The Adirondack Mountains

The Adirondack forest and mountain region, located in New York State, is the largest wild land preserve in the nation, outside of Alaska. In 1894, the New York State Legislature ruled that the Adirondack Mountain region should be forever preserved in its wild and natural state, making the region, at that time, the first and only national park. It is from the rustic beauty of this historic mountain region that the classic elegance and comfort of the Adirondack chair comes.

Contrary to popular belief, the Adirondack Mountains are not connected to the Appalachian range that sprawls across much of the eastern United States. In fact, these mountains are a part of the only mountain range in the eastern U.S. that is not Appalachian in origin. The Adirondack Mountains come from a much older geological formation than the Appalachians and are more closely related to Canadian mountains than anything else. The rocks making up the Adirondack Mountains are some of the oldest on the planet. Geologists estimate that they are more than one billion years old.

At one point in time, the lofty mountains of upstate New York rivaled the Himalayas in height. Due to glacial erosion and other byproducts of the last ice age (about 10,000 years ago), the mountains have lost much of their height. One interesting characteristic of the Adirondack Mountains is the prominent boulders that appear throughout the range in unexpected places. These boulders are byproducts of receding glaciers that took the giant rocks on as passengers and dropped them off in uncharacteristic locations.

Today, the Adirondack Mountain region is a popular resort destination for the rich and famous, who enjoy the beautiful and peaceful scenery of Lake Placid and other fashionable locales. The classically comfortable Adirondack chairs continue to play a prominent role in the resorts of the historic region.