Connecticut River Valley in the context of "Greater Hartford"

The Hanging Hills of south central Connecticut, United States, are a range of mountainous trap rock ridges overlooking the city of Meriden and the Quinnipiac River Valley 900 feet (274 m) below. They are a subrange of the narrow, linear Metacomet Ridge that extends from Long Island Sound near New Haven, Connecticut, north through the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts to the Vermont border. The range is also a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains. A popular outdoor recreation resource, the range is known for its microclimate ecosystems, rare plant communities, and expansive views from cliffs that rise abruptly over 700 feet (213 m) above the surrounding landscape. The Hanging Hills encompass the 1,800-acre (7.3 km) Hubbard Park, designed with the help of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The 51 mile (80k) Metacomet Trail traverses the range.

The Metacomet Ridge, Metacomet Ridge Mountains, or Metacomet Range of southern New England is a narrow and steep fault-block mountain ridge known for its extensive cliff faces, scenic vistas, microclimate ecosystems, and rare or endangered plants. The ridge is an important recreation resource located within 10 miles (16 km) of more than 1.5 million people, offering four long-distance hiking trails and over a dozen parks and recreation areas, including several historic sites. It has been the focus of ongoing conservation efforts because of its natural, historic, and recreational value, involving municipal, state, and national agencies and nearly two dozen non-profit organizations.

The Metacomet Ridge extends from Branford, Connecticut, on Long Island Sound, through the Connecticut River Valley region of Massachusetts, to northern Franklin County, Massachusetts, 2 miles (3 km) short of the Vermont and New Hampshire borders for a distance of 100 miles (160 km). It is geologically distinct from the nearby Appalachian Mountains and surrounding uplands, and is composed of volcanic basalt (also known as trap rock) and sedimentary rock in faulted and tilted layers many hundreds of feet thick. In most cases, the basalt layers are dominant, prevalent, and exposed. The ridge rises dramatically from much lower valley elevations, although only 1,200 feet (370 m) above sea level at its highest, with an average summit elevation of 725 feet (221 m).

The greater Hartford–Springfield area is an urban region and surrounding suburban areas that encompasses both north-central Connecticut and the southern Connecticut River Valley in western Massachusetts; its major city centers are Springfield, Massachusetts, and Hartford, Connecticut.

The area is also sometimes called the Knowledge Corridor, initially employed as a 2012 rename ("New England's Knowledge Corridor") for the Hartford–Springfield Economic Partnership, an interstate cooperative venture to foster an economic, cultural, and civic partnership between the two major cities on the Connecticut River. The term Knowledge Corridor has gained a degree of currency, mostly with some government organizations as well as local businesses and universities using the name. The New Haven–Springfield Line and Connecticut River Line form the primary rail route through the region, and are sometimes themselves called the Knowledge Corridor in planning documents.

The Cornish Art Colony (or Cornish Artists’ Colony, or Cornish Colony) was a popular art colony centered in Cornish, New Hampshire, from about 1895 through the years of World War I. Attracted by the natural beauty of the area, about 100 artists, sculptors, writers, designers, and politicians lived there either full-time or during the summer months. With views across the Connecticut River Valley to Mount Ascutney in Vermont, the bucolic scenery was considered to resemble that of an Italian landscape.

The central figure of the Cornish Colony was Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Beginning around 1885, Augustus attracted a summer colony of artists that grew into a single extended social network. Some were related, some were friends, some were promising students from the Art Students League of New York that Saint-Gaudens had co-founded, and some were Saint-Gaudens' assistants who developed significant careers of their own.

Hampden County is a non-governmental county located in the Pioneer Valley of the U.S. state of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, Hampden County's population was 465,825. Its traditional county seat is Springfield, the Connecticut River Valley's largest city, and economic and cultural capital; with an estimated population of 154,758, approximately one-third of Hampden County residents live in Springfield.42°08′N 72°38′W / 42.14°N 72.63°W / 42.14; -72.63