The Devils Den Roadless Area comprises 8,830 acres of mountainous terrane in the Green Mountain National Forest, Rutland and Windsor Counties, Vt. (Index Map). Ludlow, the nearest large community, is approximately 7 air miles northeast of the study area. The small villages of Weston and East Wallingford are 3 to 5 mi to the south and north, respectively. Total relief is nearly 1,200 ft, ranging from a low elevation of 1,640 ft along the southwestern edge of the area, to a high point of about 2,860 ft in the northwest portion. Principal access is provided by state Route 100 and 155 on the southeast and northeast, and by Forest Service Road 10 along the western boundary. Old logging roads and foot trails allow entry to the interior of the study area. Several swamps and one small pond are located in topographically low areas. Drainage is principally to the south and southeast by tributaries of the south-flowing West River, ultimately discharging into the Connecticut River near Brattleboro.
The Devils Den area is named for a large undercut cliff (Dale, 1915, p. 21) developed in Precambrian basement rocks. This undercut cliff forms a broad natural cave immediately west of and below Forest Service Road 10, at the head of Mt. Tabor Brook. Another much smaller cave is present in dolomite of probable Paleozoic (Early Cambrian) age on the east side of the same road. This smaller cave apparently is of artificial origin, having been made during early mining of the dolomite (Dale, 1915, p. 21). This man-made cave is the only evidence of previous mining activity within the study area.
