The Ossipee Mountains are a small mountain range in the
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
state of
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a 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 to the nor ...
, United States. The remains of an ancient volcanic
ring dike
A ring dike or ring dyke is an intrusive igneous body that is circular, oval or arcuate in plan and has steep contacts. While the widths of ring dikes differ, they can be up to several thousand meters. The most commonly accepted method of ring dik ...
,
[Hall, Anthony, ''Igneous Petrology,'' Longman, 1987 p.75 - 76 ] they lie north of
Lake Winnipesaukee
Lake Winnipesaukee () is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, located in the Lakes Region at the foothills of the White Mountains. It is approximately long (northwest-southeast) and from wide (northeast-southwest), covering & ...
, east of
Squam Lake
Squam Lake is a lake located in the Lakes Region of central New Hampshire, United States, south of the White Mountains, straddling the borders of Grafton, Carroll, and Belknap counties. The largest town center on the lake is Holderness. Th ...
, and south of the
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. Although the range is not outstanding for its elevation, it is very rugged and has excelle ...
, the southernmost of the
White Mountains.
Mount Shaw
Mount Shaw is a mountain located in the towns of Moultonborough and Tuftonboro in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. It is part of the remains of an ancient volcanic ring dike. With a summit elevation of , it is the highest of the O ...
is their highest point.
Geology and physiography
The Ossipee Mountains are the remains of a 125 million year-old volcanic
ring dike
A ring dike or ring dyke is an intrusive igneous body that is circular, oval or arcuate in plan and has steep contacts. While the widths of ring dikes differ, they can be up to several thousand meters. The most commonly accepted method of ring dik ...
,
[ the remnant of a ]Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
stratovolcano of the later White Mountain igneous
Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or ...
province. The complex is circular in plain view and has a diameter of 14 km.[http://faculty.uml.edu/nelson_eby/Field%20Trip%20guides/Ossipee%20NHGS.pdf Ossipee Field Trip Guide] The ring-dike complex is easily identified on satellite images, with its southeast edge located about northwest of the town center of Ossipee
Ossipee is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,372 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Carroll County. Ossipee, which includes several villages, is a resort area and home to part of Pine River S ...
.
Notable summits
* Bald Knob
Bald Knob is the highest summit of Back Allegheny Mountain in Pocahontas County, West Virginia and is part of Cass Scenic Railroad State Park. At an altitude of above sea level, Bald Knob is the third-highest point in West Virginia and the Alle ...
* Bayle Mountain
* Big Ball Mountain
* Faraway Mountain
* Mount Flagg
* Larcom Mountain
* Nickerson Mountain
* Mount Roberts
* Sentinel Mountain
* Mount Shaw
Mount Shaw is a mountain located in the towns of Moultonborough and Tuftonboro in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. It is part of the remains of an ancient volcanic ring dike. With a summit elevation of , it is the highest of the O ...
* Turtleback Mountain
* Mount Whittier
See also
* Castle in the Clouds - a large estate located on the western portion of the Ossipee Mountains.
* Pawtuckaway State Park - a related ring dike in southern New Hampshire
References
External links
3-D image of ring dike
Mountain ranges of New Hampshire
Volcanism of New Hampshire
Landforms of Carroll County, New Hampshire
Cretaceous magmatism
Cretaceous volcanoes
New Hampshire placenames of Native American origin
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