Vermont, The Green Mountain State

A brief Description of the Green Mountains

This text is freely adapted from Zadock Thompson's A Natural History of Vermont, first published by the author in 1853.

The surface of Vermont is generally uneven, owing to the geological forces which shaped the state. A few townships along the margin of lake Champlain may be called level; but with these exceptions, the whole state consists of hills and valleys, alluvial flats and gentle acclivities, elevated plains and lofty mountains.

The celebrated range of Green Mountains which give name to the state, extends quite through it from south to north, keeping nearly a middle course between Connecticut river on the east and lake Champlain on the west. From the line of Massachusetts to the southern part of Washington county, this range continues lofty and unbroken through by any considerable streams; dividing the counties of Windham, Windsor and Orange from the counties of Bennington, Rutland and Addison. In this part of the state, the communication between the eastern and western sides of the mountain was formerly difficult, and the phrase, going over the mountain, denoted an arduous business. But on account of the great improvement of the roads, more particularly in their more judicious location near the streams, the difficulty of crossing the mountain has nearly vanished.

In the southern part of Washington county, the Green Mountains separate into two ranges. The highest of these ranges, bearing a little east of north, continues along the eastern boundaries of the counties of Chittenden and Franklin, and through the county of Lamoille to Canada line; while the other range strikes off much more to the east through the southern and eastern parts of Washington county, the western part of Caledonia county and the north western part of Essex county to Canada. This last is called the height of land, and it divides the waters, which fall into Connecticut river, in the north part of the state, from those which fall into lake Champlain and lake Memphremagog. This branch of the Green Mountains, though it no where rises so high as many points of the western branch, is much more uniformly elevated; yet the acclivity is so gentle as to admit of easy roads over it in various places.

The western range, having been broken through by the rivers Winooski, Lamoille and Missisquoi, is divided into several sections, these rivers having opened passages for good roads along their banks, while the intervening portions are so high and steep as not to admit of roads being made over them, with the exception of that portion lying between the Lamoille and Missisquoi. This part of the Green Mountains presents some of the most lofty summits in the state particularly the Nose and Chin in Mansfield, and Camel's Hump in Huntington. These, together with other important mountains and summits in the state, are exhibited in the foregoing table and cut.

The sides, and, in most cases, the summits of the mountains in Vermont, are covered with evergreens, such as spruce, hemlock and fir. On this account the French, being the first civilized people who visited this part of the world, early gave to them the name of Verd Mont, or Green Mountain; and when the inhabitants of the New Hampshire Grants assumed the powers of government in 1777 they adopted this name, contracted by the omission of the letter "d", for the name of the new state.

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