Four-thousand footers facts for kids
Four-thousand footers (also called 4ks) are a special group of forty-eight mountains in New Hampshire. Each of these mountains is at least 4,000 feet (1,200 m) (about 1,219 meters) tall. To be on this list, a mountain also needs to meet a specific rule called topographic prominence. This rule helps make sure each mountain is a truly separate peak, not just a bump on a bigger mountain.
The list of these 4,000-footers is created and updated by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). They call it the White Mountains List. However, some people call it the New Hampshire List. This is because it only includes mountains in New Hampshire. For example, Old Speck Mountain in Maine is tall enough, but it's not on this specific list.
The AMC also has a bigger list called the New England 4000 Footers. This list includes tall mountains in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. There are other lists of tall mountains too, like the 46 High Peaks in the Adirondacks.
The AMC has updated its lists over time. This happens as new surveys make mountain heights more accurate. The White Mountains list grew from 46 peaks in the 1950s to 48 peaks in 1982. There are still some small disagreements about which peaks should be included.
All 48 of these tall mountains are found in the White Mountain National Forest. They are located in two northern counties of New Hampshire: Coos and Grafton. Most of these peaks are on land owned by the Forest Service. A few, like Mount Washington, Mount Moosilauke, and Cannon Mountain, are mostly surrounded by Forest Service land.
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What is Topographic Prominence?
To be a "Four-thousand footer," a mountain needs to have enough topographic prominence. This is a fancy way of saying how much a peak rises above the land connecting it to any higher mountains. Imagine you are hiking up a mountain. Prominence is the lowest you would have to walk down before you could start climbing up to a taller mountain nearby.
The AMC's rules for the 4,000-footer lists say a mountain must rise at least 200 feet (61 m) (about 61 meters) above the ridge connecting it to a neighbor. In the past, the rule was a bit different. It used to require either 300 feet (91 m) of prominence or a quarter mile of separation.
The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) has a special committee. This committee decides the rules for the 4,000-footer lists. They also keep track of people who have climbed all 48 of these mountains. These hikers become members of the Four Thousand Footer Club. The first list of members was put together in 1958.
People enjoy challenging themselves in different ways when climbing these mountains. For example, the AMC also keeps a list of those who climb all 48 peaks during the winter. This means climbing them between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.
Another challenge, not officially tracked, is called "The Grid." This means climbing each of the 48 summits twelve times. You climb each mountain once in each of the twelve months of the year. You can do this in any order. As of September 2016, 68 people had completed "The Grid."
Here is a list of the 48 New Hampshire Four Thousand Footers. They are listed from tallest to shortest. Some of these names might not be on all maps. Some mountains also have other names, which are noted below.
- Washington: 6,288 ft (1,917 m) AT
- Adams: 5,774 ft (1,760 m) AT*
- Jefferson: 5,712 ft (1,741 m) AT*
- Monroe: 5,384 ft (1,641 m) AT*
- Madison: 5,367 ft (1,636 m) AT
- Lafayette: 5,249 ft (1,600 m) AT
- Lincoln: 5,089 ft (1,551 m) AT
- South Twin: 4,902 ft (1,494 m) AT
- Carter Dome: 4,832 ft (1,473 m) AT
- Moosilauke: 4,802 ft (1,464 m) AT
- Eisenhower: 4,780 ft (1,460 m) AT*
- North Twin: 4,761 ft (1,451 m)
- Carrigain: 4,700 ft (1,400 m)
- Bond: 4,698 ft (1,432 m)
- Middle Carter: 4,610 ft (1,410 m) AT
- West Bond: 4,540 ft (1,380 m)
- Garfield: 4,500 ft (1,400 m) AT*
- Liberty: 4,459 ft (1,359 m) AT*
- South Carter: 4,430 ft (1,350 m) AT
- Wildcat: 4,422 ft (1,348 m) AT
- Hancock: 4,420 ft (1,350 m)
- South Kinsman: 4,358 ft (1,328 m) ("South Peak") AT
- Field: 4,340 ft (1,320 m)
- Osceola: 4,340 ft (1,320 m)
- Flume: 4,328 ft (1,319 m)
- South Hancock: 4,319 ft (1,316 m)
- Pierce: 4,310 ft (1,310 m) AT
- North Kinsman: 4,293 ft (1,309 m) ("North Peak") AT
- Willey: 4,285 ft (1,306 m)
- Bondcliff: 4,265 ft (1,300 m) ("The Cliffs")
- Zealand: 4,260 ft (1,300 m) ("Zealand Ridge") AT*
- North Tripyramid: 4180 ft ("North Peak")
- Cabot: 4,170 ft (1,270 m)
- East Osceola: 4,156 ft (1,267 m) ("East Peak")
- Middle Tripyramid: 4,140 ft (1,260 m)
- Cannon: 4,100 ft (1,200 m)
- Wildcat D: 4,070 ft (1,240 m) ("Wildcat Ridge") AT
- Hale: 4,054 ft (1,236 m)
- Jackson: 4,052 ft (1,235 m) AT
- Tom: 4,051 ft (1,235 m)
- Moriah: 4,049 ft (1,234 m) AT*
- Passaconaway: 4,043 ft (1,232 m)
- Owl's Head: 4,025 ft (1,227 m)
- Galehead: 4,024 ft (1,227 m) AT*
- Whiteface: 4,020 ft (1,230 m)
- Waumbek: 4,006 ft (1,221 m)
- Isolation: 4,004 ft (1,220 m)
- Tecumseh: Traditionally 4,003 ft (1,220 m), but resurveyed in July 2019 at 3,997 ft (1,218 m)
AT* = The Appalachian Trail goes over the summit. AT** = The Appalachian Trail goes very close to the summit.
This list includes all the mountains from the New Hampshire list. It also adds other tall mountains found in Maine and Vermont.
- Katahdin (Baxter Peak): 5,268 ft (1,606 m)
- Katahdin (Hamlin Peak): 4,756 ft (1,450 m)
- Sugarloaf Mountain: 4,250 ft (1,300 m)
- Crocker Mountain: 4,228 ft (1,289 m)
- Old Speck: 4,170 ft (1,270 m)
- Mount Bigelow (West Peak): 4,145 ft (1,263 m)
- North Brother: 4,151 ft (1,265 m)
- Saddleback Mountain: 4,120 ft (1,260 m)
- Mount Bigelow (Avery Peak): 4,090 ft (1,250 m)
- Mount Abraham: 4,050 ft (1,230 m)
- South Crocker Mountain: 4,050 ft (1,230 m)
- Saddleback Mountain (the Horn): 4,041 ft (1,232 m)
- Mount Redington: 4,010 ft (1,220 m)
- Spaulding Mountain: 4,010 ft (1,220 m)
- Mount Mansfield: 4,393 ft (1,339 m)
- Killington Peak: 4,235 ft (1,291 m)
- Camel's Hump: 4,083 ft (1,244 m)
- Mount Ellen: 4,083 ft (1,244 m)
- Mount Abraham: 4,006 ft (1,221 m)
