White Mountains (northeastern United States)

White Mountains (northeastern United States), rugged range in northern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine. The range is part of the Appalachian Mountains system and rises from a plateau 500 m (1,600 ft) above sea level. The White Mountains are divided into the Franconia Mountains and the Presidential Range by Crawford Notch, a gap carved by the Saco River. The highest point in the Franconia subrange (west of Crawford Notch) is Mount Lafayette (1,598 m/5,242 ft). A notable feature of the Franconia Mountains was the “Old Man of the Mountain,” a natural stone profile of a human face near the top of Profile Mountain that fell off the mountainside in 2003. The American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne immortalized the “Old Man of the Mountain” in his story “The Great Stone Face” (1850).

To the east of Crawford Notch is the Presidential Range, so called because many of the peaks are named for United States presidents. The highest summit in the range—and in New Hampshire—is Mount Washington (1,917 m/6,288 ft), a popular resort. Other summits are Mount Adams (1,767 m/ 5,798 ft), Mount Jefferson (1,742 m/ 5,715 ft), Mount Monroe (1,641 m/ 5,385 ft), Mount Madison (1,635 m/ 5,363 ft), and Mount Eisenhower (1,455 m/ 4,775 ft). Noted for their scenic views, the White Mountains also offer spectacular gorges, streams, waterfalls, and pools. Along the lower slopes are luxuriant stands of deciduous trees. In 1925 the greater part of the range was made a national forest.