Short Mountain is a basalt peak on Connecticut’s Metacomet Ridge, north of Meriden, where steep cliffs and exposed ledges rise above the Quinnipiac and Mattabesett river valleys despite the mountain’s modest size. Formed near the end of the Triassic Period as lava cooled into thick sheets and later faulting tilted them, it is part of a larger ridgeline that extends toward Massachusetts and south to the Hanging Hills. Its varied slopes, ravines, and talus create microclimates that support rare plant communities and serve as a raptor migration route. The Metacomet Trail crosses the mountain, much of whose summit is protected through conservation.