The White Mountains are a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

covering about a quarter of the state of

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 ...

and a small portion of western

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 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. They are part of the northern

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

and the most rugged mountains in

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 to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. The range is heavily visited due to its proximity to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. Most of the area is public land, including the

White Mountain National Forest The White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) is a federally managed forest contained within the White Mountains in the northeastern United States. It was established in 1918 as a result of the Weeks Act of 1911; federal acquisition of land had alrea ...

and a number of

state parks State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

. Its most famous mountain is

Mount Washington Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934, ...

, which is the highest peak in the Northeastern U.S. and for 76 years held the record for fastest surface wind gust in the world ( in 1934). Mount Washington is part of a line of summits, the

Presidential Range The Presidential Range is a mountain range located in the White Mountains of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Containing the highest peaks of the Whites, its most notable summits are named for American presidents, followed by prominent publi ...

, that are named after U.S. presidents and other prominent Americans. The White Mountains also include the

Franconia Range The Franconia Range is a mountain range located in the White Mountains of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It is the second-highest range of peaks (after the Presidential Range) in the White Mountains. Franconia Ridge is a prominent ridge which f ...

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 ...

Carter-Moriah Range The Carter-Moriah Range of mountains is located in the White Mountains, in Coos County, New Hampshire. The range forms the northern east side of Pinkham Notch, opposite the northern Presidential Range. The range is also referred to as the Carter ...

and

Kinsman Range The Kinsman Range, also known as the Cannon–Kinsman Range,Steven D. Smith and Mike Dickerman, eds. ''White Mountain Guide'', 29th ed. Appalachian Mountain Club, 2012, p.255 is a north–south range in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the ...

in New Hampshire, and the

Mahoosuc Range The Mahoosuc Range, a northern extension of the White Mountains, straddles the border between New Hampshire and Maine. The range's highest peak, Old Speck Mountain, is the fourth-highest peak in Maine. Substantial parts of the range are publicly ...

straddling the border between it and Maine. In all, there are 48 peaks within New Hampshire as well as one (

Old Speck Mountain Old Speck Mountain, also known as Old Speckle Mountain, is a mountain located in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The mountain, the fourth-highest in the state, is the northeasternmost and highest of the Mahoosuc Range, the northeasternmost ...

) in Maine over , known as the

four-thousand footers Four-thousand footers (sometimes abbreviated 4ks) are a group of forty-eight mountains in New Hampshire at least above sea level. To qualify for inclusion a peak must also meet the more technical criterion of topographic prominence important in t ...

. The Whites are known for a system of

alpine huts A mountain hut is a building located high in the mountains, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organization d ...

for hikers 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 ...

. 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 ...

crosses the area from southwest to northeast.

Etymology

It is not clear where the name "White Mountains" came from. There is no record of what Native Americans called the range, although pre-Colonial names for many individual peaks are known. The name and similar ones such as "White Hills" or "Wine Hills" are found in literature from Colonial times. According to tradition, the mountains were first sighted from shipboard off the coast near the Piscataqua estuary. The highest peaks would often be snow-capped, appearing white. An alternate theory is that the

mica Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into extremely thin elastic plates. This characteristic is described as perfect basal cleavage. Mica is ...

-laden

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

of the summits looked white to observers.

Geology and physiography

The White Mountains are a

physiographic section Physiographic regions of the world are a means of defining Earth's landforms into distinct regions, based upon the classic three-tiered approach by Nevin M. Fenneman in 1916, that separates landforms into physiographic divisions, physiographic pro ...

of the larger

New England province The New England province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division of eastern North America. The province consists of the Seaboard Lowland, New England Upland, White Mountain, Green Mountain, and Taconic sections. Geology ...

, which in turn is part of the larger Appalachian physiographic division. The

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...

intrusion 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 ...

s forming the White Mountains today were created 124 to 100 million years ago as the

North American Plate The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Cuba, the Bahamas, extreme northeastern Asia, and parts of Iceland and the Azores. With an area of , it is the Earth's second largest tectonic plate, behind the Pacific ...

moved westward over the

New England hotspot The New England hotspot, also referred to as the Great Meteor hotspot and sometimes the Monteregian hotspot, is a volcanic hotspot in the North Atlantic Ocean. It created the Monteregian Hills intrusions in Montreal and Montérégie, the White ...

. Widespread evidence of

glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...

may be seen in the

U-shaped Many shapes have metaphorical names, i.e., their names are metaphors: these shapes are named after a most common object that has it. For example, "U-shape" is a shape that resembles the letter U, a bell-shaped curve has the shape of the vertical ...

form of various notches, or

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

es. Glacial

cirque A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform ...

s form the heads of

Tuckerman Ravine Tuckerman Ravine is a glacial cirque sloping eastward on the southeast face of Mt. Washington, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Although it draws hikers throughout the year, and skiers throughout the winter, it is best known for the ma ...

on Mt. Washington and King Ravine on Mt. Adams.

Glacial striation Glacial striations or striae are scratches or gouges cut into bedrock by glacial abrasion. These scratches and gouges were first recognized as the result of a moving glacier in the late 18th century when Swiss alpinists first associated them w ...

s are visible at numerous locations, including on the exposed rocks at the summit of Pine Mountain in Gorham. The

Red Hill Syenite The Red Hill Syenite ("Red Hill Syenitic Complex", "Red Hill Alkaline Igneous Complex", "Red Hill Intrusion", or "Red Hill Layered syenitic complex") is a layered igneous rock complex in central New Hampshire, about east of Plymouth. The Red Hil ...

, a rock unit of the White Mountains, found in central New Hampshire, is of interest to researchers due to the fact that it contains feldspathoids as well as quartz-bearing rocks.

Attractions

The

, formed in 1911 after passage of the

Weeks Act The Weeks Act is a federal law (36 Stat. 961) enacted by the United States Congress on March 1, 1911. Introduced by Massachusetts Congressman John W. Weeks and signed into law by President William Howard Taft, the law authorized the United States S ...

, includes most of the mountain range and now covers in New Hampshire and western Maine. The

Mount Washington Auto Road The Mount Washington Auto Road—originally the Mount Washington Carriage Road—is a toll road in southern Coos County, New Hampshire that extends from New Hampshire Route 16 in Green's Grant, just north of Pinkham Notch, westward across Pink ...

and

Mount Washington Cog Railway The Mount Washington Cog Railway, also known as the Cog, is the world's first mountain-climbing Rack railway, cog railway (rack-and-pinion railway). The railway climbs Mount Washington in New Hampshire, United States. It uses a Rack railway#Mars ...

ascend the range's highest peak, which hosts a visitor center and weather observatory. Heavily visited Arethusa Falls, the second tallest waterfall in New Hampshire, lies on a southwest flank of Crawford Notch. 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 v ...

, a rock formation on Cannon Mountain that resembled the craggy profile of a man's face, was a White Mountain landmark until it fell in May 2003. It remains the state symbol of New Hampshire. The range also includes a natural feature dubbed "The Basin", consisting of a granite bowl, in diameter, fed by a waterfall, worn smooth by the

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 areas around The Basin are popular spots for swimming in the cold water. The range is crossed north–south by

U.S. Route 3 U.S. Route 3 (US 3) is a United States highway running from Cambridge, Massachusetts, through New Hampshire, to the Canada–US border near Third Connecticut Lake, where it connects to Quebec Route 257. Massachusetts Route 3 connects to ...

and

Interstate 93 Interstate 93 (I-93) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways ...

through

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 ...

and

New Hampshire Route 16 New Hampshire Route 16 (NH 16) is a , north–south state highway in New Hampshire, United States, the main road connecting the Seacoast region to the Lakes Region and the White Mountains. Much of its length is close to the border with Maine. ...

through

Pinkham Notch Pinkham Notch (elevation 2032 ft. / 619 m) is a mountain pass in the White Mountains of north-central New Hampshire, United States. The notch is a result of extensive erosion by the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the Wisconsinian ice age. Pin ...

, and east–west by the

Kancamagus Highway Kancamagus (pronounced "cain-ka-MAW-gus", "Fearless One", "Fearless Hunter of Animals"), was the third and final Sagamore of the Penacook Confederacy of Native American tribes. Nephew of Wonalancet and grandson of Passaconaway, Kancamagus rul ...

(part of

New Hampshire Route 112 New Hampshire Route 112 (abbreviated NH 112) is a east–west state highway in northern New Hampshire. The highway winds across the state, connecting Bath to Conway through the heart of the scenic and mountainous White Mountain National Forest. ...

) through Kancamagus Pass and

U.S. Route 302 U.S. Route 302 (US 302) is an east–west spur of U.S. Route 2 in northern New England in the United States. It currently runs from Montpelier, Vermont, beginning at US 2, to Portland, Maine, at U.S. Route 1. It passes through the states of Verm ...

through

Crawford Notch Crawford Notch is a major pass through the White Mountains of New Hampshire, located in Hart's Location. Roughly half of that town is contained in Crawford Notch State Park. The high point of the notch, at approximately above sea level, is at ...

. Many of these highways are designated as

scenic route A scenic route, tourist road, tourist route, tourist drive, holiday route, theme route, or scenic byway is a specially designated road or waterway that travels through an area of natural or cultural beauty. It often passes by scenic viewpoints ...

s. Several amusement parks lie in or near the White Mountains, including

Story Land Story Land is a theme park located in Glen, New Hampshire, which opened in 1954. The park is meant to appeal to children up to the pre-teen ages. History In the few years prior to opening, the founders, Bob and Ruth Morrell, had purchased a la ...

, Santa's Village,

Whale's Tale Water Park Whale's Tale Water Park is a water park located in Lincoln, New Hampshire, United States.Clark's Trading Post Clark's Bears, named Clark's Trading Post until 2019, is a visitor attraction in Lincoln, New Hampshire, United States, in the White Mountains. It is known for its trained bears and for the White Mountain Central Railroad, a 30-minute, steam-po ...

. The White Mountains region is also home to numerous hiking attractions through the various river gorges, ravines, and caves in the area. The

Flume Gorge The Flume Gorge (locally, just The Flume) is a natural gorge extending horizontally at the base of Mount Liberty in Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire, United States. Cut by Flume Brook, the gorge features walls of Conway granite tha ...

Lost River Reservation The Lost River Reservation (also known as the Lost River Gorge & Boulder Caves) is a protected area with a series of caves along a gorge in the White Mountains (New Hampshire), White Mountains in Woodstock, New Hampshire, Woodstock, New Hampsh ...

and Polar Caves Park all provide moderate hikes that one can complete in a few hours. Skiing is a popular attraction in the area.

Cannon Mountain Ski Area Cannon Mountain Ski Area is a state-owned ski resort located on Cannon Mountain in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, United States. Cannon is located within Franconia Notch State Park and offers 10 lifts servicing of skiing (168 with snowm ...

Loon Mountain Ski Resort Loon Mountain Ski Resort is a ski resort in Lincoln, Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. It is located on Loon Mountain and sits within the White Mountain National Forest. Its vertical drop of is the tenth largest in New England. Loon ...

Attitash Mountain Resort Attitash Mountain Resort is a ski area located on U.S. Route 302 in Bartlett, New Hampshire, near North Conway. Constructed in 1938 by the Works Progress Administration, as of October 2019, Attitash is operated by Vail Resorts (after being pu ...

Wildcat Mountain Ski Area Wildcat Mountain Ski Area is a ski area located on Wildcat Mountain near Jackson, New Hampshire, United States, in the Mount Washington Valley. Its vertical drop of is the second largest in New Hampshire and the ninth largest in New England. ...

Bretton Woods Mountain Resort Bretton Woods Mountain Resort is a ski area located in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, across from the Mount Washington Hotel, which owns it. Location and terrain The resort is located on U.S. Route 302 in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Th ...

, and

Waterville Valley Resort Waterville Valley is a ski resort in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, United States. It is located within the White Mountain National Forest. Built on Mount Tecumseh, with a summit elevation of above sea level, the ski trails extend to a high p ...

are all popular winter ski resorts, and many of them provide year-round outdoor activities such as

bridle path A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider r ...

s, hiking trails,

alpine slide A summer toboggan is an amusement or recreational ride which uses a bobsled-like sled or cart to run down a track usually built on the side of a hill. There are two main types: an Alpine coaster or mountain coaster is a type of roller coaste ...

s, and the like. The

Mount Washington Hotel The Mount Washington Hotel is a hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, near Mount Washington. It was designed by Charles Alling Gifford. In 1944, it hosted the Bretton Woods Conference, which established the International Monetary ...

located in Bretton Woods was the site of the

Bretton Woods Conference The Bretton Woods Conference, formally known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, was the gathering of 730 delegates from all 44 Allied nations at the Mount Washington Hotel, situated in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, Unite ...

following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and today remains one of the few early twentieth century

grand hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America. Grand Hotel may refer to: Hotels Africa * Grande Hotel Beir ...

s still in use. An estimated six million visitors visit the region yearly.

Mapping

Some of the earliest maps of the White Mountains were produced as tourist maps and not topographical maps. One of the first two tourist maps of the mountains was that produced by Franklin Leavitt, a self-taught artist born near

Lancaster, New Hampshire Lancaster is a New England town, town located along the Connecticut River in Coös County, New Hampshire, Coös County, New Hampshire, United States. The town is named after the city of Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster in England. As of the 2020 ce ...

in 1824. Leavitt's hand-drawn map, today in the collection of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, is largely

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...

, but does convey some of the region's features. Leavitt drew several versions of his map, beginning in 1852. The fourth version, printed in 1871, was printed at Boston and carried a retail price of one dollar. Other early maps of the region were drawn by H. Conant and by

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

astronomer

George Phillips Bond George Phillips Bond (May 20, 1825February 17, 1865) was an American astronomer. He was the son of William Cranch Bond. Some sources give his year of birth as 1826. His early interest was in nature and birds, but after his elder brother William ...

, who published the first topographical map of the region in 1853.George P. Bond: Map of the White Mountains of New Hampshire, WhiteMountainHistory.org
/ref>

Art

The White Mountains drew hundreds of painters during the 19th century. This group of artists is sometimes referred to as belonging to the "White Mountain school" of art. Others dispute the notion that these painters were a "school", since they did not all paint in the same style as, for example, those artists of the

Hudson River School The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Romanticism. The paintings typically depict the Hudson River Valley and the surrounding area, ...

In literature and drama

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

chose the White Mountains as the setting for his

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

The Great Carbuncle "The Great Carbuncle" is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It first appeared in December 1835 before being included in the collection ''Twice-Told Tales'' in 1837. Plot synopsis In the White Mountains, a band of eight adventurers gathers tog ...

". Other White Mountain tales by Hawthorne include "

The Ambitious Guest "The Ambitious Guest" is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne. First published in ''The New-England Magazine'' in June 1835, it was republished in the second volume of ''Twice-Told Tales'' in 1841. Plot A young traveler stops for the night with a ...

", "Sketches from Memory" and "The Great Stone Face". The White Mountain region also figures prominently in the writings of

Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott (; November 29, 1832March 6, 1888) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known as the author of the novel ''Little Women'' (1868) and its sequels ''Little Men'' (1871) and ''Jo's Boys'' (1886). Raised in ...

, including the novel ''

Eight Cousins ''Eight Cousins, or The Aunt-Hill'' was published in 1875 by American novelist Louisa May Alcott. It is the story of Rose Campbell, a lonely and sickly girl who has been recently orphaned and must now reside with her maiden great aunts (yet having ...

'' and its sequel, ''

Rose in Bloom ''Rose in Bloom'' is a novel by Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott (; November 29, 1832March 6, 1888) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet best known as the author of the novel ''Little Women'' (1868) and its sequels ''Lit ...

''.

References

External links

The Grand Hotels, The Glory and The Conflagration, Randall E. Spalding, WhiteMountainHistory.org
* {{Authority control Mountain ranges of New Hampshire Mountain ranges of Maine Subranges of the Appalachian Mountains White Mountain National Forest Geography of New England Cretaceous magmatism Igneous petrology of New Hampshire Physiographic sections

Etymology

Geology and physiography

Attractions

Mapping

Art

In literature and drama

See also

References

External links