New Hampshire

I

Introduction

New Hampshire, one of the New England states of the United States, bordered on the north by Quebec Province, Canada; on the east by Maine and the Atlantic Ocean; on the south by Massachusetts; and on the west by Vermont. The Connecticut River forms almost all the western border; Halls Stream forms part of the north-western boundary.

New Hampshire entered the Union on June 21, 1788, as the ninth of the 13 original states. Manufacturing and services (including tourism) are the leading industries. The state’s name is taken from that of the English county of Hampshire. US President Franklin Pierce was born in New Hampshire. New Hampshire is known as the “Granite State”.

II

Land and Resources

New Hampshire has an area of 24,043 sq km (9,283 mi) and is roughly triangular in shape; it has a maximum length of 291 km (181 mi) from north to south and a maximum width of 151 km (94 mi) from east to west. Elevations range from sea level, along the Atlantic Ocean, to 1,917 m (6,288 ft), from the top of Mount Washington, the highest peak of the north-eastern United States. New Hampshire has a tidal shoreline of 211 km (131 mi). Three of the rocky Isles of Shoals, in the Atlantic, are part of the state.

A

Physical Geography

New Hampshire can be divided into three major geographical regions: the Seaboard Lowland, the New England Upland, and the White Mountains. The smallest region is the Seaboard Lowland, a coastal plain in the south-east, which includes sand beaches on the Atlantic. The largest region, a section of the New England Upland, combines rolling hills with an abundance of lakes and ponds. This terrain is occasionally broken by outcroppings of more resistant metamorphic rock that rise well above the surrounding peneplain. These rock hills are named monadnocks after Mount Monadnock, which is located in the south-west. Other monadnocks in the state are Mount Sunapee, Mount Cardigan, and Mount Kearsarge.

In the north is the region of the rugged White Mountains, which includes the Presidential Range. Some of the most interesting features of the White Mountains are the mountain gaps known as notches. Franconia Notch, in the heart of the White Mountains, is an especially picturesque mountain pass. Until its collapse in May 2003, the Old Man of the Mountain—a natural stone profile that resembled the features of an old man—dominated the mountainside overlooking the pass and was among the state’s most famous landmarks.

New Hampshire is drained by five major rivers: the Merrimack, Connecticut (the state’s longest river), Androscoggin, Saco, and Piscataqua. New Hampshire’s largest lake is island-dotted Lake Winnipesaukee. Other bodies of water include Newfound, Ossipee, Squam, Sunapee, and Winnisquam lakes.

B

Climate

Prevailing westerly and north-westerly winds are largely responsible for New Hampshire’s continental climate. These winds bring cold, dry air during the winter and pleasantly cool, dry air in the summer. Easterly and north-easterly winds cause the more significant rainstorms and snowstorms. Average monthly temperatures vary according to season and elevation. Concord, in the New England Upland, has an average July temperature of about 21° C (70° F) and a mean January temperature of about -6° C (21° F); at the top of Mount Washington the average July temperature is about 10° C (50° F) and the mean January temperature about -14° C (6° F). The recorded temperature in the state has ranged from -43.3° C (-46° F), in 1925 at Pittsburg in the north, to 41.1° C (106° F), in 1911 at Nashua in the south.