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25-583: The Profile House, in Franconia Notch , existed for 70 years. The first Profile House opened in 1853, and the "New" Profile burned in 1923. At the time of its destruction, it could accommodate 600 guests and was the most luxurious hotel on the west side of the mountains. The parking lot for the Cannon Mountain Ski Area and Tramway is located just north of the site where the hotel once stood. In 1852, when Richard Taft and his company,

50-426: A saddle point marking the minimum high point between two valleys and the lowest point along a ridge. On a topographic map , passes can be identified by contour lines with an hourglass shape, which indicates a low spot between two higher points. In the high mountains, a difference of 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) between the summit and the mountain is defined as a mountain pass. Passes are often found just above

75-458: A bicycle/pedestrian recreational trail in the summer and a groomed snowmobile trail in the winter, while a large portion of it is now used by U.S. Route 3 . When the Boston and Maine Railroad bought the line in 1892, they converted the narrow-gauge track to standard gauge . The line ran until 1921, when declining business forced its closing. The station survived for many years, and it was home to

100-601: A golf course, and more. A fish hatchery for raising trout to stock the small trout pond was located within walking distance from the hotel (which today is on the east side of I-93, easily visible from the highway). The hotel owned thousands of acres in Franconia Notch, including the Old Man of the Mountain, Profile Dairy Farm, Profile Links Golf Course, The Basin, The Pool and The Flume. A mineral spring house near

125-399: A key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migration throughout history. At lower elevations it may be called a hill pass . A mountain pass is typically formed between two volcanic peaks or created by erosion from water or wind. Mountain passes make use of a gap , saddle , col or notch . A topographic saddle is analogous to the mathematical concept of a saddle surface , with

150-510: A military post. For instance, Argentina and Chile share the world's third-longest international border , 5,300 kilometres (3,300 mi) long, which runs north–south along the Andes mountains and includes 42 mountain passes. On a road over a pass, it is customary to have a small roadside sign giving the name of the pass and its elevation above mean sea level . Apart from offering relatively easy travel between valleys, passes also provide

175-516: A route between two mountain tops with a minimum of descent. As a result, it is common for tracks to meet at a pass; this often makes them convenient routes even when travelling between a summit and the valley floor. Passes traditionally were places for trade routes, communications, cultural exchange, military expeditions etc. A typical example is the Brenner pass in the Alps . Some mountain passes above

200-736: A style of street racing which may take place on these roads. There are thousands of named passes around the world, some of which are well-known, such as the Khyber Pass close to the present-day Afghanistan-Pakistan border on the ancient Silk Road , the Great St. Bernard Pass at 2,473 metres (8,114 ft) in the Alps , the Chang La at 5,360 metres (17,590 ft), the Khardung La at 5,359 metres (17,582 ft) in Ladakh , India and

225-696: Is a major mountain pass through the White Mountains of New Hampshire . Dominated by Cannon Mountain to the west and Mount Lafayette to the east, it lies principally within Franconia Notch State Park and is traversed by the Franconia Notch Parkway ( Interstate 93 and U.S. Route 3 ). The parkway required a special act of Congress to sidestep design standards for the Interstate highway system because it

250-888: Is also used, particularly in Europe. In the highest mountain range in the world, the Himalayas, passes are denoted by the suffix "La" in Tibetan, Ladhakhi, and several other regional languages. Examples are the Taglang La at 5,328 m (17,480 ft) on the Leh-Manali highway , and the Sia La at 5,589 m (18,337 ft) in the Eastern Karakoram range. Scotland has the Gaelic term bealach (anglicised "balloch"), while Wales has

275-559: Is only one lane in each direction. The notch was home to the Old Man of the Mountain , a rock formation which collapsed in 2003 but whose profile remains a symbol of the state of New Hampshire. The notch is located primarily in the town of Franconia but extends south into Lincoln . It is bordered to the east by Franconia Ridge , comprising Mount Lafayette (5,249 feet/1,600 m), Mount Lincoln (5,089 feet/1,551 m), and Little Haystack Mountain (4,780 feet/1,460 m), and to

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300-594: The Palakkad Gap at 140 metres (460 ft) in Palakkad , Kerala , India . The roads at Mana Pass at 5,610 metres (18,410 ft) and Marsimik La at 5,582 metres (18,314 ft), on and near the China–India border respectively, appear to be world's two highest motorable passes. Khunjerab Pass between Pakistan and China at 4,693 metres (15,397 ft) is also a high-altitude motorable mountain pass. One of

325-503: The source of a river , constituting a drainage divide . A pass may be very short, consisting of steep slopes to the top of the pass, or a valley many kilometers long, whose highest point might only be identifiable by surveying . Roads and railways have long been built through passes. Some high and rugged passes may have tunnels bored underneath a nearby mountainside, as with the Eisenhower Tunnel bypassing Loveland Pass in

350-505: The stagecoach ride for guests arriving from the north. The 9.5-mile (15.3 km) railroad had two engines, the Profile and the Echo , as well as freight houses and service facilities. (Rail service from the south never reached the hotel. In 1883, service was opened from Plymouth to North Woodstock , and guests completed their journey by stage.) Part of the railroad bed is now utilized as

375-651: The tree line have problems with snow drift in the winter. This might be alleviated by building the road a few meters above the ground, which will make snow blow off the road. There are many words for pass in the English-speaking world. In the United States, pass is very common in the West , the word gap is common in the southern Appalachians , notch in parts of New England , and saddle in northern Idaho . The term col , derived from Old French,

400-667: The Flume and Franconia Hotel Company, bought the Lafayette House at the north end of the Notch, construction began on the first Profile House. It opened in 1853, a simple three and a half story building. It was expanded several times, by the addition of first one wing and then another. A large dining room was added, outbuildings were added, and starting in 1868, a number of "cottages" were constructed. There would eventually be twenty of these cottages, which were connected to one another and

425-523: The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen until it was demolished when Interstate 93 was constructed. The hotel was practically a self-sufficient community. They operated a large farm with a herd of dairy cows and a large greenhouse. There was a power plant, a boathouse with a steam launch on Echo Lake, dormitories for the help (utilizing the former Lafayette House), a bowling alley, post office, telegraph office, barbershop, billiard hall, music room, souvenir shops,

450-461: The Rockies, to allow faster traffic flow throughout the year. The top of a pass is frequently the only flat ground in the area, and may be a high vantage point. In some cases this makes it a preferred site for buildings. If a national border follows the ridge of a mountain range, a pass over the mountains is typically on the border, and there may be a border control or customs station, and possibly

475-584: The ground in 1923. Logging companies sought to purchase the property, but thanks to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests , it was protected and dedicated as Franconia Notch State Park in September 1928. 44°10′8″N 71°41′11″W  /  44.16889°N 71.68639°W  / 44.16889; -71.68639 Franconia Notch Franconia Notch (elev. 1,950 feet/590 m)

500-650: The height of land, Profile Lake lies beneath the cliff that once held the Old Man of the Mountain. Profile Lake is the source of the Pemigewasset River , the primary tributary of the Merrimack River , which flows to the Gulf of Maine at Newburyport, Massachusetts . Mountain pass Aa mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge . Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played

525-423: The main hotel by covered walkways. Cottages were initially rented but were later owned by well-to-do guests who would spend the entire summer at the hotel but wanted more privacy than the hotel itself offered. A stable accommodated 350 horses, and carriage sheds housed the wide variety of wagons and coaches needed. In 1872, the owners of the hotel built a narrow-gauge railroad from Bethlehem Junction to eliminate

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550-696: The similar bwlch (both being insular Celtic languages). In the Lake District of north-west England, the term hause is often used, although the term pass is also common—one distinction is that a pass can refer to a route, as well as the highest part thereof, while a hause is simply that highest part, often flattened somewhat into a high-level plateau. In Japan they are known as tōge , which means "pass" in Japanese. The word can also refer to narrow, winding roads that can be found in and around mountains and geographically similar areas, or specifically to

575-418: The south end of Echo Lake provided water for the guests, and a similar spring still provides water for local residents and visitors. (It is located near Boise Rock.) Recreational facilities included hiking, tennis, badminton, croquet, fishing, boating, horseback and burro riding to the summit of Mount Lafayette and elsewhere. Various photographers produced stereoscopic images of the area's scenery. The hotel

600-648: The west by 4,080-foot (1,240 m) Cannon Mountain and the sheer face of Cannon Cliff. The notch's height of land is located near its northern end, at the base of Cannon Mountain. Echo Lake lies just north of the high point of the notch, with an outlet that flows into Lafayette Brook, then the Gale River , the Ammonoosuc River , and finally the Connecticut River , which enters Long Island Sound at Old Saybrook, Connecticut . Just south of

625-493: Was greatly expanded over time and included tennis courts, stables, a bowling alley, and cabins. The hotel was located just south of where the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway parking lot is now. Boating was enjoyed on nearby Echo Lake and Profile Lake. After finishing the summer season in 1905, the hotel was razed, reconstructed and reopened in the following year for the 1906 season and later burned to

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