Press "Enter" to skip to content

Turtle Mountain, fall 2022

Took one of my favorite humans to one of my favorite NH geologic wonders- Turtle Mountain- site of a large volcano- estimated by some to have been a 10,000 foot high peak before it erupted, but whatever the size- three eruptions left behind the volcanic ring dike, mostly recognizable from satellites far above.

The views from Bald Knob of Lake Winnipesauke on a fall, clear day are spectacular.

We checked out the columnar basalt on the slope up to Bald knob, and then walked on the top of Turtle Mtn., the mostly hexagonal columns on the summit, which look like scutes on a turtle’s shell.

Columnar basalt on the way to Bald Knob.
On the summit of Turtle Knob looking toward Shaw’s Peak- highest in the range, behind Jim.
Scutes on top of Turtle Mountain.
Jim standing above visible scutes on top of Turtle Mountain

Addendum- Jamie Hannon’s comment below reminds me that Connor and Dan Hole Pond on the eastern side of the 40 mile circumference, 9 mile diameter ring complex are thought to be the remnants of ancient gas vents of the volcano.

Dan Hole Pond’s maximum depth is 130 feet. Newfound Lake is the reported deepest in the state at 180 feet.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *