Mount Cardigan is a prominent bare-rock summit in the towns of

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

and

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

in western

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, USA. While its peak is only above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

, it has extensive areas of bare granite ledges and alpine scrub, giving it the feel to hikers of a much higher mountain. Most of the summit area was denuded by devastating forest fires in 1855. The

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

helped to develop the alpine ski trail network still in use today on the east side of the mountain. The mountain is set in the Cardigan Mountain State Park. The Cardigan Lodge, operated by the

Appalachian Mountain Club Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is the oldest outdoor group in the United States. 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 Ma ...

since 1934, is located to the east at the foot of the mountain, and is often used as a base for day hikes in and around the mountain. Many schools from around New England have overnight field trips to the mountain during the autumn and spring months.. The mountain is also a popular destination for Boy Scout troops.

Geology

The bedrock of Mount Cardigan is the upper member of the Lower

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

Littleton Formation (a light grey meta-

turbidite A turbidite is the geologic deposit of a turbidity current, which is a type of amalgamation of fluidal and sediment gravity flow responsible for distributing vast amounts of clastic sediment into the deep ocean. Sequencing Turbidites were ...

) on its west flank (seen on lower parts of the West Ridge Trail). On the summit and to the east on the Clark Trail the bedrock is the Kinsman Granodiorite of the Early Devonian Cardigan Pluton (a foliated granitic body with large

megacryst In geology, a megacryst is a crystal or grain that is considerably larger than the encircling matrix. They are found in igneous and metamorphic rocks. Megacrysts can be further classified based on the nature of their origin, either as:Chapman, Carl ...

s of

potassium feldspar Potassium feldspar refers to a number of minerals in the feldspar group, and containing potassium: *Orthoclase (endmember formula K Al Si3 O8), an important tectosilicate mineral that forms igneous rock *Microcline, chemically the same as orthoclas ...

). The Cardigan pluton has been dated by the Rb/Sr method at 411 +/- 19 MA. The metamorphic rocks of the Littleton Formation that make up the west flank are at middle amphibolite

metamorphic Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...

grade. The Littleton Formation rocks were once deep water sediments of the

Bronson Hill Island Arc The Bronson Hill Arc is a bimodal volcanic arc and associated sediments that formed over a west (?) dipping subduction zone during the Ordovician period (c. 475 - 450 million years ago (Ma)) as part of the Taconic Orogeny. These rocks are present ...

and were deformed and metamorphosed during the Acadian orogeny.

Hydrology

Mount Cardigan lies on the divide between the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

and

Merrimack River The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Mas ...

watersheds. The western slopes of the mountain drain to Orange Brook towards the town of

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

, then via the Indian River to the

Mascoma River The Mascoma River is a river in western New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Connecticut River, which flows to Long Island Sound. The Mascoma comprises two sections which are split by Mascoma Lake in the communities of Enf ...

, the Connecticut River, and ultimately

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

. The south slopes of the mountain flow via Mill Brook to the Smith River, a tributary of the Pemigewasset and Merrimack rivers, ultimately flowing to the

Gulf of Maine The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America. It is bounded by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and by Cape Sable Island at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast ...

. The eastern slopes of Mount Cardigan drain via Brock, Clark, and Davis brooks to the Fowler River, then via

Newfound Lake Newfound Lake is located in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. It is situated in the Lakes Region of central New Hampshire, in the towns of Alexandria, Bridgewater, Bristol, and Hebron. Its area of places it behind only Lake Winnipesa ...

and the Newfound River to the Pemigewasset. Atwell Brook flows off a northeastern ridge of the mountain, draining via the

Cockermouth River The Cockermouth River is a stream located in central New Hampshire in the United States. It is the longest tributary of Newfound Lake, part of the Pemigewasset River and ultimately Merrimack River watersheds. The river takes its name from the ...

to Newfound Lake. The farthest north ridge of Cardigan is drained by the South Branch of the Baker River, with water flowing north to the Baker River in Rumney before turning east to reach the Pemigewasset in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

External links

Dartmouth Outing Club Guide to Mt. Cardigan

Mt. Cardigan - FranklinSites.com Hiking Guide

Mt. Cardigan - New England's Alpine CCC Ski Trails

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardigan, Mount Mountains of Grafton County, New Hampshire Mountains of New Hampshire Appalachian Mountain Club