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The Helderberg Escarpment is a limestone escarpment in the highlands of western Albany County, New York. They are in the towns of Berne, Knox, Guilderland, and New Scotland; and are roughly 11 miles (18 km) west of the city of Albany. The escarpment is an abrupt limestone cliff, running north-south dividing Albany County into the Hudson Valley to the east, and the uplands of the Helderberg Plateau to the west. They are the northeasternmost extent of the Allegheny Plateau, and rise from 500 feet (150 m) above sea level at the talus base to 1,300 feet (400 m) at the cliff edge.

Helderberg is a corruption of the Dutch word Helleberg or Hellebergh, meaning “bright mountain” or “clear mountain.” The name referred to not only the escarpment itself but at one time to the area above the escarpment which is now part of the town of Knox; later it became the popular name for the community below the mountain that became Altamont.

The exposed cliffs are rich in fossils, recording around 500 million years of geological history.

Protected areas

A centerpiece of the Helderberg Escarpment is John Boyd Thacher State Park, named for the former mayor of Albany, John Boyd Thacher II, whose family donated over 1,000 acres of land to the state of New York in the 1930s. Thompson's Lake State Park, is another state park and both are owned and managed by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Other areas of the Escarpment are protected by various other governmental and non-governmental institutions. The Knox Wildlife Management Area is managed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; while the Nature Conservancy manages three preserves within the area, the Limestone Rise Preserve, the Hannacroix Ravine Preserve, and the Waitecliff Preserve. The New York State Natural Heritage Program, in conjunction with The Nature Conservancy, recognizes the Hailes Cave site within the Helderberg Escarpment habitat complex as a "Priority Site for Biodiversity" with a rank of B3 (high biodiversity significance). Hailes Cave has a large hibernaculum with over 27,000 bats in 1994.

Ecosystem

Some notable species of plants and animals native to the Helderbergs are the Jefferson, blue-spotted, and Spotted Salamander; the Eastern hognose snake, the Wood Turtle, the Great Blue Heron, Small-footed Bat, Indiana bat, smooth-cliff brake, Ram's-Head Lady's-Slipper, and American Ginseng.

References

1. ^ Southern New England - New York Bight Coastal Ecosystems Program. "Significant habitats and habitat complexes of the New York bight watershed". US Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
2. "Helderberg Escarpment Planning Guide: Executive Summary" (PDF). Helderberg Escarpment Planning Commission. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
3. ^ Open Space Institute. "Helderberg Escarpment". Retrieved 2009-10-14.
4. Southern New England - New York Bight Coastal Ecosystems Program. "Helderberg Escarpment List of Species of Special Emphasis". US Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 2009-10-14.