![](https://www.natureupnorth.org/sites/default/files/styles/square_encounter_large/public/profile_photos/me_on_a_horse.jpg?itok=dx2b-Rx4)
North Country explorer from Wallingford, PA
This is a photo my friend took while we were skiing at Whiteface Mountain. In this photo we were not at the peak of the mountain, but were at the highest you could get while skiing. This photo captures some of the peaks of the Adirondacks and if you look to the left corner of the image a little bit of Lake Placid. Natural History: The shape and form of the Adirondacks is the way it is thanks in part to the movement of large ice sheets thousands of years ago. These sheets moved rocks and boulders and eroded some of the natural landscape with their movement. The Adirondacks have a very rich history. The first harvesting of the Adirondack forests and surrounding area began with the English who changed the name of the area from the New Netherlands to New York. The industrial revolution served to impoverish the forest as the lumber, tanning, paper, and charcoal industries deprived the forests of their natural resources. The destruction and maintenance of the Adirondacks in the face of growing industry has been a concern since then, and in 1973 legislation was adopted into law to help better protect the land of the Adirondacks from pollution and other stressors on the environment.
I decided to include this picture because it is very different from the other pictures I have chosen to include in this project. It is just a pretty picture of the Adirondacks and is appealing to me also because it is a picture taken on the day I had gone to Whiteface for the first time.
![](https://www.natureupnorth.org/sites/default/files/styles/width_800/public/a_day_at_whiteface.jpg?itok=7FnCYVhP)