Mount Willey
Mount Willey is a mountain located in Grafton County, New Hampshire. The mountain is named after Samuel Willey, Jr. and his family, who in 1825 moved into a house in Crawford Notch. The family was killed a year in August 1826 during a landslide. Mount Willey is part of the Willey Range of the White Mountains, of which it is the southernmost and second highest. It, along with Mount Field, forms the western wall of Crawford Notch; the summit is just outside the Crawford Notch State Park. The north and east faces of Mount Willey drain directly into the Saco River, thence into the Gulf of Maine at Saco, Maine; the south and west sides drain into the North Fork of the Pemigewasset River, thence into the East Branch, the Pemigewasset River, Merrimack River, into the Gulf of Maine at Newburyport, Massachusetts. List of mountains in New Hampshire White Mountain National Forest U. S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Mt. Willey PeakBagger.com: Mt. Willey Mt. Willey AMC: Hiking Mt. Willey hikethewhites.com: Mt. Willey NH State Parks: Willey House Mt. Willey - FranklinSites.com Hiking Guide
American mink
The American mink is a semiaquatic species of mustelid native to North America, though human intervention has expanded its range to many parts of Europe and South America. Because of range expansion, the American mink is classed as a least-concern species by the IUCN. Since the extinction of the sea mink, the American mink is the only extant member of the genus Neovison; the American mink is a carnivore that feeds on rodents, crustaceans and birds. In its introduced range in Europe it has been classified as an invasive species linked to declines in European mink, Pyrenean desman, water vole populations, it is the animal most farmed for its fur, exceeding the silver fox, sable and skunk in economic importance. Aleut: ilgitux̂ Blackfoot: aapssiiyai'kayi or soyii'kayi Chickasaw: okfincha Chipewyan: tthełjus Cree: sâkwes Lakhota: ikhúsą Lushootseed: c̓əbál̓qid or bə́ščəb Salish: c̓xlicn̓ Ojibwe: zhaanggweshi Tuscarora: θenę́·ku·t As a species, the American mink represents a more specialized form than the European mink in the direction of carnivory, as indicated by the more developed structure of the skull.
Fossil records of the American mink go back as far as the Irvingtonian, though the species is uncommon among Pleistocene animals. Its fossil range corresponds with the species' current natural range; the American minks of the Pleistocene did not differ much in size or morphology from modern populations, though a slight trend toward increased size is apparent from the Irvingtonian through to the Illinoian and Wisconsinan periods. Although superficially similar to the European mink, studies indicate the American mink's closest relative is the Siberian weasel of Asia; the American mink has been recorded to hybridize with European minks and polecats in captivity, though the hybrid embryos of the American and European minks are reabsorbed. As of 2005, 15 subspecies are recognised; the American mink differs from members of the genus Mustela by its larger size and stouter form, which approach those of martens. It shares with martens a uniformly enlarged and somewhat tapering tail, rather than a slenderly terete tail with an enlarged bushy tip, as is the case in stoats.
The American mink is similar in build to the European mink. The American mink has a long body, its streamlined shape helps it to reduce water resistance whilst swimming. The skull is similar to that of the European mink, but is more massive and less elongated, with more developed projections and a wider, shorter cranium; the upper molars are more massive than those of the European mink. The dental formula is 3.1.3.13.1.3.2. Domestic mink, which are bred in fur farms and are substandard genetically, have 19.6% smaller brains, 8.1% smaller hearts, 28.2% smaller spleens than wild mink. The feet are broad, with webbed digits, it has eight nipples, with one pair of inguinal teats and three pairs of abdominal teats. The adult male's penis is 2.2 in long, is covered by a sheath. The baculum curved at the tip. Males measure 13 -- 18 in in body length -- 15 in; the tail measures 6–10 inches in males and 6–8 in in females. Weights vary with males being heavier than females. In winter, males weigh 1 -- females 1 -- 2 lb.
Maximum heaviness occurs in autumn. The American mink's winter fur is denser, longer and more close-fitting than that of the European mink; the winter fur's tone is very dark blackish-tawny to light-tawny. Colour is evenly distributed over all the body, with the lower side being only lighter than the upper body; the guard hairs are bright and dark-tawny approaching black on the spine. The underfur on the back is wavy and greyish-tawny with a bluish tint; the tail sometimes becomes pure black on the tip. The chin and lower lip are white. Captive individuals tend to develop irregular white patches on the lower surface of their bodies, though escaped individuals from Tartaria lost these patches; the summer fur is shorter and duller than the winter fur. The thick underfur and oily guard hairs render the pelage water-resistant, with the length of the guard hairs being intermediate between those of otters and polecats, thus indicating the American mink is incompletely adapted to an aquatic life, it moults twice a year, during autumn.
It does not turn white in winter. A variety of different colour mutations have arisen from experimental breeding on fur farms. On land, the American mink moves with speeds of up to 6.5 km/h. It climbs trees and swims well. During swimming, the mink propels itself through undulating movements of the trunk; when diving, it undergoes a state of rapid bradycardia, an adaptation to conserve oxygen. In warm water, the American mink can swim for three hours without stopping, but in cold water it can die within 27 minutes, it dives to depths of 12 in for 10 seconds, though depths of 3 m lasting 60 seconds have been recorded. It catches fish after five- to 20-second chases; the American mink relies on sight when foraging. Its eyesight is clearer on land than underwater, its auditory perception is high enough to detect the ultrasonic vocalisations of rodent prey. Its sense of smell is comparatively weak, its two anal glands are used for scent marking, either through defecation or by rubbing the anal region on the ground.
The se
Canada lynx
The Canada lynx is a lynx species native to North America. It ranges across Alaska extending into the Rocky Mountains and New Mexico, it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2002. With a dense silvery-brown coat, ruffed face and tufted ears, the Canada lynx resembles the other species of the mid-sized feline genus Lynx, it is larger than the bobcat, with which it shares parts of its range, over twice the size of the domestic cat. In his 1792 work The Animal Kingdom, Scottish scientific writer Robert Kerr described a lynx from Canada, giving it the name Felis lynx canadensis; the taxonomy of the Canada lynx remained disputed through the early 21st centuries. In 1912, American zoologist Gerrit Miller placed the Canada lynx under the genus Lynx, with the name L. canadensis. Till as late as the early 2000s, scientists were divided on whether Lynx should be considered a subgenus of Felis, or a subfamily itself. American zoologist W. C. Wozencraft revised the classification of Carnivora in 2005, recognized the Canada lynx as a species under Lynx, along with the bobcat, the Eurasian lynx and the Iberian lynx.
In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group revised felid taxonomy, considering the Canada lynx a monotypic species. Wozencraft recognized three subspecies of the Canada lynx in Mammal Species of the World: L. c. canadensis Kerr, 1792 - Found in the North American mainland. L. c. mollipilosus Stone, 1900 – Described by American mammalogist Witmer Stone from a skin and skull of a male lynx killed near Wainwright, Alaska. L. c. subsolanus Bangs, 1897 – Described by American zoologist Outram Bangs from a lynx skin and skull collected near Codroy in Newfoundland. A study of the differences between L. c. canadensis and L. c. subsolanus showed that apart from a few variations, the standard measurements are not distinct. The researchers noted that, given that only a few differences exist between the two forms, L. c. subsolanus appears to have diverged only from the mainland form. The lack of appreciable subspecific distinctions led them to doubt the identity of the Newfoundland lynx as a separate subspecies.
According to a 2006 study based on genetic analysis, the ancestor of five felid lineages – Lynx, Puma and Prionailurus plus Otocolobus – arrived in North America after crossing the Bering Strait 8.5–8 mya. Lynx diverged from the Puma and Prionailurus plus Otocolobus lineages around 3.24 mya. The Issoire lynx, that originated in Africa 4 mya and occurred in Europe and northern Asia until it became extinct around 1 mya, is believed to be the ancestor of the four modern species of Lynx. A 1987 study suggested that the populations of the Eurasian lynx that reached North America 20,000 years ago moved toward the southern half of the continent, as the northern part was covered by glaciers; the southern populations evolved into the modern bobcat. When the continent was invaded by the Eurasian lynx for a second time, the populations that settled in the northern part of the continent, now devoid of glaciers, evolved into the Canada lynx; the 2006 study gave the phylogenetic relationships of the Canada lynx as follows: The Canada lynx is a medium-sized cat, similar in many ways to the bobcat.
This lynx is between 80 and 100 centimetres in head-and-body length, stands 48–56 centimetres tall at the shoulder and weighs 5–18 kilograms. At half the size of the Eurasian lynx, physical proportions do not vary across its range and are naturally selected to allow the animal to survive on smaller prey; the Canada lynx is sexually dimorphic, with males heavier than females. Like the bobcat, the Canada lynx has forelimbs shorter than the hindlimbs, so that the back appears to be sloping downward toward the front; the stubby tail, typical of lynxes, measures 5–15 centimetres. The coat is yellowish brown, can change colour seasonally; the dense, long fur insulates it in its frosty habitat. Although no melanistic or albinistic forms of the Canada lynx are known, "blue" lynxes have been reported from Alaska. Black hair tufts, a feature common to all lynxes, emerge from the tips of the ears, which are lined with black. In winter, the hair on the lower cheeks grow so long that it appears to form a ruffle covering the throat.
Some dark spots can be seen on the underbelly, where the fur is white. There are four nipples; the coat is short and reddish brown to greyish in summer, but becomes notably longer and greyer in winter, with a mix of greyish brown and buff hairs. The tail is marked with dark rings and, unlike the tail of the bobcat, terminates in a black tip; the paws, covered in long and thick fur, can support nearly double the weight the paws of a bobcat can bear. The Canada lynx has 28 teeth, same as in other lynxes but unlike other felids, with four long canines for puncturing and gripping; the lynx can feel where it is biting the prey with its canines because they are laced with nerves. It has four carnassial teeth that cut the meat into small pieces. In order for the lynx to use its carnassials, it must chew the meat with its head to its side. There are large spaces between the four canines and the rest of the teeth
Androscoggin River
The Androscoggin River is a river in the U. S. states in northern New England. It is 178 miles long and joins the Kennebec River at Merrymeeting Bay in Maine before its water empties into the Gulf of Maine on the Atlantic Ocean, its drainage basin is 3,530 square miles in area. The name "Androscoggin" comes from the Eastern Abenaki term /aləssíkɑntəkw/ or /alsíkɑntəkw/, meaning "river of cliff rock shelters"; the Anglicization of the Abenaki term is an analogical contamination with the colonial governor Edmund Andros. The Androscoggin begins in Errol, New Hampshire, where the Magalloway River joins the outlet of Umbagog Lake; the river flows south but with numerous bends past the towns of Errol and Milan and the city of Berlin before turning east at the town of Gorham, New Hampshire, to cut across the northern end of the White Mountains and enter Maine. Continuing east, the river passes the towns of Bethel and Dixfield before turning south at the town of Livermore Falls and leaving the mountains behind.
The river passes through the twin cities of Lewiston and Auburn, turns southeast, passes the community of Lisbon Falls and reaches tidewater just below the final falls in the town of Brunswick. Merrymeeting Bay is a 10-mile-long freshwater estuary where the Androscoggin meets the Kennebec River nearly 20 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean; the Androscoggin was once polluted by a variety of textile mills, paper mills, other industries located along its banks, helped inspire the Clean Water Act. Although the river has benefited from environmental work and the departure of certain types of industry from the region, recent EPA test results indicate unacceptably high levels of mercury-contaminated wastewater are still being discharged into the river from numerous paper mills. One environmentalist group has cited the results in calling the Androscoggin one of the 20 most polluted rivers in America. One 14-mile stretch requires oxygen bubblers to prevent fish from suffocating; as of May 2007, environmental groups had a lawsuit pending, in an attempt to force the paper mills located along the river to clean their waste streams.
Companies have resisted. The U. S. Geological Survey maintains four river flow gauges on the Androscoggin River. All four are below one or more dams; the first is at New Hampshire, where the watershed is 1,046 square miles. Flow here has ranged from 16,500 to 0 ft³/s; the mean annual flow between 1905 and 2005 is 1,919 ft³/s. The second is near New Hampshire, where the watershed is 1,361 square miles. Flow here has ranged from 21,900 to a mean daily low of 795 ft³/s; the mean annual flow between 1905 and 2005 is 2,512 ft³/s. The third is at Rumford, where the watershed is 2,068 square miles. Flow here has ranged from 74,000 to 625 ft³/s; the mean annual flow between 1905 and 2005 is 3,801 ft³/s. The fourth is at Auburn, where the watershed is 3,263 square miles. Flow here has ranged from 135,000 to 340 ft³/s; the Androscoggin River is a popular fishing destination for anglers seeking brook and brown trout, as well as landlocked salmon and smallmouth bass. The upper reaches near Errol, New Hampshire, are popular with local and visiting fly fishermen for the chance to catch landlocked salmon from a drift boat.
Although the upper reaches contain some bass, the river warms as it flows into Maine, smallmouth bass are the chief quarry in its lower reaches. The ancient name for the river was Pescedona, Abenaki for "a branch". According to the USGS, variant names for the Androscoggin River include Amasagu'nteg, Ambrose Coggin, Ammoscoggin, Amos Coggin, Anasagunticook, Andrews Coggin, Andros Coggan, Andros Coggin, Andrus Coggin and Ameriscoggin River; the average Androscoggin drop of eight feet per mile made it an excellent source of water power encouraging development of the cities of Berlin, New Hampshire, Lewiston and Auburn and the Maine towns of Brunswick, Lisbon Falls, Livermore Falls, Mexico and Bethel. Listed from source to mouth of Androscoggin, with location of tributary's mouth: Magalloway River, New Hampshire Clear Stream, New Hampshire Mollidgewock Brook, New Hampshire Chickwolnepy Stream, New Hampshire Dead River, New Hampshire Moose Brook, New Hampshire Moose River, New Hampshire Peabody River, New Hampshire Wild River, Maine Pleasant River, Maine Alder River, Maine Sunday River, Maine Bear River, Maine Ellis River, Maine Concord River, Maine Swift River and Mexico, Maine Webb River, Maine Dead River, Maine Nezinscot River, Maine Little Androscoggin River, Maine Sabattus River, Maine Little River, Lisbon Falls, Maine McFarlane, Wallace Scot, “Defining a Nuisance: Pollution and Environmental Politics on Maine’s Androscoggin River,” Environmental History, 17, 307–35.
MaineRivers.org Androscoggin River profile Real-time flow data for the Errol, NH, Gorham, NH, Rumford, ME, Auburn, ME gages. U. S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Androscoggin River USGS River Basin Info Androscoggin River Watershed Council Characterization o
Gray fox
The gray fox, or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener, the diminutive Channel Island fox, are the only living members of the genus Urocyon, considered to be the most basal of the living canids. Though it was once the most common fox in the eastern United States, still is found there, human advancement and deforestation allowed the red fox to become more dominant; the Pacific States still have the gray fox as a dominant. It is the only American canid, its specific epithet cinereoargenteus means "ashen silver". The gray fox is distinguished from most other canids by its grizzled upper parts, black stripe down its tail and strong neck, while the skull can be distinguished from all other North American canids by its separated temporal ridges that form a U-shape. There is little sexual dimorphism, save for the females being smaller than males; the gray fox ranges from 76 to 112.5 cm in total length.
The tail measures 27.5 to 44.3 cm of its hind feet measure 100 to 150 mm. The gray fox weighs 3.6 to 7 kg, though exceptionally can weigh as much as 9 kg. It is differentiated from the red fox by the lack of "black stockings" that stand out on the latter and the stripe of black hair that runs along the middle of the tail as well as individual guard hairs being banded with white and black; the gray fox displays white on the ears, chest and hind legs. In contrast to all Vulpes and related foxes, the gray fox has oval pupils; the dental formula of the U. cinereoargenteus is 3.1.4.23.1.4.3 = 42. The gray fox appeared in North America during the mid-Pliocene epoch 3.6 million years ago with the first fossil evidence found at the lower 111 Ranch site, Graham County, Arizona with contemporary mammals like the giant sloth, the elephant-like Cuvieronius, the large-headed llama, the early small horses of Nannippus and Equus. Genetic analyses of the fox-like canids confirmed that the gray fox is a distinct genus from the red foxes.
Genetically, the gray fox clusters with two other ancient lineages, the east Asian raccoon dog and the African bat-eared fox. The chromosome number is 66 with a fundamental number of 70; the autosomes include one only pair of metacentrics. Faunal remains at two northern California cave sites confirm the presence of the gray fox during the late Pleistocene. Genetic analysis has shown that the gray fox migrated into the northeastern United States post-Pleistocene in association with the Medieval Climate Anomaly warming trend. Recent mitochondrial genetic studies suggests divergence of North American eastern and western gray foxes in the Irvingtonian mid-Pleistocene into separate sister taxa; the gray fox's dwarf relative, the Channel Island fox, is descended from mainland gray foxes. These foxes were transported by humans to the islands and from island to island, are descended from a minimum of 3–4 matrilineal founders; the genus Urocyon is considered to be the most basal of the living canids. The species occurs throughout most rocky, brushy regions of the southern half of North America from southern Canada to the northern part of South America, excluding the mountains of northwestern United States.
It is the only canid whose natural range spans both South America. In some areas, high population densities exist near brush-covered bluffs; the gray fox's ability to climb trees is shared only with the Asian raccoon dog among canids. Its strong, hooked claws allow it to scramble up trees to escape many predators, such as the domestic dog or the coyote, or to reach tree-bound or arboreal food sources, it can jump from branch to branch. It descends by jumping from branch to branch, or by descending backwards as a domestic cat would do; the gray fox is nocturnal or crepuscular and makes its den in hollow trees, stumps or appropriated burrows during the day. Such gray fox tree dens may be located 30 ft above the ground. Prior to European colonization of North America, the red fox was found in boreal forest and the gray fox in deciduous forest, but now the red fox is dominant in most of the eastern United States since they are the more adaptable species to development and urbanization. In areas where both red and gray foxes exist, the gray fox is dominant.
The gray fox is assumed monogamous. The breeding season of the gray fox varies geographically; the gestation period lasts 53 days. Litter size ranges with a mean of 3.8 young per female. The sexual maturity of females is around 10 months of age. Kits begin to hunt with their parents at the age of 3 months. By the time that they are four months old, the kits will have developed their permanent dentition and can now forage on their own; the family group remains together until the autumn, when the young males reach sexual maturity they disperse. Out of a study of nine juvenile gray foxes, only the males dispersed up to 84 km; the juvenile females stayed within proximity of the den within 3 km and always returned. On the other hand, adult gray foxes showed no signs of dispersion for either gender; the annual reproductive cycle of males has been described through ep
Wild River (Androscoggin River tributary)
The Wild River is a 17.2-mile-long river in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Maine in the United States. It is a tributary of the Androscoggin River, which flows east and south to the Kennebec River near the Atlantic Ocean; the Wild River rises at No Ketchum Pond in the township of Bean's Purchase, New Hampshire, flows northeast through a mountain valley separating the Carter-Moriah Range to the northwest and the Baldface-Royce Range to the southeast. Evans Brook flows northerly from the height of land in Evans Notch to join the Wild River near the former logging company town of Hastings. Maine Highway 113 follows Evans Brook and the east bank of the Wild River from Hastings northward to the Wild River confluence with the Androscoggin River at Gilead; the Wild River is bridged by U. S. Route 2 and the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad at Gilead. Early European settlement of the watershed was northerly up the Cold River valley from Fryeburg, through Evans Notch and down Evans Brook to Gilead.
Evans Notch and Evans Brook were named for Captain John Evans, who commanded European militia against the indigenous people of the Americas in 1781. The town of Gilead was incorporated in 1804; the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad from Portland to Montreal followed the south bank of the Androscoggin River and reached Gilead in 1851; the railroad bridge was the first river crossing durable enough to withstand runoff events from winter storms. Peak runoff events were destructive to attempts to construct water-powered mills adjacent to the river. Construction of the road now known as Maine Highway 113 commenced in 1866. In 1882, Major Gideon Hastings obtained title to large tracts of timberland and commenced operations of the Hastings Lumber Company. In 1891 a railroad was built following the present Route 113 from Gilead to Hastings lumber mill on Evans Brook near its confluence with the Wild River. A row of ten houses built along the Wild River for company employees at Hastings became known as "the ten commandments".
Rails extended 10 miles up the Wild River from Hastings by 1896 with branch lines up tributaries Bull Brook, Blue Brook, Moriah Brook, Cypress Brook, Spruce Brook. A 1903 wildfire destroyed the unharvested timber in the watershed; the railroad was dismantled in 1904. The lumber company land was purchased for the White Mountain National Forest between 1912 and 1918. Passage of the New England Wilderness Act in December 2006 designated 23,700 acres of the watershed as the Wild River Wilderness. In the summer and early fall, this river becomes little more than a trickle. However, it does hold native brook trout that eagerly attack small dry flies, much to the delight of fly fishermen that visit. Wild River Trail follows the old railroad grade along the river. A visit in early spring or late fall should be pursued with caution as Route 113 is not maintained in the winter, it is a long way around if you find the road closed. The Appalachian Trail follows the crest of the Carter-Moriah Range along the western boundary of the watershed.
List of rivers of Maine List of rivers of New Hampshire Koch, Michael. The Shay Locomotive Titan of the Timber. World Press. Wight, D. B.. The Wild River Wilderness. Courier Printing Company
White Mountain National Forest travel guide from Wikivoyage
Media related to White Mountain National Forest at Wikimedia Commons
