Massachusetts is a small state. At 10,555 square miles, 25.7 percent of which is water, Massachusetts is the seventh-smallest state in the nation. Massachusetts can fit into Alaska, the largest state, 62 times.

As little as it is, Massachusetts seems to have it all. There are oceans, forests, lakes, rivers, islands, mountains and at least two inactive volcanoes that date back hundreds of millions of years.

The Bay State’s highest and lowest elevations are at opposite corners.

The lowest elevation anywhere is sea level. That would be us, here in New Bedford and much of southeastern Massachusetts. New Bedford’s shoreline is the lowest elevation in Massachusetts.

So what about the highest elevation in Massachusetts? That would be Mount Greylock in the northwest corner of the state.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Parks and Recreation’s Mount Greylock State Reservation website, “At 3,491 feet, Mount Greylock is the highest point in Massachusetts.”

The site says, “On a clear day, you can see as far as 90 miles away.”

Mount Greylock is open from dawn to dusk every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas. There is an auto road from the base to the summit, however “vehicles greater than 22 feet in length are prohibited from traveling on the Mount Greylock Auto Roads and to the summit.”

The distance from New Bedford, the lowest elevation in Massachusetts, and Mount Greylock, the highest, is 134 miles as the crow flies. According to Waze, the drive from New Bedford to Mount Greylock is 188.9 miles and will take about three hours and 12 minutes.

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester is targeting a July opening date for the city’s four beaches and the Crompton Park pool, but aquatic activities will look a little different for summer 2024.

Worcester has had trouble hiring lifeguards to staff swimming areas in recent years — a period that saw several drownings, although none at city swimming areas proper — and so this summer will use the YMCA of Central Massachusetts for staffing.

“The YMCA will recruit, train, and staff the beaches and pool from the beginning of July until mid-August,” the city said in a news release this week. “The YMCA will use its access to indoor pool facilities and training programs to assist in staffing the program. Additionally, because the YMCA has year-round facilities, the trained lifeguards will be able to transfer into year-round positions at its facilities.”

Rob Antonelli, Worcester’s parks director, told city councilors on Tuesday the department is on track to open swimming areas by July 1. The beaches are located at Bell Hill Park, Coes Pond and two at Indian Lake. Worcester will still manage the city’s two spray parks at East Park and Greenwood Park, plus activities like trash removal and testing water quality.

The state Department of Conservation and Recreation will open its freshwater and saltwater beaches over Memorial Day weekend, including the two Lake Quinsigamond State Park beaches. DCR’s Bennett Field and Dennis F. Shine Memorial pools typically open in late June.