Topographic Map of Lake Tear of the Clouds
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=44.10674&lon=-73.93551&datum=nad27&u=4&layer=DRG&size=l&s=50
This link shows where the Hudson River begins, at Lake Tear of the Clouds. From here it drains into Feldspar Brook and then into the Opalescent River. Stumbling upon this lake the streams into which it flows while hiking would be no extraordinary experience; Lake Tear of the Clouds differs from other mountain lakes in the Adirondacks only in that it is the highest one. This body of water is a reminder of the humble, ordinary beginnings of our great Hudson River.
posted by Emma Stewart @ 10:38 PM
4 Comments:
Em, are you SURE that Lake Tear of the Clouds is the source of the Hudson? Why? Who says so? There are tributaries that are longer that feed into the Hudson, surely the longest trib. is the source?
According to Tom Lewis, (The Hudson, p 11) "Lake Tear of the Clouds is where the river's life begins." See also Levinton and Waldman, The Hudson River Estuary, p.1
Andrew, I'm glad you asked.
In the 1870's, those who were concerned with finding the source of the Hudson agreed that it was not the longest tributary but the highest tributary that would be named the source of the Hudson River. In addition to Lake Tear of the Clouds, Round Pond, Lake Avalanche, and Lake Colden were contenders. Though opinion was divided over which lake was truly the highest, a report to state legislators produced in 1872 by Verplack Colvin described Lake Tear of the Clouds with such eloquence that the legislators decided to officially name it the source despite the controversy. Colvin wrote that the lake was a "minute unpretending tear of the clouds...a lonely pool, shivering in the breezes of the mountains, and sending its limpid surplus through Feldspar Brook, to the Opalescent River, the well-spring of the Hudson."
Though there are longer tributaries, Lake Tear of the Clouds was named the source of the Hudson because of its elevation and the eloquent advocacy from its European discoverer.
I would like to add that the information in my last post came from page 33 of a book called "The Hudson" by Tom Lewis.
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