Mount Moosilauke

Mount Moosilauke
Mt. Moosilauke as seen from Black Mountain
Highest point
Elevation	4,802 ft (1,464 m)
Prominence	2,932 ft (894 m)
Listing	White Mountain 4000-Footers #9 New England 50 Finest
Coordinates	44°01′28″N 71°49′51″W / 44.024511°N 71.8309173°W / 44.024511; -71.8309173Coordinates: 44°01′28″N 71°49′51″W / 44.024511°N 71.8309173°W / 44.024511; -71.8309173
Geography
Location	Grafton County, New Hampshire, U.S.
Parent range	White Mountains
Topo map	USGS Mount Moosilauke

Mount Moosilauke is a 4,802-foot-high (1,464 m) mountain at the southwestern end of the White Mountains in the town of Benton, New Hampshire, United States. It is the tenth highest and most southwesterly of the 4,000 foot summits in the White Mountains.

Moosilauke is ranked 9th on the New England Fifty Finest peaks, a list of summits with the highest topographic prominence. The Appalachian Trail passes over the mountain. It is sometimes referred to as the "Gentle Giant".

Its name is thought to mean "bald place" in the Abenaki language.

Mount Moosilauke is made up of metamorphic rock called the Littleton Formation which is Lower Devonian in age. The Littleton Formation is primarily a mica schist with zones containing garnet and staurolite-sillimanite. The unit also contains interbedded amphibolites. The mica schist started out as clay-rich mud in a marine basin that probably formed during the early Acadian Orogeny. The amphibolites may represent metamorphosed submarine basalt flows.

Pegmatite dikes cross-cut the Littleton Formation and can be seen from the Gorge Brook Trail as it nears treeline. These pegmatites are likely related to the geology to the east of the mountain which is dominated by the Kinsman quartz monzonite. This Acadian-aged igneous rock can be seen at the Kinsman Notch / Beaver Brook pond area.