Mount Pemigewasset

Mount Pemigewasset, or Indian Head, is a mountain in Franconia Notch in the White Mountains in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. It lies near the town of Lincoln.[1][2][3]

Mount Pemigewasset with its distinct head profile

The mountain is known for the distinctive cliff along the southern side of its summit, which resembles the profile of a Native American head. Such shapes are formed when water enters cracks in the granite. Over time, the water freezes and expands, which further shapes and cracks the rock.[3][4] The "face" measures 98 feet (30 m) from chin to forehead,[5] and the mountain itself has an elevation of 2,530 feet (770 m).[1]

The head shape has been noted since the early 19th century. It was partly hidden by trees near the chin, but a 1901 forest fire revealed the full profile.[6][7] The mountain received more attention after a better-known rock formation in the White Mountains, the Old Man of the Mountain, collapsed in 2003. The "Indian Head" will eventually lose its shape as well.[8][4]

Pemigewasset is an Abenaki Indian word meaning "rapidly moving", and it also names the nearby Pemigewasset River. The Native American Pemigewasset tribe lived in the area in the 17th and 18th centuries,[9] and a legend of the Abenaki people tells that Chief Pemigewasset spied for enemies from the top of the mountain.[5][7]

According to an 1898 guidebook, "The view on a moonlight night from the top of this vast cliff is awe inspiring."[10] The Indian Head Resort, a more than one-hundred-year-old tourist facility, has a view over the mountain as well as a viewing tower.[6]

References
  1. "Mount Pemigewasset". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  2. Densmore Ballard, Lisa (2020). Hiking the White Mountains : a guide to New Hampshire's best hiking adventures (Second ed.). Guilford, Connecticut: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 53. ISBN 9781493043330.
  3. Feinberg Densmore, Lisa (2005). Best hikes with dogs. New Hampshire & Vermont (First ed.). Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books. pp. 126–128. ISBN 9781594852367.
  4. Buchsbaum, Robert (2000). Nature hikes in the White Mountains (2nd ed.). Boston, Mass.: Appalachian Mountain Club Books. pp. 64–69. ISBN 9781878239723.
  5. Heald, Bruce D. (2014). A history of the New Hampshire Abenaki. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781625849656.
  6. "Indian Head Resort | The Center for Land Use Interpretation". Center for Land Use Interpretation. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  7. Anderson, John; Morse, Stearns (1930). The Book Of The White Mountains. New York: Minton, Balch & Company. pp. 45–46.
  8. "Four years after Old Man's fall, another N.H. rocky profile gets attention". Associated Press. May 10, 2007. Archived from the original on March 7, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2021 – via USA Today.
  9. Monkman, Jerry; Monkman, Marcy (2009). Discover the White Mountains : AMC's guide to the best hiking, biking, and paddling (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Appalachian Mountain Club. p. 44. ISBN 9781934028223.
  10. Carpenter, Frank Oliver (1898). Guide Book to the Franconia Notch and the Pemigewasset Valley. A. Moore. p. 112.

44°05′52″N 71°41′56″W

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