part of the Appalachian mountain system, U.S., extending southward for 150 miles (240 km) from a point southwest of Brandon, Vt., to northern Putnam county, New York. It rises to Mount Equinox (3,816 feet 【1,163 m】) in Vermont and includes Mount Frissell (2,380 feet 【725 m】), the highest point in Connecticut. In Massachusetts the mountains constitute the western section of the Berkshire Hills. Taconic State Park, in New York, is a popular mountain recreation area. The name Taconic probably derives from an Algonquian word referring to a tree, a wood, or a forest.