kids encyclopedia robot

Ossipee Mountains facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Ossipeemountains
The Ossipee Mountains, as seen from the south across Lake Winnipesaukee from the Belknap Mountains

The Ossipee Mountains are a cool group of mountains in New Hampshire, a state in New England, USA. Imagine them as the leftover parts of a really old volcano! They sit north of Lake Winnipesaukee and east of Squam Lake. To their south is the Sandwich Range, which is part of the bigger White Mountains. The tallest peak in the Ossipee Mountains is Mount Shaw, standing at 2,990 ft (910 m) tall.

What are the Ossipee Mountains?

The Ossipee Mountains are not just any mountains. They are what's left of a giant volcano that was active about 125 million years ago! This volcano was a type called a stratovolcano, which is a tall, cone-shaped volcano like Mount Fuji. Over millions of years, the softer parts of the volcano wore away. What's left is a special circular shape called a "ring dike."

How the Ossipee Mountains Formed

These mountains are part of something called the White Mountain Igneous province. This means they were formed by hot, melted rock (magma) from deep inside the Earth. The magma pushed up and cooled, creating these unique rock formations.

Looking at the Ossipee Mountains from Above

If you look at the Ossipee Mountains from an airplane or on a satellite map, you'll see their circular shape very clearly. This circle is about 14 kilometers (about 8.7 miles) wide! It's like a giant, ancient bullseye on the land. The southeastern edge of this circle is about 8 kilometers (5 miles) northwest of the town of Ossipee.

Tallest Peaks in the Ossipee Mountains

Here are some of the notable mountains you can find in the Ossipee range:

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Ossipee Mountains Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.