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White Mountains (New Hampshire)
Encyclopedia
The White Mountains are a mountain range
covering about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire
and a small portion of western Maine
in the United States
. Part of the Appalachian Mountains
, they are considered the most rugged mountains in New England
. The range is heavily visited due to its proximity to Boston
and (to a lesser extent) New York City
.
Most of the area is public land, including the White Mountain National Forest
as well as a number of state parks. Its most famous peak is Mount Washington
, which at 6288 feet (1,916.6 m) is the highest mountain in the Northeastern U.S. and home to the fastest surface wind gust (231 miles per hour (103.3 m/s), over 100 m/s, in 1934) measured in the Northern Hemisphere. Mount Washington is one of a line of summits called the Presidential Range
, many of which are named after U.S. presidents and other prominent Americans.
In addition, the White Mountains include several smaller groups including the Franconia Range
, Sandwich Range
, Carter-Moriah Range
, Kinsman Range and Pilot Range. In all, there are forty-eight peaks over 4,000', known as a group as the Four-thousand footers
.
The Whites are known for their system of alpine huts
for hikers, operated by the Appalachian Mountain Club
. The Appalachian Trail
crosses the area from southwest to northeast.
. The highest peaks would often be snow-capped. An alternate theory is that the mica
-laden granite
of the summits looked "white" to observers.
The White Mountains are a physiographic section
of the larger New England province
, which in turn is part of the larger Appalachian
physiographic division.
The magma
intrusion
s forming the White Mountains today were created 124 to 100 million years ago as the North American Plate
moved westward over the New England hotspot
.
Widespread evidence of glaciation
may be seen in the U-shaped form of various notches, or mountain pass
es. Glacial cirque
s form the heads of Tuckerman Ravine
on Mt. Washington and King Ravine on Mt. Adams
. Glacial striations are visible at numerous locations, including on the exposed rocks at the summit of Pine Mountain in Gorham
.
The White Mountains included the Old Man of the Mountain
, a rock formation on Cannon Mountain
that, when viewed from a certain angle, resembled the distinct craggy profile of a man's face until it fell in May of 2003. It remains the state symbol of New Hampshire. The range also includes a natural feature dubbed "The Basin", consisting of a granite bowl, 20 feet (6 m) in diameter, fed by a waterfall, worn smooth by the Pemigewasset River
. The areas around The Basin are popular spots for swimming in the ice-cold mountain-fed water.
The range is crossed by two north-south highway routes (U.S. Route 3
and Interstate 93
through Franconia Notch
, and New Hampshire Route 16
through Pinkham Notch
), and two east-west roads (the Kancamagus Highway, part of New Hampshire Route 112
, through Kancamagus Pass, and U.S. Route 302
through Crawford Notch
).
in 1824. Leavitt's hand-drawn map, today in the collection of Harvard University
, is largely folk art
, but does convey some of the region's features. Leavitt drew several versions of his map, beginning in 1852. The fourth and last version, printed in 1871, was printed at Boston and carried a retail price of one dollar. Other early maps of the region were drawn by M. Conant and by Harvard
astronomer George Phillips Bond
, who published the first topographical map of the region in 1853.
As the most ruggedly picturesque area in the northeast U.S., the White Mountains drew hundreds of painters during the 19th century. This group of artists is sometimes referred to as belonging to the "White Mountain school" of art. Others dispute the notion that these painters were a "school", since they did not all paint in the same style as, for example, those artists of the Hudson River School
.
chose the White Mountains as the setting for his short story
, "The Great Carbuncle
". Other White Mountain tales by Hawthorne include "The Ambitious Guest
", "Sketches from Memory" and "The Great Stone Face". The White Mountain region also figures prominently in the writings of Louisa May Alcott
, including the novel Eight Cousins
and its sequel, Rose in Bloom
.
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
covering about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
and a small portion of western Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Part of the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
, they are considered the most rugged mountains in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. The range is heavily visited due to its proximity to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and (to a lesser extent) New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Most of the area is public land, including the White Mountain National Forest
White Mountain National Forest
The White Mountain National Forest is a federally-managed forest contained within the White Mountains in the northeastern United States. It was established in 1918 as a result of the Weeks Act of 1911; federal acquisition of land had already begun in 1914. It has a total area of...
as well as a number of state parks. Its most famous peak is Mount Washington
Mount Washington (New Hampshire)
Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at , famous for dangerously erratic weather. For 76 years, a weather observatory on the summit held the record for the highest wind gust directly measured at the Earth's surface, , on the afternoon of April 12, 1934...
, which at 6288 feet (1,916.6 m) is the highest mountain in the Northeastern U.S. and home to the fastest surface wind gust (231 miles per hour (103.3 m/s), over 100 m/s, in 1934) measured in the Northern Hemisphere. Mount Washington is one of a line of summits called the Presidential Range
Presidential Range
The Presidential Range is a mountain range located in the White Mountains of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Containing the highest peaks of the Whites, its most notable summits are named for American Presidents, followed by prominent public figures of the 18th and 19th centuries.Mt...
, many of which are named after U.S. presidents and other prominent Americans.
In addition, the White Mountains include several smaller groups including the Franconia Range
Franconia Range
The Franconia Range is a mountain range located in the White Mountains of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It is the second-highest range of peaks in the White Mountains....
, Sandwich Range
Sandwich Range
The Sandwich Range is located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the United States, north of the Lakes Region and south of the Kancamagus Highway...
, Carter-Moriah Range
Carter-Moriah Range
The Carter-Moriah Range of mountains is located in the White Mountains, in Coos County, New Hampshire. The range forms the northern east side of Pinkham Notch, opposite the northern Presidential Range.- Summits :From north to south:...
, Kinsman Range and Pilot Range. In all, there are forty-eight peaks over 4,000', known as a group as the Four-thousand footers
Four-thousand footers
The term Four-Thousand Footers refers to a group of forty-eight mountains in New Hampshire at least 4,000 feet above sea level...
.
The Whites are known for their system of alpine huts
High Huts of the White Mountains
The High Huts of the White Mountains are a series of eight mountain huts in the White Mountains, in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, owned and maintained by the Appalachian Mountain Club. Modeled after similar huts in the Alps, they are positioned at intervals along the Appalachian Trail, allowing...
for hikers, operated by the Appalachian Mountain Club
Appalachian Mountain Club
The Appalachian Mountain Club is one of the United States' oldest outdoor groups. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., with 12 chapters stretching from Maine to Washington, D.C...
. The Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
crosses the area from southwest to northeast.
Origin of name
There has been much discussion of the origin of the name "White Mountains". This name and similar ones such as "White Hills" or "Wine Hills" are found in literature from colonial times. According to tradition, the mountains were first sighted from shipboard off the coast near the Piscataqua estuaryPiscataqua River
The Piscataqua River, in the northeastern United States, is a long tidal estuary formed by the confluence of the Salmon Falls and Cocheco rivers...
. The highest peaks would often be snow-capped. An alternate theory is that the mica
Mica
The mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic, with a tendency towards pseudohexagonal crystals, and are similar in chemical composition...
-laden granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
of the summits looked "white" to observers.
Geology and physiography
Physiographic regions of the world
The physiographic regions of the world are a means of defining the Earth's landforms into distinct regions based upon classic 1916 three-tiered approach defining divisions, provinces, and sections...
of the larger New England province
New England province
The New England province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division of eastern North America. The province consists of the Seaboard Lowland, New England Upland, White Mountain, Green Mountain, and Taconic sections.-Geology:...
, which in turn is part of the larger Appalachian
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
physiographic division.
The magma
Magma
Magma is a mixture of molten rock, volatiles and solids that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and is expected to exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and dissolved gas and sometimes also gas bubbles. Magma often collects in...
intrusion
Intrusion
An intrusion is liquid rock that forms under Earth's surface. Magma from under the surface is slowly pushed up from deep within the earth into any cracks or spaces it can find, sometimes pushing existing country rock out of the way, a process that can take millions of years. As the rock slowly...
s forming the White Mountains today were created 124 to 100 million years ago as the North American Plate
North American Plate
The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland, Cuba, Bahamas, and parts of Siberia, Japan and Iceland. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia. The plate includes both continental and oceanic crust...
moved westward over the New England hotspot
New England hotspot
The New England hotspot, also referred to as the Great Meteor hotspot, is a long-lived volcanic hotspot in the Atlantic Ocean. The hotspot's most recent eruptive center is the Great Meteor Seamount, and it probably created a short line of mid to late-Tertiary age seamounts on the African Plate but...
.
Widespread evidence of glaciation
Laurentide ice sheet
The Laurentide Ice Sheet was a massive sheet of ice that covered hundreds of thousands of square miles, including most of Canada and a large portion of the northern United States, multiple times during Quaternary glacial epochs. It last covered most of northern North America between c. 95,000 and...
may be seen in the U-shaped form of various notches, or mountain pass
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
es. Glacial cirque
Cirque
Cirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , an album by Biosphere* Cirque Corporation, a company that makes touchpads...
s form the heads of Tuckerman Ravine
Tuckerman Ravine
Tuckerman Ravine is a glacial cirque sloping eastward on the southeast face of Mt. Washington, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Although it draws hikers throughout the year, and skiers throughout the winter, it is best known for the many "spring skiers" who ascend it on foot and ski down...
on Mt. Washington and King Ravine on Mt. Adams
Mount Adams (New Hampshire)
Mount Adams, elevation above sea level, is a mountain in New Hampshire, the second highest peak in the Northeast United States after its nearby neighbor, Mt. Washington. Located in the northern Presidential Range, Mount Adams was named after John Adams, the second president of the United States....
. Glacial striations are visible at numerous locations, including on the exposed rocks at the summit of Pine Mountain in Gorham
Gorham, New Hampshire
Gorham is a town in Coos County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,848 at the 2010 census. Gorham is located in the White Mountains, and parts of the White Mountain National Forest are in the south and northwest. Moose Brook State Park is in the west. The town is crossed by the...
.
Attractions
Old Man of the Mountain
The Old Man of the Mountain, also known as the Great Stone Face or the Profile, was a series of five granite cliff ledges on Cannon Mountain in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, USA that, when viewed from the north, appeared to be the jagged profile of a face. The rock formation was above...
, a rock formation on Cannon Mountain
Cannon Mountain (New Hampshire)
Cannon Mountain is a peak in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Known for both its technical rock and ice climbing and its skiing , the mountain was home to the Old Man of the Mountain until the formation collapsed on May 3, 2003...
that, when viewed from a certain angle, resembled the distinct craggy profile of a man's face until it fell in May of 2003. It remains the state symbol of New Hampshire. The range also includes a natural feature dubbed "The Basin", consisting of a granite bowl, 20 feet (6 m) in diameter, fed by a waterfall, worn smooth by the Pemigewasset River
Pemigewasset River
The Pemigewasset River , known locally as "The Pemi", is a river in the state of New Hampshire, the United States. It is in length and drains approximately...
. The areas around The Basin are popular spots for swimming in the ice-cold mountain-fed water.
The range is crossed by two north-south highway routes (U.S. Route 3
U.S. Route 3
U.S. Route 3 is a north–south United States highway that runs from its southern terminus in Cambridge, Massachusetts through New Hampshire to its terminus near Third Connecticut Lake at the Canadian border, where the road continues north as Quebec Route 257.In New Hampshire parts of US 3 are...
and Interstate 93
Interstate 93
Interstate 93 is an Interstate Highway in the New England section of the United States. Its southern terminus is in Canton, Massachusetts, in the Boston metropolitan area, at Interstate 95; its northern terminus is near St. Johnsbury, Vermont, at Interstate 91...
through Franconia Notch
Franconia Notch
Franconia Notch is a major mountain pass through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Dominated by Cannon Mountain, it lies principally within Franconia Notch State Park and is traversed by the Franconia Notch Parkway Franconia Notch (el. 1950 ft. / 590 m.) is a major mountain pass through...
, and New Hampshire Route 16
New Hampshire Route 16
New Hampshire Route 16 is a long north–south highway in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Much of its length is close to the border with Maine. NH 16 is the main route from the Seacoast region north to the Lakes Region and the White Mountains. The section from Portsmouth to Milton is a...
through Pinkham Notch
Pinkham Notch
Pinkham Notch is a mountain pass in the White Mountains of north-central New Hampshire, United States. The notch is a result of extensive erosion by the Laurentide ice sheet during the Wisconsinian ice age. Pinkham Notch was eroded into a glacial U-shaped valley whose walls are formed by the...
), and two east-west roads (the Kancamagus Highway, part of New Hampshire Route 112
New Hampshire Route 112
New Hampshire Route 112 is a long east–west state highway in northern New Hampshire. The highway winds across the state, connecting Bath to Conway via the scenic and mountainous area of the White Mountain National Forest. Part of this highway, which runs through the White Mountains, is known as...
, through Kancamagus Pass, and U.S. Route 302
U.S. Route 302
U.S. Route 302 is a spur of U.S. Route 2. It currently runs 171 miles north from Portland, Maine, at U.S. Route 1, to Montpelier, Vermont, at US 2...
through Crawford Notch
Crawford Notch
Crawford Notch is the steep and narrow gorge of the Saco River in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, located almost entirely within the town of Hart's Location...
).
Maps
Some of the earliest maps of the White Mountains were produced as tourist maps and not topographical maps. One of the first two tourist maps of the mountains was that produced by Franklin Leavitt, a self-taught artist born near Lancaster, New HampshireLancaster, New Hampshire
Lancaster is a town in Coos County, New Hampshire, USA, on the Connecticut River named after Lancaster, England. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 3,507, the second largest in the county after Berlin. It is the county seat of Coos County and gateway to the Great North Woods Region...
in 1824. Leavitt's hand-drawn map, today in the collection of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, is largely folk art
Folk art
Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....
, but does convey some of the region's features. Leavitt drew several versions of his map, beginning in 1852. The fourth and last version, printed in 1871, was printed at Boston and carried a retail price of one dollar. Other early maps of the region were drawn by M. Conant and by Harvard
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
astronomer George Phillips Bond
George Phillips Bond
George Phillips Bond was an American astronomer. He was the son of William Cranch Bond. Some sources give his year of birth as 1826....
, who published the first topographical map of the region in 1853.
Art
- Main article: White Mountain artWhite Mountain artWhite Mountain art is the body of work created during the 19th century by over four hundred artists who painted landscape scenes of the White Mountains of New Hampshire in order to promote the region and, consequently, sell their works of art....
As the most ruggedly picturesque area in the northeast U.S., the White Mountains drew hundreds of painters during the 19th century. This group of artists is sometimes referred to as belonging to the "White Mountain school" of art. Others dispute the notion that these painters were a "school", since they did not all paint in the same style as, for example, those artists of the Hudson River School
Hudson River school
The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by romanticism...
.
Literature
Nathaniel HawthorneNathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
chose the White Mountains as the setting for his short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
, "The Great Carbuncle
The Great Carbuncle
"The Great Carbuncle" is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It first appeared in Twice-Told Tales, a collection of short stories, in 1837.-Plot synopsis:...
". Other White Mountain tales by Hawthorne include "The Ambitious Guest
The Ambitious Guest
"The Ambitious Guest" is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. First published in The New-England Magazine in June of 1835, it is better known for its publication in the second volume of Twice-Told Tales in 1841.- Plot :...
", "Sketches from Memory" and "The Great Stone Face". The White Mountain region also figures prominently in the writings of Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women was set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, and published in 1868...
, including the novel Eight Cousins
Eight Cousins
"Eight Cousins, or The Aunt-Hill" was published in 1875 by American novelist Louisa May Alcott. It is the story of Rose Campbell, a lonely and sickly girl who has been recently orphaned and must now reside with her maiden aunts, the matriarchs of her wealthy Boston family. When Rose's guardian,...
and its sequel, Rose in Bloom
Rose in Bloom
Written by Louisa May Alcott, Rose in Bloom depicts the story of a nineteenth century girl, Rose Campbell, finding her way in society. Sequel to Eight Cousins.-Characters:...
.
See also
- Four-thousand footersFour-thousand footersThe term Four-Thousand Footers refers to a group of forty-eight mountains in New Hampshire at least 4,000 feet above sea level...
- White Mountains RegionWhite Mountains RegionThe White Mountains Region is a tourism region designated by the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism. It is located in northern New Hampshire in the United States and is named for the White Mountains, which cover most of the region. The southern boundary of the region begins at Piermont...
- High Huts of the White MountainsHigh Huts of the White MountainsThe High Huts of the White Mountains are a series of eight mountain huts in the White Mountains, in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, owned and maintained by the Appalachian Mountain Club. Modeled after similar huts in the Alps, they are positioned at intervals along the Appalachian Trail, allowing...
- List of mountains in New Hampshire
- List of notches in New Hampshire