Mount Carrigain is a
mountainImage:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
located in
Grafton CountyGrafton County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2010 census, the population was 89,118. Its county seat is North Haverhill, which is a village within the town of Haverhill. Until 1972, the county courthouse and other offices were located in downtown Woodsville, a...
,
New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. The mountain is named after Phillip Carrigain, NH Secretary of State (1805–10), and is on the south side of the
Pemigewasset WildernessThe Pemigewasset Wilderness is a federally-designated Wilderness Area in the heart of New Hampshire's White Mountains. It is a part of the White Mountain National Forest....
, the source of the
East BranchThe East Branch of the Pemigewasset River is a river located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Pemigewasset River, part of the Merrimack River watershed....
of the
Pemigewasset RiverThe Pemigewasset River , known locally as "The Pemi", is a river in the state of New Hampshire, the United States. It is in length and drains approximately...
in the heart of the
White MountainsThe 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 Appalachian Mountains, they are considered the most rugged mountains in New England...
, between
Franconia NotchFranconia Notch is a major mountain pass through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Dominated by Cannon Mountain, it lies principally within Franconia Notch State Park and is traversed by the Franconia Notch Parkway Franconia Notch (el. 1950 ft. / 590 m.) is a major mountain pass through...
and
Crawford NotchCrawford Notch is the steep and narrow gorge of the Saco River in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, located almost entirely within the town of Hart's Location...
. Carrigain is flanked to the northeast beyond Carrigain's Vose Spur by Mount Anderson and Mount Lowell across Carrigain Notch, and to the southwest by
Mount HancockMount Hancock is a mountain located in Grafton County, New Hampshire, named after John Hancock , one of the Founding Fathers of the United States....
. It has a fire tower at the summit, providing 360 degree views of the surrounding wilderness.
The south side of Mount Carrigain drains into the
Sawyer RiverThe Sawyer River is a 9.1 mile long river in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Saco River, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean in Maine....
, thence into the
Saco RiverThe Saco River is a river in northeastern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine in the United States. It drains a rural area of of forests and farmlands west and southwest of Portland, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean at Saco Bay, from its source. It supplies drinking water to roughly 250,000...
, which drains into the
Gulf of MaineThe Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America.It is delineated by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and Cape Sable at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast. It includes the entire coastlines of the U.S...
at
Saco, MaineSaco is a city in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 18,482 at the 2010 census. It is home to Ferry Beach State Park, Funtown Splashtown USA, Thornton Academy, as well as General Dynamics Armament Systems , a subsidiary of the defense contractor General Dynamics...
.
The east side of Mt. Carrigain drains into Carrigain Brook, thence into the Sawyer River. The north side of Carrigain drains into the
East BranchThe East Branch of the Pemigewasset River is a river located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Pemigewasset River, part of the Merrimack River watershed....
of the
Pemigewasset RiverThe Pemigewasset River , known locally as "The Pemi", is a river in the state of New Hampshire, the United States. It is in length and drains approximately...
, a
tributaryA tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the
Merrimack RiverThe Merrimack River is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport...
, which drains into the Gulf of Maine at
Newburyport, MassachusettsNewburyport is a small coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 35 miles northeast of Boston. The population was 21,189 at the 2000 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island...
. The west side of Carrigain drains into the Carrigain Branch of the East Branch of the Pemigewasset.
Vose Spur
Vose Spur is a subpeak of Mount Carrigain, named after
George L. VoseGeorge Leonard Vose was a United States civil engineer and educator in the field of railroads.-Biography:He was educated at home and in Salem, Massachusetts...
. The summit is densely wooded. It is officially trailless and counts as one of New England's one hundred highest summits. Several different approaches are possible.
- Vose Spur has a talus field to the east and can be bushwhacked from the Carrigain Notch Trail. The talus field offers outstanding views into Carrigain Notch and over to Mount Lowell.
See also
- List of mountains in New Hampshire
- White Mountain National Forest
The White Mountain National Forest is a federally-managed forest contained within the White Mountains in the northeastern United States. It was established in 1918 as a result of the Weeks Act of 1911; federal acquisition of land had already begun in 1914. It has a total area of...
- four-thousand footers
The term Four-Thousand Footers refers to a group of forty-eight mountains in New Hampshire at least 4,000 feet above sea level...
- New England Hundred Highest
The New England Hundred Highest is a list of the hundred highest summits in New England, used in the mountaineering sport of peak bagging. The list is a superset of the New England Four-thousand footers, with the same requirement that each included peak must have of topographic prominence .The...
- New England Fifty Finest
The New England Fifty Finest is a list of mountains in New England, used in the mountaineering sport of peak bagging.The list comprises the fifty summits with the highest topographic prominence — a peak's height above the lowest contour which encloses that peak and no higher peak.This list differs...
External links