Pack Monadnock or Pack Monadnock Mountain , is the highest peak of the Wapack Range of mountains and the highest point in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. The mountain, a monadnock, is located in south-central

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 ...

within the towns of

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

and

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. The Wapack Trail and a number of shorter trails traverse the mountain. A firetower and ledges on the summit offer long views north to the White Mountains, west to Mount Monadnock, and south into

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North Pack Monadnock Mountain North Pack Monadnock or North Pack Monadnock Mountain is a monadnock in south-central New Hampshire, at the northern end of the Wapack Range of mountains. It lies within Greenfield and Temple, New Hampshire; the Wapack Trail traverses the ...

is located directly to the north along the Wapack ridgeline; Temple Mountain to the south. Much of the mountain is located within Miller State Park. A seasonal automobile road ascends from the south to a picnic area at the summit. The summit also has a staffed air-pollution monitoring station. The east side of the mountain drains into the

Souhegan River The Souhegan River is a tributary of the Merrimack River in the northeastern United States. It is long, with a drainage area of , and flows north and east through southern New Hampshire to the Merrimack River. The river begins in New Ipswich, Ne ...

watershed, thence into the

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 M ...

and

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

; the west side drains into the

Contoocook River The Contoocook River () is a river in New Hampshire. It flows from Contoocook Lake on the Jaffrey/ Rindge border to Penacook (just north of Concord), where it empties into the Merrimack River. It is one of only a few rivers in New Hampshire that ...

, thence into the Merrimack River. The mountain is the home of the Pack Monadnock Raptor Migration Observatory, where

birdwatchers Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

from around the region gather for the annual hawk migration. During the peak migration season in September, birdwatchers search the sky for kettles of hundreds of hawks

swarm Swarm behaviour, or swarming, is a collective behaviour exhibited by entities, particularly animals, of similar size which aggregate together, perhaps milling about the same spot or perhaps moving ''en masse'' or migrating in some direction. ...

ing above rising thermals as they migrate south. The mountain's summit at Peterborough is also home to the transmitter of two

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

-market radio stations:

NOAA Weather Radio NOAA Weather Radio NWR; also known as NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards is an automated 24-hour network of VHF FM weather radio stations in the United States (U.S.) that broadcast weather information directly from a nearby National Weather Servi ...

station WNG575 and 92.1 WDER-FM, which airs a Christian talk and preaching format.

Etymology

According to local tradition, the word "pack" is a Native American word for "little" and "monadnock" is used to describe an isolated mountain summit; thus "Little Monadnock" refers to its relationship to the higher Mount Monadnock, , to the west. Pack Monadnock should not be confused with Little Monadnock Mountain, located to the west.

References

* ''Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide'' (1999). Boston: 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 ...

External links

Miller State Park official website

Friends of the Wapack

Pack Monadnock Raptor Migration Observatory
{{Authority control Mountains of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Mountains of New Hampshire Raptor migration sites Peterborough, New Hampshire Temple, New Hampshire New Hampshire placenames of Native American origin