Ammonoosuc Inn & Restaurant

Hike the Presidentials - Mt. Washington

Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288 ft (1,917 m). It is famous for its dangerously erratic weather, holding the record for the highest wind gust directly measured at the Earth’s surface, at 231 mph (372 km/h) on the afternoon of April 12, 1934. It was known as Agiocochook, or “home of the Great Spirit”, before European settlers arrived.^[4]

The mountain is located in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains, in Coos County, New Hampshire. It is the third highest state high point in the eastern U.S., after Mount Mitchell, North Carolina – 6,684 ft (2,037 m) – and Clingmans Dome, Tennessee – 6,643 ft (2,025 m) – and is the most prominent peak in the Eastern United States.

While nearly the whole mountain is in the White Mountain National Forest, an area of 59 acres (0.24 km²) surrounding and including the summit is occupied by Mount Washington State Park.

Although the western slope that the Cog Railway ascends is straightforward from base to summit, the mountain’s other sides are more complex. On the north side, Great Gulf — the mountain’s largest glacial cirque — forms an amphitheater surrounded by the Northern Presidentials: Mounts Clay, Jefferson, Adams and Madison. These connected peaks reach well into the treeless alpine zone. Massive Chandler Ridge extends northeast from the summit of Washington to form the amphitheater’s southern wall and is the incline ascended by the automobile road.

East of the summit, a plateau known as the Alpine Gardens extends south from Chandler Ridge at about 5,200 feet (1,600 m) elevation. It is notable for plant species either endemic to alpine meadows in the White Mountains or outliers of larger populations in arctic regions far to the north. Alpine Gardens drops off precipitously into two prominent glacial cirques. Craggy Huntington Ravine offers rock and ice climbing in an alpine setting. More rounded Tuckerman Ravine is New England’s premier venue for spring skiing as late as June and then a scenic hiking route.

South of the summit lies a second and larger alpine plateau, Bigelow Lawn, at 5,000 feet (1,500 m) to 5,500 feet (1,700 m) elevation. Satellite summit Boott Spur and then the Montalban Ridge including Mount Isolation and Mount Davis extend south from it, while the higher Southern Presidentials — Mounts Monroe, Franklin, Eisenhower, Pierce, Jackson and Webster — extend southwest to Crawford Notch. Oakes Gulf separates the two high ridges.

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