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:
“Teenage girls are extremists who see the world in black-and- white terms, missing shades of gray. Life is either marvelous or not worth living. School is either pure torment or is going fantastically. Other people are either great or horrible, and they themselves are wonderful or pathetic failures. One day a girl will refer to herself as “the goddess of social life” and the next day she’ll regret that she’s the “ultimate in nerdosity.””
—Mary Pipher (20th century)
“Kitsch is the daily art of our time, as the vase or the hymn was for earlier generations. For the sensibility it has that arbitrariness and importance which works take on when they are no longer noticeable elements of the environment. In America kitsch is Nature. The Rocky Mountains have resembled fake art for a century.”
—Harold Rosenberg (1906–1978)