Tag: Mount Washington

Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288 ft (1,917 m), famous for dangerously erratic weather. For 76 years, a weather observatory on the summit held the record for the highest wind gust directly measured at the Earth’s surface, 231 mph (372 km/h) (or 103 m/s), on the afternoon of April 12, 1934. It was known as Agiocochook, or “Home of the Great Spirit”, before European settlers arrived.
The mountain is located in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains, in the township of Sargent’s Purchase, Coos County, New Hampshire. While nearly the whole mountain is in the White Mountain National Forest, an area of 59 acres (0.24 km) surrounding and including the summit is occupied by Mount Washington State Park.
The first European to mention the mountain was Giovanni da Verrazzano, in 1524, from the Atlantic Ocean, as “high interior mountains”. Darby Field claimed to have made the first ascent of Mt. Washington in 1642. A geology party, headed by Dr….