Mount Morris (New York)

This article is about a mountain in New York’s Adirondack Park. For others, see Mount Morris, New York (disambiguation).

Mount Morris is a 3,117-foot-tall (950 m) mountain located in Adirondack Mountains of New York. It is located in the south-southwest of the village of Tupper Lake in Franklin County, and is "the highest peak immediately east of Tupper Lake." It is named after the town in which it was then located.^[2]

Mount Morris
Mount Morris pictured from the Buck Mountain fire tower.
Highest point
Elevation	3,117 feet (950 m)
Coordinates	44°09′34″N 74°28′31″W[1]
Geography
Mount Morris Location of Mount Morris within New York Show map of New York Adirondack Park Mount Morris Mount Morris (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	SSW of Tupper Lake, Franklin County, New York, U.S.
Topo map	USGS Tupper Lake

In 1919, a 22-foot-tall (6.7 m) steel fire lookout tower was built on the summit. The tower ceased fire lookout operations in 1971. Ownership of the tower was later transferred to the town and is closed to the public.

History

Mount Morris NY, firetower 1922

Mount Morris was first climbed by Verplanck Colvin in 1870, and selected as a station for his survey of the Adirondacks. The first signal station for the survey was built in 1882. A new signal station was built in 1896.^[2]

In July 1909, a fire observation station was built but no tower was needed due to an unobstructed view from the summit. In 1919, a 22-foot-tall (6.7 m) Aermotor LS40 tower was built on the summit. Due to increased use of aerial detection, the tower ceased fire lookout operations at the end of the 1971 season. In the late 1970's, ownership of the tower was transferred to the town of Altamont (now known as Tupper Lake), which uses the cabin for their ski center operations. The tower also has several radio antennas attached to it.^[3]

Geology

Colvin described the top of the mountain as "whitish on the surface and light brown within; and appears to be compact crystalline gneiss."^[2] The western slopes are precambrian granite named "Morris Granite."^[4]

References

1. "Mount Morris". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
2. Colvin, Verplanck (1897). Report of the Superintendent of the State Land Survey of the State of New York. p. 444. Retrieved Dec 20, 2021.
3. "Searchable list of NY Fire Towers". nysffla.org. The New York State Chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
4. Keroher, Grace C.; et al. (1966). Lexicon of Geological Names for the United States for 1936–1960, pt.2. United States Department of the Interior. p. 2595. Retrieved Dec 20, 2021.