624 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



sun's heat for a long time ; — hence it may remain in patches, in favorable 

 seasons, even into September. Usually it is more or less arched, owing 



to the more comparatively 

 rapid melting next the riv- 

 ulets. Fig. 87 represents 

 an unusual form, as it ap- 

 peared August 28, 1 86 1. 

 The under surface is al- 

 ways uneven, the irreg- 

 ularities resembling the 

 conchoidal fracture of 

 cannel coal, flint, and oth- 

 er minerals. In August, 

 1855, the snow was said 

 to be 294 feet long, 66 

 broad, and 15 deep, by 

 tape-line measurement. 



The Thousand streams 

 unite with the snow-water, 

 and form the head waters 

 of Ellis river, a tributary 

 of the Saco. 



W/tile Mountain Notch. The term "notch," as used in the Northern 

 states, designates mountain passes, corresponding to the "gaps" in the 

 Southern states, — narrow defiles, where a few soldiers may dispute the 

 passage of whole armies. Three of these notches are spoken of in New 

 Hampshire, viz., the White Mountain, — sometimes called the Crawford, 

 because of its proximity to the hotel of that name, — the Franconia, and 

 the Dixville. The White Mountain Notch proper is only three miles 

 long, nearly straight, running somewhat west of north. The northern 

 end of it is shown in the heliotype opposite page 79, being the view from 

 the Crawford house. A plain appears in front of the Gate of the Notch, 

 formed by the transportation of decomposed granite down the sides of 

 the steep hills. On the left is a bare rock called the " Elephant's Head," 

 for obvious reasons. Behind rises the elevated mass of Mt. Webster, 

 2000 feet above the Gate, and 4000 feet above the sea. Future tourists 



Fig. 87. — SNOW-ARCH IN TUCKERMAN'S 

 RAVINE. 



