View source for Franconia Notch

{{Short description|Mountain pass in New Hampshire, USA}}
{{Infobox mountain pass
| name = Franconia Notch
| photo = Franconia_Notch.jpg
| photo_caption = View of Franconia Notch, dominated by [[Cannon Mountain (New Hampshire)|Cannon Mountain]]. A [[scree]] field can be seen at the bottom of the Cannon cliffs.
| elevation_ft = 1950
| elevation_ref = 
| traversed = [[Interstate 93]], [[U.S. Route 3]]
| location = [[Franconia, New Hampshire|Franconia]] / [[Lincoln, New Hampshire|Lincoln]], [[Grafton County, New Hampshire|Grafton County]], [[New Hampshire]],<br>[[United States]]
| range = [[White Mountains (New Hampshire)|White Mountains]]
| coordinates = {{coord|44.1707|N|71.6881|W|type:pass_region:US |display=inline,title}}
| topo = [[United States Geological Survey|USGS]] Franconia (NH)
| embedded = {{designation list |embed=yes |designation1=NNL |designation1_date=1971}}
}}

[[File:Walker's Cascades, (First) Franconia Notch, N.H, by Bierstadt Brothers.jpg|thumb|"Walker's Cascades, (First) Franconia Notch" [[stereoscopic]] image by the [[Bierstadt Brothers]]]]
'''Franconia Notch''' (elev. {{convert|1950|ft|m|disp=x|/}}) is a major [[mountain pass]] through the [[White Mountains (New Hampshire)|White Mountains]] of [[New Hampshire]]. Dominated by [[Cannon Mountain (New Hampshire)|Cannon Mountain]] to the west and [[Mount Lafayette]] to the east, it lies principally within [[Franconia Notch State Park]] and is traversed by the Franconia Notch Parkway ([[Interstate 93]] and [[U.S. Route 3]]). The parkway required a special act of Congress to sidestep design standards for the Interstate highway system<ref>The eventual compromise—a narrow, speed-controlled 8-mile stretch—required Congress to pass a special amendment to the standards applied across the rest of the U.S. interstate system. Appalachian Mountain Club: ''The Battle for Franconia Notch''</ref> because it is only one lane in each direction.<ref> Kimberly A. Jarvis, ''From the Mountains to the Sea: Protecting Nature in Postwar New Hampshire'' (University of Massachusetts Press, 2020) [http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=56368 online review]</ref>

The notch was home to the [[Old Man of the Mountain]], a rock formation which collapsed in 2003 but whose profile remains a symbol of the state of New Hampshire.

The notch is located primarily in the town of [[Franconia, New Hampshire|Franconia]] but extends south into [[Lincoln, New Hampshire|Lincoln]]. It is bordered to the east by [[Franconia Ridge]], comprising [[Mount Lafayette]] ({{convert|5249|ft|m|disp=x|/}}), [[Mount Lincoln (New Hampshire)|Mount Lincoln]] ({{convert|5089|ft|m|disp=x|/}}), and [[Little Haystack Mountain (New Hampshire)|Little Haystack Mountain]] ({{convert|4780|ft|m|disp=x|/}}), and to the west by {{convert|4080|ft|m|adj=on}} [[Cannon Mountain (New Hampshire)|Cannon Mountain]] and the sheer face of Cannon Cliff. The notch's [[drainage divide|height of land]] is located near its northern end, at the base of Cannon Mountain. [[Echo Lake (Franconia Notch)|Echo Lake]] lies just north of the high point of the notch, with an outlet that flows into Lafayette Brook, then 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]].

==See also==

{{portal|New Hampshire}}
*[[List of mountain passes in New Hampshire]]
*[[Profile House]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
* Kimberly A. Jarvis, ''Franconia Notch and the Women Who Saved It '' (Durham: University of New Hampshire Press, 2007.

== External links ==
* {{gnis|871907}}
* [http://www.nhstateparks.org/visit/state-parks/franconia-notch-state-park.aspx Franconia Notch State Park] 
[[Image:Profile lake.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Franconia Notch, looking south from [[Profile Lake]]]]

{{Gaps of the Appalachian Mountains}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Notches of New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Landforms of Grafton County, New Hampshire]]
[[Category:National Natural Landmarks in New Hampshire]]