Mount Pemigewasset, or Indian Head, is a mountain in

Franconia Notch Franconia Notch (elev. ) is a major mountain pass through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Dominated by Cannon Mountain to the west and Mount Lafayette to the east, it lies principally within Franconia Notch State Park and is traversed by ...

in the White Mountains in

Grafton County, New Hampshire Grafton County is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,118. Its county seat is North Haverhill, a village within the town of Haverhill. Until 1972, the county courthouse and other offices ...

. It lies near the town of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

. The mountain is known for the distinctive cliff along the southern side of its summit, which resembles the profile of a Native American head. Such shapes are formed when water enters cracks in the granite. Over time, the water freezes and expands, which further shapes and cracks the rock. The "face" measures from chin to forehead, and the mountain itself has an elevation of . The head shape has been noted since the early 19th century. It was partly hidden by trees near the chin, but a 1901 forest fire revealed the full profile. The mountain received more attention after a better-known rock formation in the White Mountains, the

Old Man of the Mountain The Old Man of the Mountain, also called the Great Stone Face and the Profile, was a series of five granite cliff ledges on Cannon Mountain in Franconia, New Hampshire, United States, that appeared to be the jagged profile of a human face when ...

, collapsed in 2003. The "Indian Head" will eventually lose its shape as well. Pemigewasset is an

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pre ...

Indian word, meaning "rapidly moving", and it also names the nearby

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 (with its tributaries) drains approximately . The name "Pemigewasset" comes from the Abenaki word ''bemijijoase ...

. The Native American Pemigewasset tribe lived in the area in the 17th and 18th centuries, and a legend of the Abenaki people tells that Chief Pemigewasset spied for enemies from the top of the mountain. According to an 1898 guidebook, "The view on a moonlight night from the top of this vast cliff is awe inspiring." The Indian Head Resort, a more than one hundred year-old tourist facility, has a view over the mountain as well as a viewing tower.

References

External links

Mount Pemigewasset
at Peakbagger.com, a mountain information site
Mount Pemigewasset (Indian Head)
at summitpost.org, a mountaineering website
Hiking Mt Pemigewasset - Indian Head (New Hampshire)
video Mountains of New Hampshire White Mountains (New Hampshire) Rock formations of New Hampshire Landforms of Grafton County, New Hampshire Tourist attractions in Grafton County, New Hampshire Abenaki {{Merrimack River, state=collapsed