Grafton Notch

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Grafton Notch
Grafton Notch SP.JPG
Elevation 1,542 ft (470 m) [1]
Traversed byMaine 26.svg SR 26
Location North Oxford, Oxford County, Maine, United States
Range Mahoosuc Range
Coordinates 44°35′48″N70°56′49″W / 44.596667°N 70.946833°W / 44.596667; -70.946833 Coordinates: 44°35′48″N70°56′49″W / 44.596667°N 70.946833°W / 44.596667; -70.946833
Topo map USGS Old Speck Mountain
USA Maine relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
View of Grafton Notch from the top of Old Speck Mountain Grafton Notch from Old Speck.jpg
View of Grafton Notch from the top of Old Speck Mountain

Grafton Notch is a notch, or mountain pass, located in Oxford County, Maine. The notch demarks the northeastern end of the Mahoosuc Range, and thus of the White Mountains. Maine State Route 26 passes through the notch.

North of the drainage divide, the notch drains into the Swift Cambridge River, then into the Dead Cambridge River and Umbagog Lake, the source of the Androscoggin River, which drains into Merrymeeting Bay, the estuary of the Kennebec River, and thence into the Gulf of Maine. To the south, the notch drains into the Bear River, then into the Androscoggin.

Maine's Grafton Notch State Park includes the land along the bottom of the notch, and extends as far south as the summit of Old Speck Mountain on the southwest side of the notch. On the northeast side, it includes the lowest slopes of Baldpate Mountain. [2]

The Appalachian Trail, a 2,170 miles (3,490 km) National Scenic Trail from Georgia to Maine, crosses the notch between Old Speck and Baldpate.

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Evans Notch is a mountain pass located in the White Mountains in Maine, United States, about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the New Hampshire border. It is the easternmost notch through the White Mountains. To the south, the notch is drained by the Cold River, which leads via the Charles River to the Saco River, which in turn flows into the Gulf of Maine east of Saco and Biddeford. The Mad River is a small mountain stream that joins the Cold River from the west about 2 miles (3 km) south of the height of land, after dropping over Mad River Falls. The notch is drained to the north by Evans Brook, a tributary of the Wild River, which flows north to the Androscoggin River. The Androscoggin leads east and south to the Kennebec River at Merrymeeting Bay north of Bath, Maine.

References

  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Grafton Notch
  2. "Grafton Notch State Park". Maine Department of Conservation. Retrieved 2012-05-07.