Chapter I. 

 GENERAL INTRODUCTION 



l.-LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES. 



TTrN general terms the Adirondack Wilderness may be said to em- 

 l^ brace that portion of New York State lying to the north of 

 the Mohawk Valley, and included between Lake Champlain on the 

 east and the valley of the Black River on the west. These limits, 

 however, include much territory not properly belonging to the 

 region under consideration, for its boundaries are more or less 

 irregular, and in many places fall short of the limits above defined. 

 The Adirondacks proper, or the area to which the subject matter of 

 this paper is restricted, can be stated, with sufficient exactness, to 

 lie between parallels 43-' i5' and 44 - 45' north latitude, hence meas- 

 uring about an hundred and twenty miles (193,121 metres) in a north 

 and south direction. 



The transverse diameter of the region is approximately of equal 

 extent. A large area on its western border is well known by the 

 name of " Brown's Tract," and the whole territory is frequently 

 spoken of as the " North Woods." It covers more or less exten- 

 sive portions of twelve counties, namely : St. Lawrence, Franklin, 

 Clinton, Lewis, Herkimer, Hamilton, Essex, Warren, Oneida, Ful- 

 ton, Saratoga, and Washington. 



2.- GEOLOGICAL HISTORY. 



From a geological stand-point, the Adirondacks are interesting as 

 constituting one of the few islands that rose above the level of 

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