Mount Tom (Massachusetts)

Mount Tom
Mount Tom's east face and the Connecticut River, from the Joseph Muller Bridge
Highest point
Elevation	1,202 ft (366 m)
Prominence	961 ft (293 m)
Coordinates	42°14′30″N 72°38′53″W / 42.24167°N 72.64806°W / 42.24167; -72.64806
Naming
Etymology	Named for surveyor Rowland Thomas
Geography
Location	Holyoke and Easthampton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Parent range	Mount Tom Range / Metacomet Ridge
Geology
Age of rock	200 Ma
Mountain type	Fault-block; igneous
Climbing
Easiest route	Metacomet-Monadnock Trail

Mount Tom, 1,202 feet (366 m), is a steep, rugged traprock mountain peak on the west bank of the Connecticut River 4.5 miles (7 km) northwest of downtown Holyoke, Massachusetts. The mountain is the southernmost and highest peak of the Mount Tom Range and the highest traprock peak of the 100-mile (160 km) long Metacomet Ridge. A popular outdoor recreation resource, the mountain is known for its continuous line of cliffs and talus slopes visible from the south and west, its dramatic 1,100-foot (340 m) rise over the surrounding Connecticut River Valley, and its rare plant communities and microclimate ecosystems.^[1][2]

Located in Easthampton and Holyoke, Mount Tom is traversed by the 110-mile (180 km) Metacomet-Monadnock Trail and is the transmitter location for three Springfield–Holyoke television stations: WGBY, WGGB, and WSHM-LD, and for radio stations WHYN-FM and WWEI. The name "Mount Tom" is sometimes used to describe the entire Mount Tom Range.^[1]