The Franconia Range is a mountain range located in the White Mountains of the U.S. state of New Hampshire . It is the second-highest range of peaks (after the Presidential Range ) in the White Mountains.
9-555: Franconia Ridge is a prominent ridge which forms the backbone of the range, stringing together all of its major summits. From north to south, the highest summits of the range include: The summits marked with an asterisk (*) are included on the Appalachian Mountain Club 's peak-bagging list of " Four-thousand footers " in New Hampshire. The Franconia Range hosts the third largest connected area of alpine tundra in
18-471: A combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest , with the terrain dropping down on either side. The crest, if narrow, is also called a ridgeline . Limitations on the dimensions of a ridge are lacking. Its height above the surrounding terrain can vary from less than a meter to hundreds of meters. A ridge can be either depositional , erosional , tectonic , or
27-400: A combination of these in origin and can consist of either bedrock , loose sediment , lava , or ice depending on its origin. A ridge can occur as either an isolated, independent feature or part of a larger geomorphological and/or structural feature. Frequently, a ridge can be further subdivided into smaller geomorphic or structural elements. As in the case of landforms in general, there is
36-419: A lack of any commonly agreed classification or typology of ridges. They can be defined and classified on the basis of a variety of factors including either genesis, morphology, composition, statistical analysis of remote sensing data, or some combinations of these factors. An example of ridge classification is that of Schoeneberger and Wysocki, which provides a relatively simple and straightforward system that
45-555: Is used by the USA National Cooperative Soil Survey Program to classify ridges and other landforms. This system uses the dominant geomorphic process or setting to classify different groups of landforms into two major groups, Geomorphic Environments and Other Groupings with a total of 16 subgroups. The groups and their subgroups are not mutually exclusive; landforms, including ridges, can belong to multiple subgroups. In this classification, ridges are found in
54-690: The United States east of the Rocky Mountains , only surpassed by the Presidential Range and the Katahdin massif . Approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) along the crest of the ridge is in the alpine zone . This area runs from the treeline just below the summit of Little Haystack all the way to the treeline north of Mount Lafayette, and affords constant 360-degree views of the White Mountains. To
63-462: The east of the ridge lies the rugged and uninhabited Pemigewasset Wilderness . Mount Liberty and Mount Flume are almost entirely forested ; their summits rise just above the treeline, providing views of the area. The Franconia Ridge Trail, which coincides with the Appalachian Trail from Mount Lafayette to Mount Liberty, traverses the ridge over all the aforementioned mountains. One hike on
72-508: The loop also passes the Greenleaf Hut, one of the High Huts of the White Mountains . The exposed nature of the ridge and the changeable weather of the White Mountains make it a more dangerous hike than it may appear. Injuries and even fatalities from falls and exposure are not uncommon. Ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform , structural feature , or
81-791: The ridge is an 8.9-mile (14.3-km) loop involving the Falling Waters Trail, the Franconia Ridge Trail, the Greenleaf Trail, and the Old Bridle Path, which includes the majority of the above-treeline portion of the ridge. Known as the Franconia Ridge Loop or Franconia Ridge Traverse, the loop is strenuous, with a cumulative gain of over 3,900 feet (1,200 m), and traverses the rocky cones of Little Haystack Mountain, Mount Lincoln, and Mount Lafayette. The northern portion of
#274725