Franconia Notch
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Franconia Notch | |
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Elevation | 1950 ft./594 m. |
Location | New Hampshire, ![]() |
Range | White Mountains |
Coordinates | |
Topo map | USGS Franconia |
Traversed by | ![]() ![]() |
Franconia Notch (el. 1950 ft./594 m.) is a major mountain pass through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Until 2003, it was dominated by the Old Man of the Mountain, a rock formation whose profile had become a symbol of the state of New Hampshire. The notch is traversed by the Franconia Notch Parkway (Interstate 93 and U.S. Route 3). The majority of the notch is located within Franconia Notch State Park.
The notch is located primarily in the town of Franconia, New Hampshire but extends south into Lincoln. The notch's height of land is located near its northern end, at the base of Cannon Mountain. Echo Lake lies just north of the high point of the notch, with an outlet that flows into Lafayette Brook, the Gale River, the Ammonoosuc River, and finally the Connecticut River, which enters Long Island Sound at Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Just south of the height of land, Profile Lake lies beneath the cliff that once held the Old Man of the Mountain. Profile Lake is the source of the Pemigewasset River, the primary tributary of the Merrimack River, which flows to the Gulf of Maine at Newburyport, Massachusetts.
For the many tourist attractions that can be found in Franconia Notch, see Franconia Notch State Park.