USA > New Hampshire > Atlas of the state of New Hampshire : including statistics and descriptions of its topography, geology, river systems, climatology, railroads, educational institutions, agricultural and botanical productions, mechanical and manufacturing interests, etc. > Part 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18
16
GEOLOGY.
Pond. The clay slates with staurolite seem to correspond perfectly with certain portions of the Coos group in Lyme and Lishon.
The fossils thus far found, consist of Pavosites basaltica, Zaphrontis, Pentamerus Knightii, large and small erinoidal-stem frag- ments, a gasteropod and fucoids. The third . is the most important, since it determines the precise horizon of the limestone. Sam- ples of all the varieties having heon sent to Mr. E. Billings, he has written that the hrachiopod is elosely allied to the Pentamerus Knightii of tho Lower Helderberg and the gasteropod likewise, while the other fossils do not as yet afford anything so definite in regard to geological equivaleney.
Two points of importance suggest them- selves in this connection. 1. The horizon at Littleton is different from the Helderherg at Owl's Head, Province of Quebee, which hy the included Atrypa reticularis has been shown to he the Upper Helderherg. It is hence most likely that we have hoth the Hel- derherg limestones in New England, as well as the strata enclosed by them in New York. 2. If there is a limit, the facts indicate that the rocks all helong to the lower members and are therefore Silurian.
SURFACE GEOLOGY.
On account of the great altitude of tho White Mountains, New Hampshire is an in- toresting field for the study of the phenom- ena of the Drift Period. Our limits will not allow more than hrief allusions.
The entire state must have been covered with moving ice in the glacial period. Sev- eral prominont courses of the current seem to have been the following. The course of the ice over all the northern and most of the higher mountains has been to the southeast. The highest striæe observed are near the Lake of the Clouds, Mt. Washington, 5,200 feet ; while small transported pebbles have been scen at the height of 5,800 feet. Hence tho iee probably moved over every peak except Washington. Along the Merri- mack basin the current passed southerly. There is an interesting deviation from this rule in Baker's river valley. This stream at first runs southerly and then turns to the east. The markings on the ledges indicate a similar curve in the course of the ice. But the ice did not continue to bend with tbe Pemigewasset valley below Plymoutb. In- stead the drift current continued easterly across to Sandwich over Squam Lake. The ice moved over Winnipiseogee Lake about S 25° E, and turned sharply to the east at the south end of Ossipeo mountain, as if it had heen restrained within tho Lake valley by tho roeky barriers on the east.
Along the Connecticut valley the course was a little west of south agreeing with the direction of the valley. The water-shed be- tween the Connectieut and Merrimack rivers is often marked by the southeast striæ. A notahle example is Monadnock, wbich bore the hrunt of two ourrents, tbe one from the north and the other from the north-west.
TERRACE PERIOD .- Few rivers display hetter the phenomena of terraces tban the Connecticut and Merrimack. I will present a few statements respecting the connection between the latter and the physical features of Winnipiseogee Lake. The following are the beights above the outlet of the lowest point in the rim of the hasin, running en- tirely around.
Feet.
Ashland ridge, 153
Centre Harbor ridge to Squum, 160
Squam Lake by Long Pond, 40
Ridge to Saco waters, 219
Ridge to Cochecho River. 72
Old outlet in Gilford, 80
Hence a rise of the Winnipiseogee Lake forty feet would cause a flow into Squam Lake; a rise of eighty feet would allow wa- ter to flow both iato the Cochecho and what appears to be an old outlet through Gilford, towards Lake Village. A rise of one hun- dred and fifty-three feet would be required to make a direct connection with the Pemige- wasset valley, the route via Squam Lake he- ing very tortuous.
Tho existing outlet is an interesting stream. It expands immediately after leav- ing the lake into Long Poud, being naviga- ble for steam tugs, through the passage way. The dam of the Lake Company at Lake Village prevents farther navigation, but in a mile or two it expands and sends off two bays, called Winnisquam Lake and Round Bay. There are two more. expansions in Belmont, Tilton and Northfield, called San- bornton and Little Bays. The water then descends rapidly to tbe Pemigewasset at Franklin, tbe two streams combined hecom- ing the Merrimack. The total descent of the outlet for its fourteen miles' course is two hundred and thirty-two feet. It flows almost entirely over the bard pan or glacier drift deposits, and seems to have made no terraces ahove fifteen or twenty feet in alti- tude. No others exist above the west cor- ner of Belmont, and those seem to bave been formed in connection with the Pemigewas- set.
The striking feature of tbis lake horder is the absence of terraces. The banks are chiefly of glacial drift. The few terraces that may he seen are of limited size. The following are tbe principal ones.
At Alton Bay two, 55 and 75 feet.
West Alton, two places, 75 and 100 feet.
Several places in Gilford 10, 31, 47, und 80 feet.
Plain of Laconia, perhaps, 10 to 12 feet.
Meredith Village, 5, 15, 28 and 30 feet.
Moultonboro, 75 foet.
Wolfsboro,
25 feet and more.
Centre Harbor Village,
8 to 10 feet.
There are no evidences to sbow a suh- mergence of the lake area by the ocean, un- less it he dorived from the existence of fresb- water smelts, apparently of the same species with their compoers of the salt water. No attempt has yet been made to find any ma- rine animale in tbis large body of water by dredging. The terraces seem to indicate sev- eral former levels of the lake. Assuming tbis to be true, we can helieve tbat Lake Winnipiseogee stood successively 100, 80, 55, 30, 20, 15 and 12 feet above its present level,
but never any bigher, or at least not long enough to allow sand to collect around the sbores. Some of these terraces may be higher hack among the Belknap Mountains, but it is only the height of this river terrace at its junetion with the lake that indicates the former altitude of the water level.
With the elevation of the water one hun- dred feet the river at the Alton outlet must have been eighteen feet higher than now, so as to prevent the egress of water. The pres- ent outlet may have been entirely elosed. This we can easily nppreciate, since the drift ridge has evidently been excavated by run- ning water more than this amount, as is in- dicated by tbe steepness of the present hanks. There may also have heen a barrier in Gilford to the south of the present outlet. Granting the existence of barriers in thoso directions, the outlet must have heen through Squam Lake. Possibly there may have been n barrier across the Squam Rivor also, where the valley is narrow, though all loose material is now removed from it. If so the outlet prohahly ran through Gilford.
There is nothing to indicate the nature of these harriers other than has heen specified. Considering the character of tho period, it is likely that there was earth in Alton and iee in the Gilford and Squam rivers. When tbe harriers had sunk twenty feet more, egress would have heen checked only in Gilford. We may suppose at this epoch that tbe prin- cipal outlet lay to the south to the Cocbecbo River. As the lake sank more and more there might have been terraces formed lo- cally at various levels, as our figures seem to indicate. But the level must have sunk to less than forty feet before Squam Lake could have existed separate from Winnipi- seogee, and the outlet ran through its pres- ent channel. If the drift ridge at tbe Weirs gradually sunk by erosion, we can under- stand how tbe several local terraces men- tioned above have been formed. Sbould there he another falling of the level a new set of terraces would appear, just beneath the present shore line.
The theory formerly prevalent respecting the origin of terraces supposes that the ocean was present to allow the gradual accumula- tion of sand and gravel beneatb its retiring waves. The chief ohjection to this view, is that if terraces were made all the way up to one bundred feet there is no reason why others should not exist at twice and tbrice that elevation. It is the absence of these bigber terraces that led me to exam- ine tbe surface geology of this region and to speculate whether this fact would not lead to the abandonment of the oceanic tbeory.
The true theory seems to be developed by studying tbe condition of the neighhor- ing valley of the Pemigewasset and its con- nection with Winnipiseogee; for we have already seen that forty feet rise in the latter would carry its waters into the former val- ley via Squam Lake and river.
Tbe Pemigewasset and Merrimack rivers make an inelined plane from the height of
17
GEOLOGY.
about five hundred feet (the same with the lake) at Plymouth to the oceaa. The high- est, hanks of sand of appareatly fluviatile origin connected with the stream are the fol- lowing. In most cases the measuremeats have heea made with an aneroid harometer and may be regarded as approximations oa- ly to the truth.
HEIOHTS OF TERRACES
ABOVE
RIVER.
LAKE W.
OCEAN.
Plymouth.
134
191
629
Ashland
P154
191
New Hampton.
₱260
311
812
N. Sanbornton.
400
299
751
Franklin.
202
30 below
470
Concord
125
150 below 350
Manchester.
60 to 110 (falls)
250 below
250
Lawrence
40
Connected with these are a few others of interest.
Holderness (tributary) ... 134
323
823
Principal terrace enst of 3 134 Plymouth.
61
562
Height of rim between } Squam and Winnip'gee S
40
541
Wator-shed in Ashland .... P186
153
65
Terraces in Belmont ..... 170
150
650
Perhaps the following generalizations may he drawn from these figures.
1. The highest level of sand or terrace descends rapidly from Plymouth to the ocean and more rapidly thaa the river itself.
2. The terraces near the ocean are not so much elovated ahove the river as those high- er up the stream.
3. There is higher sand in New Hamp- ton than in Plymouth and Holderness, far- ther north ; nevertheless a tributary in Hold- erness holds about the same height, hut this of itself does not necessarily prove the pres- ence of the Pemigewasset water at this lev- el. The sand is also greater in amount as well as height. It will he also noticed that
the New Hampton saad is one hundred and fifty-eight feet higher than the Ashland wa- ter-shed leading to the lake, while the Ash- land sand is thirty-two feet lower than this ridge. Why then should the sand have ac- cumulated in New Hampton higher than this water-shed. ? We should naturally expect the stream to have gone over to the lake aad carried the sand with it.
It seoms clear that wator must have gone to the lake through this Ashland-Meredith valley, for that is the direct course of the stream from north to south, and it may be that it carried sand also, sinco the terrace does not riso so high at Ashland as helow. There is ao detritus upon tho lower side of the water-shed. The valley is entirely de- void of all loose materials.
Water at the height of eight hundred and twelve feet would also flow into Winnipi- seogee through Squam, but would carry no material with it, as the course is tortuous and northeasterly.
Inspection of a map will show a great hend in the Pemigewasset just helow Ash- land. This may explain tho unusual accum- ulation of sand in New Hamptoa ; for when a river passes around a hend there is always a deposition of sediment held in suspension. With a powerful stream filling the valley, coming down from the north, there would he an immense amonat of sand which would he checked hy this point of land and deposited. The most noticeable mass of sand ia New Hampton is arranged much like a terminal moraine just as might he expected upon this view.
4. The terraces upon Winnipiseogee riv- er are quite different from any upon the
Pemigewasset. Ahove Belmont they do not exceed fifteen feet in height. On the Mill Stream in the west corner of Belmoat the terraces aro six hundred and fifty feet ahove the ocean and one hundred and sev- enty above the river and they are continu- ous hence on either side to the Merrimac valloy, while the river almost uniformly flows over hard pan.
These facts afford the inference that these high terrraces in Belmont, Northfield and Sanhornton, were made hy tho Pemigewasset hack water and not hy the Winnipiseogee. It would result from this view that the out- let of the lake lay in some other direction at the time of the formation of these higher terraces and that a barrier kept back the riv- er water from commingling with the lake. The terraces agree nearly in height with the Ashland-Meredith water-shed. If we sup- pose the waters of the Pemigewasset pourod freely into the Winnipiseogee hasin through the Squam, Ashland and the outlet avenues, at the height of one hundred and fifty or one hundred and seventy-five feet, we can understand why the main stream still wont down the Merrimac, as the land descended more rapidly ia that direction.
We conclude that the outlet made only small terraces, while the upper sands must he referred to the high water of the Pemige- wasset. The connections through the several avenues would not he such as to carry detri- tus to the still water of the lake.
5. In goncral, therefore, without point- ing out further details, we may refer the or- igin of the Merrimac terraces to the action of the river alone without the necessary presence of the ocean.
THE RIVER SYSTEMS.
BY WARREN UPHAM.
"THE consideration of the hydrographic features of New-Hampshire is of espec- ial interest, as exhibiting the extent and val- ue of its water-power. The river systems are not more important as a part of the phy- sical geography than they have already he- come in their relation to tho industries aad wealth of tho State. Lakes and streams are aleo among the most attractive elements of our scenery, their graceful heauty heing in- creased hy contrast with the grandeur of forest-clad hills and rock-hrowed mountains.
New Hampshire is divided into five hy- drographic districts, which are drained hy the Connecticut, Merrimack, Androscoggin, Saco and Piscataqua rivers. None of these river systems is wholly comprised within the limits of the State.
CONNECTICUT RIVER SYSTEM.
The hasin of the Conaecticut includes ahout 3,060 squaro iniles in New Hampshire, or somewhat more than three tenths of the area of the State. The line of low water on the west side of this river forms the hound- ary between this state and Vermont; and Hall's stream, the third considerable trihu- tary from the right helow its source, coatin- ues this houndary between our state and the province of Quebec. In addition to this area drained from New-Hampshire, the Con- necticut hasin emhracas ahout 3,750 square miles in Vermont, or four tenths of that state, making a total of more than 6,800 square miles in hoth states, nearly all of which con- tributes to the water-power of this river along our western border.
The general course of the head stream of the Connecticut river, passing through Sec- ond and Connecticut lakes to the mouth of Hall's stream, is S. 60° W.,* being a distance of twenty-five miles from its farthest sources in a dircet line, and of twenty-eight miles from Third lake, following the course of the river. The descent along this distance is comparatively rapid, with few and narrow intervals. The surface of the country is moderately hilly hut not rugged, and more
than nine-tentbs is still covered with the original forest.
From the mouth of Hall's stream to the head of Fifteen-miles falls in Dalton, the general course is S. 13º W., a distance of forty-two miles in a direct line, or forty-six miles, if we follow the principal hends in the river. Along this whole distance are the fertile intervals of the upper Connecticut valley, varying from one half mile to a mile in width. The surface hack from the imme- diate river valley rises in bold bills or mountains.
From the head of Fifteen-miles falls, near the mouth of Johu'e river, to the mouth of the Passumpsic, the course of the Coa nectieut is 8. 70° W., heing a distance of eighteen miles in a direct line, or about twenty, fol- lowing the stream. Opposite to this portion of the river, on the east and southeast, is the elevated mountain region of the state. Here the descent is rapid, and the surface more broken than in any other part of the course of this river. Its direction is also heat to the west along this distance, heyond which the general course of the upper is again followed in the lower valley, with hut slight deviation, almost to the Massachusetts line.
This course from the mouth of the Pass- umpsic to Brattlehorough is S. 16° W., a dis- tance of 103 miles in a straight line, or 107 hy the course of the river. Along this dis- tance the river intervals and terraces of the valley usually extead from one half to a mile and a half in width, but are occasion- ally interrupted on one or both sides by en - croaching ranges of bills. The water-shed which separates this portion of the Connecti- cut hasin from that of the Merrimack, every where reaches a high elevation, and frequent- ly is marked hy mountains.
South from Brattleborough the Connecti- cut, for the remaining ten miles in New Hampshire, bas a general direction S. 25° E,, again resuming nearly its former course af- ter crossing the Massachusetts line.
The entire length of the Connecticut from Third lake, following its principal hends along our western horder to the Massachu-
eetts line, is 211 miles. Its drainage area in New-Hampshire is of comparatively uni- forın width, the water-shed averaging about sixteen miles distant from the river. The point of least width is in the north part of Orford, where it is contracted te five miles. The farthest part drained hy this river sys- tem from New-Hampshire is ia New Ips- wich, thirty miles from the Connecticut at its nearest point. The length of this hasin in New Hampshire, in a direct line, is 185 miles.
MERRIMACK RIVER SYSTEM.
The Merrimack river receives this name south from Franklia, where the Pemigewas- set and Winnipiseogee rivers unite. Its area of drainage in New-Hampshire is about 3,825 square miles, or four tentbs of the state. This river system comprises the cen- tral portion of New-Hampshire, including our principal lake region, and has its source in the centre of the White Mountains. Our largest cities have grown up along the Merrimack, and its aame has become asso- ciated, like those of Winnipiseogee lake and Mt. Washington, with all descriptions of the Granite State.
From its source in Franconia to the Mas- eacbusetts line, its general direction is S. 8° E., heing 100 miles in a direct course, or 105 miles following the principal hends in the river. The first thirty-eight miles of this distance is nearly S. 5º E .; it then heads nearly west four miles to Bristol village, and this is the only considerable deviation from its general course. From this point to the mouth of the Suncook river, a distance of thirty-three miles, it runs nearly S. 20° E .; thence a distance of thirty miles its course is about S. 2° E., to the Massachusetts line. After passing beyond the limits of the state, the Merrimack bends to the north-east, the boundary line south of Rockingham county being paraller with its course aad three miles distant. Its total length is about 144 miles.
The upper part of the Pemigewasset val- ley is narrow, and closely bordered on both sides by mountain ranges. The intervals hegin in Thornton and Campton. The high
. All courses here given are referred to the true meridian.
19
THE RIVER SYSTEMS.
sandy plnins, which are characteristic of this valley southward, commence at New-Hamp- ton. The alluvial nrea along this river is wider than on the Connecticut, and the hills rise less abruptly upon either side.
The width of the Merrimack basin at its source, measured from Mt. Willey to Cannon or Profile mountain, is about fifteen miles. This increases to the section from Brookfield across Winnipiseogce lake to Orange, which is forty-three miles. Thence southward to Manchester it remains very nearly the same. From near Manchester this area widens on the east, bending in the direction of the riv- er's mouth at Newburyport. Its greatest width in New-Hampshire, from the west line of Seabrook to Monadnock mountain, is sixty miles. Its lengtb, from Profile lake south to the Massachusetts line, is ninety- eight miles.
WINNIPISEOOEE LAKE .- The hydrograph- ie basin of Winnipiseogee lake comprises about 350 square miles. Its farthest points are nowhere more than seven miles distant from the lake. The height of the divide separating it from the Cocheco valley is only seventy-two feet at the lowest place.
The lake is quite irregular in form. Its general course is S. 25° E., with several long bays or arms. On the south is Alton bay, eight or ten miles long. On the south-east is Wolfeborough bay, in close connection with Smith's pond. On the north-east are two branches into Moultonborough. On the north-west is the expanse known as Mere- dith bay. The western shore is compara- tively straight from Meredith Village to Al- ton Bay village. The hills about the lake are steeper than the average in other parts of the state.
The length of the lake proper is 19 miles. The breadth of the widest part is 8₺ miles. Its area excluding islands as given on the Lake Company's map, is 69.8 square miles. If Long Bay, which is properly an expansion of the outlet, be added, the area becomes 71.8 square miles. The number of islands large and small together, according to the same authority, is two hundred and soventy- four. Of these ten have areas exceeding one bundred acres. By the dam at the outlet of this lake a depth of six feet is made availhle for the use of manufacturing companies in the dry season. The top of this dam is 502 feet above mean tide.
ANDROSCOGGIN RIVER SYSTEM.
The area drained by the Androscoggin river in New Hampshire is about 775 square miles, or one twelfth of the state. Abeut 900 square miles from Maine are also drained by this river through New-Hampsbire.
The course of the Androscoggin from Umbagog lake is first n little south of west about five miles to the mouth of Clear stream, from which its general course is S. 5º W. to the mouth of Moose river at Gorham, n dis- tance of thirty-three miles, following the bends of the river. Along this portion ef
its course the Androscoggin flows almost di- rectly towards the highest and most massive range of the White Mountains, approaching within ten miles of the summit of Mt. Washington. At Gorham this barrier turns the river sharply to the east, a distance of nine miles carrying it into the state of Maine.
The length of the Magalloway river, from its source in Pittsburg, near the most north- ern point of New Hampshire, to its mouth about one mile below Um hagog lake, is thir- ty-three miles in a direct line, or tbirty-nine miles, following the principal hends in the stream. A large portion of this river is nearly level and vory meandering, although its general course is nearly straight. The total length of river from Magalloway lake, the source of this stream, to the point where the Androscoggin enters Maine, is eighty- five miles.
The most distant point in Maine drained by the Range of Lakes is nbout forty miles in a direct line from tho junction of these waters with the Magalloway. The combined area of these lakes is stated by Wells, in his Water Power "of Maine, to be seventy-seven square miles, upon which an average storago of twelve feet is held to provide a sufficient supply of water for the last part of the log- driving season.
Our eastern boundary runs across Umba- gog lake, dividing it in nearly equal portions to the two states. The length of this lake is about eleven miles, the north portion being bent east into Maine. By the dam in Errol, four miles below its mouth, the outlet is made navigable for a steamboat to that point, and the waters of the Magalloway are made to contribute to the reservoir storage of the lake.
Almost the entire area drained by the Range of Lakes and the Magalloway is un- broken forest, which also covers nine tenths of this basin southward in New-Hampshire. By reference to the map, it will be seen that Coos County, north from Mt. Washington, is nearly equally divided between the Connect- icut and Androscoggin basins. The latter, as far as included in New Hampshire, av- erages about eleven miles in width, being sixteen miles wide at its southern end, and fifteen at the sources of the Swift Diamond river, while it is narrowed to almost notbing at Mt. Carmel. The length of this hydro- graphic district, measured on the eastern boundary of the state, is seventy one miles.
SACO RIVER SYSTEM.
The area drained by this system in New Hampshire is nbout eight hundred and fifty square miles, or one eleventh of the state.
The distance in a straight line fromn the head of the Saco beyond the White Moun- tain noteh to its point of crossing the Maine line is about twenty-five miles, the direction being nenrly south-east. Following the course of the river, this distance is about thirty-four miles. The first eleven miles it runs a little east of south, with high moun-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.