The High Peaks are a prime attraction of the Adirondack Park, alluring thousands of visitors to their summits every year. From Couchsachraga Peak at 3,820 feet in elevation to Mount Marcy at 5,344 feet, every one of these forty-six mountains has its own unique history. This website delves into the etymology- or naming history- of each Adirondack High Peak. Peak by peak, it takes a look at who named these mountains, when they named them, and why they chose the names they did. In the tabs on the left, I’ve included a few categorizations and conclusions I’ve drawn from studying the etymology of these peaks. Through this site, I hoped to use the names of these peaks (particularly the ones named after important historical figures) as a lens to explore key figures in Adirondack Mountain history- at least, important in the eyes of who named them.

Andrea Shipton ’22