Belknap Mountain is a mountain located in

Belknap County Belknap County () is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 census, the population was 63,705. The county seat is Laconia. It is located in New Hampshire's Lakes Region, slightly southeast of the state's geographic center. ...

, New Hampshire, United States, south of Lake Winnipesaukee. Like the county, the mountain and the associated surrounding

Belknap Mountains The Belknap Mountains are a small mountain range in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire in the United States. The range lies in the towns of Gilford, Gilmanton, and Alton in Belknap County. The highest peak, Belknap Mountain, with an elevation o ...

are named after Jeremy Belknap (1744–1798), a renowned preacher, historian, and author of ''The History of New Hampshire''. The mountain is within Belknap Mountain State Forest. The peak of Belknap Mountain is the highest point in the county. Although of only modest elevation, the isolation of the Belknap Mountains gives Belknap Mountain of relative height above the low ground separating it from the White Mountains, making it one of the fifty most

topographically prominent In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

peaks in New England. Belknap Mountain is flanked to the northwest by

Gunstock Mountain Gunstock Mountain is the second highest peak in the Belknap Mountains of central New Hampshire with an elevation greater than 2240 feet (683 m). It is located north of Belknap Mountain, the highest point in the range. It is home to the Gunsto ...

, the site of the Gunstock Mountain Resort ski area. The summit of Belknap Mountain features an active fire tower. Belknap Mountain stands within the

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

of the Merrimack River, which drains into the Gulf of Maine in Massachusetts. The east and northeast sides of Belknap Mountain drain into Poorfarm Brook, thence into Lake Winnipesaukee, the

Winnipesaukee River The Winnipesaukee River is a river that connects Lake Winnipesaukee with the Pemigewasset and Merrimack rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire. The river is in the Lakes Region of central New Hampshire. The river's drainage area is approximately . ...

, and the Merrimack. The west side drains into Gunstock River, thence into Lake Winnipesaukee. The south side drains into Manning Lake, thence into Crystal Lake, the source of the

Suncook River The Suncook River is a river located in central New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Merrimack River, which flows to the Gulf of Maine. Course The Suncook River begins at the outlet of Crystal Lake in the town of Gilmanto ...

, and thence into the Merrimack River.

Geology

Belknap Mountain, and the mountains with which it is closely associated in the Belknap Mountain range, are part of the White Mountain Magma Series, as described by Long. This series of mountains of igneous origin represents volcanic activity that occurred during the Jurassic period, about 200-150

mya Mya may refer to: Brands and product names * Mya (program), an intelligent personal assistant created by Motorola * Mya (TV channel), an Italian Television channel * Midwest Young Artists, a comprehensive youth music program Codes * Burmese ...

. The White Mountain Magma series is thought to have formed above an aborted transform fault in the crust. Volcanic activity facilitated by this fault more than 160 mya resulted in a flood of moat volcanics that covered much of New Hampshire. The Belknap Mountains as observed today are the remnants of erosion of those volcanics and the metamorphic rocks underneath them, together representing about in depth. As described in detail by Long, contemporary features of the Belknap Mountains include the former magma chamber, and inner and outer ring dike formations that surround collapsed blocks of

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

rocks and moat volcanics. Mineral and rock assemblages of the Belknap Mountains reveal a complex geological history, as recorded in the greatest variety of igneous rock in the White Mountains region.

References

External links

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Belknap Mountain Range Maps
Mountains of New Hampshire Mountains of Belknap County, New Hampshire Gilford, New Hampshire {{NewHampshire-geo-stub

Geology

See also

References

External links