Tug Hill Plateau
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The Tug Hill Plateau is an upland region in upstate New York in the USA, famous for heavy winter snow. The Tug Hill Region is west of the Adirondack Mountains and is separated from the Adirondacks by the Black River Valley. Although the region is and has traditionally been known as the Tug Hill Plateau since it is flat on top, it is actually not a plateau. Technically, the Tug Hill could more accurately be called a cuesta since it is actually composed of sedimentary rocks that tip up on one side, rising from about 350 feet on the west to over 2,000 feet in the east.
The Tug Hill Plateau is part of four Upstate New York counties: Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, and Oswego.
The Tug Hill region encompasses 150,000 acres (600 km²) of unbroken, generally second-growth, northern hardwood forest, and is drained by a vast network of streams. Although much of the area is controlled by New York State, small, privately owned parcels exist, and most permanent residences are located near state highways or maintained county roads. While hunting camps in the back country areas of the Tug Hill region that are maintained during the hunting season often do not possess electricity or indoor plumbing, the majority of permanent residences in the area feature these amenities. Few roads or villages exist in these more remote areas, and undeveloped reaches of the plateau are a haven for wildlife, including deer, rabbits, beavers, turkeys, fishers, bobcats, coyote, and the occasional black bear. Salmon, trout, bass, walleye, and waterfowl can be found in the Tug Hill's abundant waterways.
The Tug Hill region is renowned for its excessive snowfall. One interesting architectural feature related to this phenomenon can be found locally in some hunting camps: supplemental, second-floor entry doors. These are located directly above the ground-level front door, and such apertures are used when so much snow has accumulated that the ground-level door can not be accessed. Snow depths commonly reach five feet or more, on the level, and vastly deeper amounts are routine. The location of the region in relation to Lake Ontario often creates ideal conditions for lake effect snow. The Tug Hill hamlet of Montague owns the single day New York State record of snowfall with 77 inches (6 feet, 5 inches). Another Tug Hill village, Hooker, holds the state record for annual snowfall. Hooker also received an extraordinary accumulation of snow in the winter of 1976-77, with a total accumulation of 466.9 inches – approximately 39 feet.
On February 10, 2007 the National Weather Service reported that the Township of Parish had received 100 inches of snow over a seven day span, while the village of Redfield received 141 inches of snow over a ten day span of February 3-February 12, 2007.
