Saddleback Mountain is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

located in Sandy River Plantation, Franklin County,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, near the resort town of Rangeley. Saddleback is one of the highest mountains in the State of Maine, and one of the fourteen with more than of

topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

. The mountain is the site of Saddleback

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...

resort. Saddleback is flanked to the northeast by

Saddleback Horn The Horn (or Saddleback Horn) is a mountain located in Franklin County, Maine. The Horn is flanked to the southwest by the main summit of Saddleback Mountain, to the northeast by Saddleback Junior, and to the northwest by Potato Nubble. The Hor ...

. The mountain rock is primarily a form of

granodiorite Granodiorite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase feldspar than orthoclase feldspar. The term banatite is sometimes used informally for various rocks ranging from gra ...

known as the Redington

pluton In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...

that is estimated to have formed roughly 410 million years ago, while the soil atop it is largely

till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

with a thickness of or less. The northwest side of Saddleback drains into Saddleback Lake, then into Redington Stream, the South Branch of the Dead River, the

Kennebec River The Kennebec River (Abenaki language, Abenaki: ''Kinəpékʷihtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 30, 2011 river within the U.S. state of Maine. It ri ...

, and into 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 southeast side of Saddleback drains into Winship and Conant Streams, then Orbeton Stream, and the Sandy River, another

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the Kennebec. The southwest end of Saddleback drains into Cascade Stream, then into

Rangeley Lake Rangeley Lake, located in Franklin County, Maine in the United States, is fed by several streams. Its waters flow out from the lake's northwestern corner via the short Rangeley River into Mooselookmeguntic Lake, then Upper and Lower Richardson ...

Rangeley River The Rangeley River is located in Franklin County, Maine, in the United States. It is only about a mile long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 30, 2011 connecting the ou ...

Mooselookmeguntic Lake Mooselookmeguntic Lake is located in Franklin County and Oxford County, Maine, in the United States. It is part of the Androscoggin River watershed. It is located in the western part of Maine, near the border with the state of New Hampshire and ...

, Upper and

Lower Richardson Lake Upper Richardson Lake and Lower Richardson Lake are impounded as a single reservoir by Middle Dam at the outlet to Rapid River on the western shore of the lower lake. Rapid River flows to Umbagog Lake headwaters of the Androscoggin River. Upper R ...

s, Rapid River,

Umbagog Lake Umbagog Lake is a wilderness lake located in Coös County, New Hampshire, and Oxford County, Maine. It is one of the most pristine lakes in the state of New Hampshire. It lies in the towns of Errol, New Hampshire, and Upton, Maine, as well as the ...

, and the

Androscoggin River The Androscoggin River (Abenaki: ''Aləssíkαntekʷ'') is a river in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire, in northern New England. It is U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, ...

, which drains into

Merrymeeting Bay Merrymeeting Bay is a large freshwater tidal bay located in the U.S. state of Maine. Merrymeeting Bay's unusual geography defies common landform terms. It is not what is usually meant by the word bay. It is somewhat like an estuary but it has fres ...

, the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

of the Kennebec River. The

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tr ...

, a

National Scenic Trail The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...

from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, runs along the ridge of Saddleback, crossing the summit. Saddleback Maine, a ski area, is located on the north face of the mountain. Ranging from beginner trails to advanced and expert trails, the mountain contains 66 ski trails along with 5 ski lifts.

References

New England Four-thousand footers Mountains on the Appalachian Trail Saddleback Mountain {{Maine-geo-stub

See also

References