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wood prints new hampshire wood prints state symbol wood prints rock formation wood prints face wood prints granite wood prints old man of the mountain wood prints

photographs new hampshire photos state symbol photos rock formation photos face photos granite photos old man of the mountain photos

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The former state symbol of New Hampshire, The Old Man of the Mountain was a rock formation formed on a shoulder of Profile Mountain, 1200 feet above Profile Lake in the Franconia Notch. It was composed of 5 layers of Conway red granite, one exactly on top of the other. One formed the chin, another the upper lip, a third the nose and 2 layers made up the forehead. It was a measured at 40 feet 5 inches in height. Sometime during the night of May 2/3, 2003, much of the nose and mouth fell off. The very brutal winter of 2002/2003 contributed to its demise, even though for many years much of the face was tethered to the mountain with steel cables for support. After it fell and geologists had their first close look at the site, it was discovered that much of the underlying soil was wet, meaning the constant freezing and thawing of the brutal winter had loosened the ground to the point of simply not being able to support the gigantic layers of stone.