West Peak (New Haven County, Connecticut)

Should not be confused with West Rock, another traprock summit in Connecticut

West Peak
View from West Peak
Highest point
Elevation	1,024 ft (312 m)
Coordinates	41°33′45″N 72°50′38″W
Geography
Location	Meriden, Connecticut
Parent range	Hanging Hills / Metacomet Ridge
Geology
Age of rock	200 million years
Mountain type	fault-block; igneous
Climbing
Easiest route	Metacomet 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.

• 
  View of the cliffs of West Peak in Meriden, Connecticut as seen from below
• 
  View looking east from the top of West Peak. East Peak and South Mountain, the lower peaks, are visible.
• 
  View looking south from the top of West Peak in Meriden, Connecticut. Sleeping Giant State Park can be seen.
• 
  The largest transmission tower on West Peak
• 
  View of the lookout tower on East Peak

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

• The Black Dog of the Hanging Hills
• Metacomet Ridge
• Adjacent summits:

< East	North ↑
East Peak	Short Mountain

References

• Connecticut Walk Book 17th ed. Connecticut Forest and Park Association.
• This Week in Amateur Radio Cited Dec. 13, 2007

External links

• The City of Meriden