SCENERY OF COOS COUNTY. 643 



How was this Notch formed? is a question that is naturally asked, 

 since it is so unlike all others. There is no theory so universally accepted 

 as that there has been a time when the oscillations of the continent were 

 considerable ; that it was once submerged, so that at least quite a large 

 part of New England was beneath the ocean ; then, again, it was uplifted. 

 That there have been two of these upliftings and depressions is quite 

 certain. 



The rock at Dixville Notch is very fragile, and there are reasons to 

 believe that a fissure in the rocks here was originally produced by the 

 uplifting of the whole rocky strata of the country, and that afterwards it 

 was worn out by water and ice, perhaps a glacier. The principal reason 

 for supposing a fissure, caused by uplifting, to have been the origin of 

 the Notch, is, that in the rocks, several rods back from the edge of the 

 Notch, there is now a fissure of unknown depth running parallel with the 

 Notch, and consequently across the strike. It is well known that when 

 great masses of rock are removed, the underlying strata contract and pro- 

 duce fissures. It is possible that this may have been the case at Dixville, 

 since the mountain ridge is lower at the Notch than it is for several miles 

 on either side. If at any point in the lowest part of the Notch we were 

 able to find the strata standing vertically, as on the sides, we might sup- 

 pose the Notch was originally produced by other causes. That ice did 

 something after the fissure was formed, is evident from the fact that in the 

 Notch and on the east side there are boulders that came from the west ; 

 consequently they must have been carried into and through the Notch. 



In Errol there is one of the grandest outlooks in New Hampshire, but, 

 being off from any route of travel, it is scarcely known except to those 

 who live in the vicinity, and to the fortunate few who have enjoyed the 

 prospect. Here, we are not obliged to travel a long distance through the 

 forests, neither have we to climb mountain summits, but on a travelled 

 road we can sit in our carriage and overlook miles of forests, and in the 

 distance see the grandest of our mountain summits. On the road from 

 Errol Dam to Upton, Me., after crossing the Androscoggin, the road 

 winds along and over the ridge of land between that river and Umbagog 

 lake. As we ascend the hill, the grandeur of the scenery begins to 

 unfold itself. On our right, and a little south of west, is the Andros- 



