Ilvermorny School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry

Mount Greylock

Mount Greylock is the highest point in Massachusetts, rising 3,489 feet into the air in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts. Ilvermorny Castle occupies the peak of this mountain. Ilvermorny, a school of magic, its students, staff, and many magical and non-magical creatures call Mount Greylock their home. The mountain is surrounded by mist and a dense forest, and a range of spells and charms are in place to ensure the wizarding community remains hidden from the No-Maj community. Mount Greylock is famous for its breathtaking views of five states and the only taiga-boreal forest in the area. There is a seasonal automobile road that is open from late May through November 1, which leads to the summit where a 93-foot-tall lighthouse-like Massachusetts Veterans War Memorial Tower stands. This tower serves as a secret entrance to Ilvermorny School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry and a portal to the town of Adams. It also generates a spell that isolates the castle from the No-Maj world.

The summit of Mount Greylock is located in the western part of Adams, near its border with Williamstown, in Berkshire County. This is one of the few places in the United States where wizards and non-magical people coexist peacefully. From the summit, students and staff can enjoy stunning views of five states, including Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, and New York. There are several structures on the top of the mountain, such as the Vietnam War Memorial Tower and Bascom Lodge. Mount Greylock has a network of hiking trails, including the famous Appalachian Trail, which is one of the longest footpaths in the world, stretching from Georgia to Maine. The Mount Greylock State Reservation was established in 1898 as Massachusetts' first public land for forest preservation.

To the west of the mountain lies the Black Forest, which is one of the most dangerous forests in the country as it is home to an ancient and powerful dark curse. It is strictly forbidden to enter, and the MACUSA considers it a Forbidden Zone.

Geology

Mount Greylock and the neighboring Taconic Mountains predominantly comprise Ordovician phyllite, a metamorphic rock, overlain on younger layers of metamorphized sedimentary rock, especially marble. Mount Greylock is the product of thrust faulting, a tectonic process by which older rock is thrust up and above younger rock during periods of intense mountain building. The younger, underlying marble bedrock layers have been quarried in the lower foothills of the mountain in nearby Adams and North Adams. During the Pleistocene era, 18,000 years ago, Mount Greylock and the surrounding region were covered by the Laurentide ice sheet up to 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) in thickness. Glaciation rounded and wore down the mountain, carving out U-shaped valleys and leaving glacial erratics such as the Balanced Rock in Lanesborough on the west side of Greylock. The Hopper (a cirque) is located on the west side of Mount Greylock and is the southernmost such glacial feature in New England. 

A group of geologists who are interested in determining the rate of the Laurentide ice sheet (LIS) thinning is applying a method referred to as the "Dipstick Approach." This approach can potentially trace the lowering of the ice sheet over time by composing a series of ages at a range of elevations from a location of significant relief or topography. Cosmogenic Nuclides are radioactive isotopes formed when high-energy particles (i.e. cosmic rays) interact with the nuclei of Solar System atoms that constantly penetrate rocks on Earth's surface. Calculating the abundance of these nuclides is a way to determine the age of exposure of surface rock, also called Surface Rock Exposure. This approach has been used on Scandinavian, Antarctic, & Greenland ice sheets, and is now being applied to glacially eroded boulder and bedrock surfaces from various mountains in New England, such as Mount Greylock. The research supports rapid de-glaciation in New England around the retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, which further constrains previous estimates of the LIS thinning rate.

Ornithological significance

This IBA is state-owned and protected. Over the last six decades, several proposals have been put forth to open the summit to various forms of development; among these were a tramway and ski resort proposal in the 1960s, a casino proposal, and, most recently, a state plan to develop an adjoining 1,000-acre parcel on the eastern lower slope of the mountain known as Greylock Glen. Each time citizens have defeated these development proposals. The ultimate fate of the Greylock Glen proposal is still in question. Mount Greylock State Reservation is a unique resource for all of the citizens of the Commonwealth as well as for tourists and represents the crown jewel of the state's park system. The reservation and the wildlife it supports deserve the highest level of protection possible. 

The boreal forest zone of Mount Greylock is home to various species of high conservation priority. The Blackpoll Warbler, for instance, can only be found in this area. The Mourning Warblers also breed on the mountain's slopes. Other notable species like the Hairy Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Least Flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, Veery, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, White-throated Sparrow, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak can also be found here. The reservation also holds significant populations of Wood Thrush, Gray Catbird, and Scarlet Tanager. Mount Greylock State Reservation is also home to the largest tract of old-growth forest in the Commonwealth and all the state's lands above 3,000 feet, making it a rare and unique habitat.