Geography
High Peak stands slightly apart from other major peaks in the Catskills, squarely in the middle of the Catskill Escarpment, the sudden rise of the peaks from the Hudson Valley floor. From the valley, it is easy to understand how it came to be seen as the highest peak in the Catskills, since there are no higher peaks close to it. It is bracketed by the only two gaps in the Escarpment — Platte Clove to the south and Kaaterskill Clove to the north.
As a mountain High Peak is somewhat unusual. Its slopes are spread out and rise gently for some distance, then a bit more steeply, to the summit dome, which is surrounded by rock cliffs at about 3,500 feet (1,067 m) in elevation. Above them the ground again curves gently upward to the summit, roughly at the dome's center.
Drainage from the north flows into Kaaterskill Creek, from the south to Plattekill Creek, both of which reach the Hudson River shortly afterwards without any major impoundment.
While High Peak is not among the highest Catskill peaks, because of its distance from other major peaks it ranks fourth in topographic prominence, after Slide Mountain, Hunter Mountain and Black Dome. High Peak's summit rises 1,775 feet (541 m) from the lowest elevation contour line that encircles it.
Read more about this topic: Kaaterskill High Peak
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)