Mount Washington Auto Road
The Mount Washington Auto Road—originally the Mount Washington Carriage Road—is a 7.6 mi (12.2 km) toll road in southern Coos County, New Hampshire that extends from New Hampshire Route 16 in Green's Grant, just north of Pinkham Notch, westward across Pinkham's Grant and Thompson and Meserve's Purchase to the summit of Mount Washington in the White Mountains of the US state of New Hampshire. The road climbs 4,618 ft (1,408 m) from an altitude of 1,527 ft (465 m) at the bottom to 6,145 ft (1,873 m) at the top, an average gradient of 11.6%. The road was completed and opened to the public in 1861.
Sign at the bottom of the road, with Mount Washington visible ahead
Fred Marriott in a Stanley Steamer during the 1905 Climb to the Clouds
Entrance to the Mount Washington Auto road
View along the roadway.
Pinkham Notch is a mountain pass in the White Mountains of north-central New Hampshire, United States. The notch is a result of extensive erosion by the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the Wisconsinian ice age. Pinkham Notch was eroded into a glacial U-shaped valley whose walls are formed by the Presidential, Wildcat, and Carter-Moriah ranges. Due to the volatility of the area's climate and rugged character of the terrain, a number of rare or endemic ecosystems have developed throughout the notch.
Mount Washington, which forms the western wall of Pinkham Notch, holds several glacial cirques. From left to right are Tuckerman Ravine, the Ravine of Raymond Cataract, and Huntington Ravine.
The floor of Pinkham Notch, looking toward Mount Washington
Artist Samuel Lancaster Gerry's 1877 depiction of Pinkham Notch, entitled "Tuckerman Ravine and Lion's Head".
Lost Pond in Pinkham Notch