White Mountains (New Hampshire)
Coordinates: 44°16′16″N 71°18′18″W / 44.271°N 71.305°W / 44.271; -71.305
| White Mountains | |
| Range | |
| Looking south on the Franconia Ridge Trail. Near peaks are Mount Flume (left) and Mount Liberty (center). | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| States | New Hampshire, Maine |
| Region | New England |
| Part of | Appalachian Mountains |
| Highest point | Mount Washington |
| - elevation | 6,288 ft (1,917 m) |
| - coordinates | 44°16′15″N 71°18′12.5″W / 44.27083°N 71.303472°W / 44.27083; -71.303472 |
The White Mountains are a mountain range covering about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire and a small portion of western Maine in the United States. Part of the northern Appalachian Mountains, they are the most rugged mountains in New England. The range is heavily visited due to its proximity to Boston and (to a lesser extent) New York City.
Most of the area is public land, including the White Mountain National Forest as well as a number of state parks. Its most famous peak is Mount Washington, which at 6,288 feet (1,917 m) is the highest mountain in the Northeastern U.S. and home to the fastest surface wind gust (231 miles per hour (372 km/h), over 100 m/s, in 1934) measured in the Northern Hemisphere. Mount Washington is one of a line of summits called the Presidential Range, many of which are named after U.S. presidents and other prominent Americans.
In addition, the White Mountains include several smaller groups including the Franconia Range, Sandwich Range, Carter-Moriah Range, Kinsman Range and Pilot Range. In all, there are forty-eight peaks over 4,000', known as a group as the Four-thousand footers.
The Whites are known for their system of alpine huts for hikers, operated by the Appalachian Mountain Club. The Appalachian Trail crosses the area from southwest to northeast.
Read more about White Mountains (New Hampshire): Origin of Name, Geology and Physiography, Attractions, Maps, Art, Literature
Famous quotes containing the words white and/or mountains:
“At middle night great cats with silver claws,
Bodies of shadow and blind eyes like pearls,
Came up out of the hole, and red-eared hounds
With long white bodies came out of the air
Suddenly, and ran at them and harried them.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Have We not made the earth as a cradle and the mountains as pegs? And We created you in pairs, and We appointed your sleep for a rest; and We appointed night for a garment, and We appointed day for a livelihood. And We have built above you seven strong ones, and We appointed a blazing lamp and have sent down out of the rain-clouds water cascading that We may bring forth thereby grain and plants, and gardens luxuriant.”
—Qur’An. “The Tiding,” 78:6-16, trans. by Arthur J. Arberry (1955)