but has a more consistent flow. ''Slatestone Brook Falls,'' located on private property, is clearly visible from the road just north of Gunn Brook Falls. ''Slip Dog Falls'' is located in the center of the Mount Toby geography, west of the main summit and furthest from road access. A fifth waterfall, ''Green Swamp Brook Falls,'' is located on the south side of the massif, between the south ledges, just north of Bull Hill Road.

Recreation

Mount Toby and its subordinate peaks are a popular hiking destination; the mountain hosts a network of trails, and the Robert Frost Trail crosses the summit and upland from south to north. With the exception of the Robert Frost Trail, many of the trails are poorly blazed. Because the surrounding lands are an educational and research forest, trees may also be marked with additional markings that may confuse hikers. Hikers should utilize recent

topographic map In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large- scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but histori ...

s and

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that involve using a map and compass to navigation, navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specia ...

skills to navigate the trail system. Horseback riding, fishing, ice skating,

snowshoeing Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footw ...

, cross country skiing, and mountain biking are also enjoyed in the mountain's environs. Most of the public trailheads (on the east side of Mount Toby) are not directly accessible via public transportation. Sunderland is the closest bus stop via the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority; these buses allow the transportation of up to three bicycles.PVTA.
Cited Dec. 16, 2007

Conservation

Although significant parcels on the mountain are protected—part of the Mount Toby State Demonstration Forest and other Massachusetts state holdings, or under easement or direct stewardship of the Nature Conservancy, the Trustees of Reservations, the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is a List of federal agencies in the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior which oversees the management of fish, wildlife, ...

, and local conservation commissions—the large proportion of the mountain is in private ownership, with the Cowls Lumber Company the most significant landowner.

References

External links

''Guide to the Robert Frost Trail''
(PDF)
Map of Mount Toby

Mt. Toby – FranklinSites.com Hiking Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toby, Mount Metacomet Ridge Mountains of Franklin County, Massachusetts Mountains of Massachusetts