| Mount Mansfield | |
|---|---|
| Mozôdebiwajok | |
 Mount Mansfield, September 2004 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 4,395 ft (1,340 m) NAVD 88[1] |
| Prominence | 3,633 ft (1,107 m)[2] |
| Listing | U.S. state high point 26th New England Fifty Finest 3rd New England 4000-footers |
| Coordinates | 44°32′38″N72°48′52″W / 44.543946911°N 72.814309717°W /44.543946911; -72.814309717[1] |
| Geography | |
  Mount Mansfield | |
| Parent range | Green Mountains |
| Topo map | USGS Mount Mansfield |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | Hike |
| Designated | 1980 |
Mount Mansfield is the highestmountain inVermont, reaching an elevation of 4,393 feet (1,339 m) above sea level.[3] Located in the northwest of the state, it is also the highest peak in theGreen Mountains. Itssummit is located within the town ofUnderhill inChittenden County; the ridgeline, including some secondary peaks, extends into the town ofStowe inLamoille County, and the mountain's flanks also reach into the town ofCambridge.[4]
When viewed from the east or west, the mountain has the appearance of a (quite elongated) human profile, with distinct forehead, nose, lips, chin, and Adam's apple. These features are most recognizable when viewed from the east; unlike most human faces, the chin is the highest point.[5] TheAbenaki describe the mountain as having the appearance of amoose.[6]
Located inMount Mansfield State Forest, the mountain is used for various recreational and commercial purposes. "The Nose" is home totransmitter towers for a number of regional radio and TV stations.[7][8] There are many hiking trails, including theLong Trail, which traverses the main ridgeline. In addition, the east flank of the mountain is used by theStowe Mountain Resort for winter skiing. A popular tourist activity is to drive[9] the 4.5-mile (7.2 km) toll road, a steep, mostly unpaved road with severalhairpin turns, from the Stowe Base Lodge to "The Nose" and then hike along the ridge to "The Chin."
Mount Mansfield is one of three locations in Vermont where truealpine tundra survives from theIce Ages. A few acres exist onCamel's Hump andMount Abraham nearby and to the south, but Mount Mansfield's summit still holds about 200 acres (81 ha). In 1980, theMount Mansfield Natural Area was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.[10]
Prior to the mid-eighteenth century, the mountain was known by itsAbenaki name,Mozôdebiwajok,[11] which translates to Moosehead Mountain. The name of the mountain today comes from the now-dissolved town ofMansfield, Vermont, in which the mountain was located (its territory was later divided between the towns of Underhill and Stowe), but the source of the town's name is the subject of some dispute.
Several of the original grantees of the land in Mansfield were fromMansfield, Connecticut, which in turn is known to have been named for Moses Mansfield, one of the chief landowners there. However, Benning Wentworth, the governor of the British colony of New Hampshire, issued a charter to a group of grantees in what he dubbed the town of Mansfield, possibly for a chief justice of England,Lord Mansfield (a British judge who deemed slavery illegal on British soil in 1772). Wentworth had good reason to honor Lord Mansfield by naming a town after him: Mansfield and another English official had jointly ruled in 1752 that the land between the Connecticut River and Lake Champlain should be considered part of the Wentworth-governed royalprovince of New Hampshire, and not ofNew York, which also claimed that territory.[12]
The Town of Mansfield was formed before anyone involved had visited the site; when the townsite was surveyed, it was discovered to be mostly mountainside.[13] Although a few hardy pioneers settled in the town's few lowlands, the town was dissolved by degrees, with the portion generally west of the mountain being annexed to Underhill in 1839, the eastern portion to Stowe in 1848 after a vote of the citizenry. The dividing line did not run exactly along the ridge of the mountain; thus, the Chin is in Underhill and the Nose in Stowe.[14][15]
The dominant bedrock of Mt. Mansfield is a mica-albite-quartzschist common to the Green Mountains, with mica being the most abundant mineral.[16][17] Layers ofquartzite are found locally.[18] The soils, mostlypodzol, are stony with fine-earth fractions grading through textures of fine sandy loam, loam and silt loam; they are mapped mostly as Londonderry, Lyman, Peru and Tunbridge Series with considerable areas of rock outcropping around the summit.[19]
The ridge which forms the "head" of the "man" is aligned generally north and south. The "Adam's apple" is on the north end of the ridge, and the "forehead" to the south. From north of the mountain, looking south, this ridge appears as a triangular peak. At the northeastern portion of the mountain, there are cliffs. At the base of these cliffs (on the western side of the Notch Road,Vermont Route 108), there is a honeycomb network oftalus caves. There are cliffs on the eastern side of the Notch Road as well. These two sets of facing cliffs are separated by 3 yards (2.7 m) at their base.[citation needed]
Mt. Mansfield is the home ofStowe Mountain Resort, one of the oldest ski areas in the United States. Along with other expert trails, a group of trails, known as the "Front Four", are Goat, Starr, National and Liftline. They have steep pitches, many natural hazards (rocks and trees), and little grooming. There are also cross country ski trails around the base of the mountain and on its lower slopes. The Bruce Trail descends the east side of the mountain while the Teardrop Trail descends west side. In addition to Stowe Mountain resort, Skiing is also available at the nearbySmugglers' Notch Resort.
Mount Mansfield is located in a borealtemperate rainforest and receives more than 80 inches of precipitation each year on average and has ahumid boreal climate (Dfc). Lower elevations of the mountain have ahumid continental climate[20][21]
Summer days on the mountain are warm coupled with cool nights, while winters are long, cold and snowy, lasting from November through April and with annual snowfall averaging 235 in (6.0 m). The highest daily snowfall recorded was 28 in (71 cm) and occurred on March 15, 2017. The highest snow depth recorded was 149 in (3.8 m) and occurred on April 2 during the very snowy winter of 1969. According to theNOAA, snowfall has been recorded on the summit for every month of the year.[22] Mount Mansfield averages 197.7 nights at or below 32 °F (0 °C) annually. Extreme temperatures ranges from 88 °F (31 °C) on August 12, 2025 to −39 °F (−39 °C) on January 9, 1968.
| Climate data for Mount Mansfield, Vermont, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1954–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 53 (12) | 56 (13) | 65 (18) | 74 (23) | 85 (29) | 84 (29) | 84 (29) | 88 (31) | 79 (26) | 76 (24) | 63 (17) | 60 (16) | 88 (31) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 42.2 (5.7) | 38.7 (3.7) | 46.9 (8.3) | 60.4 (15.8) | 70.9 (21.6) | 75.3 (24.1) | 76.0 (24.4) | 74.2 (23.4) | 71.3 (21.8) | 62.4 (16.9) | 52.6 (11.4) | 43.7 (6.5) | 77.6 (25.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 21.1 (−6.1) | 22.7 (−5.2) | 30.2 (−1.0) | 42.6 (5.9) | 57.0 (13.9) | 65.3 (18.5) | 69.0 (20.6) | 67.6 (19.8) | 61.1 (16.2) | 47.7 (8.7) | 36.2 (2.3) | 26.6 (−3.0) | 45.6 (7.6) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 13.4 (−10.3) | 15.0 (−9.4) | 22.9 (−5.1) | 35.0 (1.7) | 48.9 (9.4) | 57.8 (14.3) | 62.2 (16.8) | 60.9 (16.1) | 54.2 (12.3) | 41.4 (5.2) | 29.8 (−1.2) | 19.8 (−6.8) | 38.4 (3.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 5.7 (−14.6) | 7.3 (−13.7) | 15.6 (−9.1) | 27.5 (−2.5) | 40.8 (4.9) | 50.3 (10.2) | 55.4 (13.0) | 54.2 (12.3) | 47.3 (8.5) | 35.1 (1.7) | 23.4 (−4.8) | 12.9 (−10.6) | 31.3 (−0.4) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −22.4 (−30.2) | −18.1 (−27.8) | −12.1 (−24.5) | 7.0 (−13.9) | 21.6 (−5.8) | 32.8 (0.4) | 41.4 (5.2) | 40.2 (4.6) | 28.9 (−1.7) | 16.7 (−8.5) | 3.3 (−15.9) | −12.5 (−24.7) | −25.6 (−32.0) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −39 (−39) | −36 (−38) | −31 (−35) | −13 (−25) | 5 (−15) | 20 (−7) | 26 (−3) | 25 (−4) | 16 (−9) | 5 (−15) | −11 (−24) | −38 (−39) | −39 (−39) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 5.62 (143) | 5.26 (134) | 5.88 (149) | 6.31 (160) | 6.88 (175) | 7.86 (200) | 7.31 (186) | 6.89 (175) | 7.26 (184) | 7.63 (194) | 6.68 (170) | 7.51 (191) | 81.09 (2,061) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 40.9 (104) | 44.6 (113) | 38.7 (98) | 21.4 (54) | 5.5 (14) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.1 (0.25) | 10.1 (26) | 30.4 (77) | 43.2 (110) | 234.9 (596.25) |
| Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 54.6 (139) | 74.7 (190) | 88.3 (224) | 84.8 (215) | 53.6 (136) | 2.4 (6.1) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 5.8 (15) | 18.8 (48) | 35.7 (91) | 92.0 (234) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 21.6 | 18.2 | 17.2 | 15.4 | 15.4 | 16.2 | 16.3 | 15.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 17.3 | 21.5 | 203.7 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 18.2 | 16.1 | 13.0 | 6.4 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 3.8 | 10.4 | 17.0 | 86.9 |
| Source 1: NOAA[23] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service[24] | |||||||||||||
Year designated: 1980
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