Presidential Range

This article concerns the best-known Presidential Range; for the range of the same name in the Green Mountains of Vermont, see Presidential Range.

The Presidential Range of mountains is located in the White Mountains of the state of New Hampshire, almost entirely in Coos County. The most notable summits of the range are named for prominent Americans, either public figures of the 18th and 19th centuries or Presidents.

Summits

These summits include, in sequence from southwest to northeast:

• Mt. Webster - after Daniel Webster
• Mt. Jackson* - after Andrew Jackson
• Mt. Pierce* - after Franklin Pierce (formerly Mt. Clinton - after DeWitt Clinton)
• Mt. Eisenhower* - after Dwight Eisenhower
• Mt. Franklin - after Benjamin Franklin
• Mt. Monroe* - after James Monroe
• Mt. Washington* - after George Washington (A general at time of naming, and only later a president)
• Mt. Clay - after Henry Clay (A proposed name change involves complications.)
• Mt. Jefferson* - after Thomas Jefferson
• Mt. Sam Adams - after Samuel Adams
• Mt. Adams* - after John Adams
• Mt. John Quincy Adams - after John Quincy Adams
• Mt. Madison* - after James Madison

Mt. Adams has, besides its main summit, four subsidiary peaks that are also commonly recognized by name; two, Sam Adams and John Quincy Adams, are listed above. The third and fourth are:

• Adams 4 ("Mt. Abigail Adams" has been proposed)
• Adams 5

The summits marked with an asterisk (*) are included on the peak-bagging list of 4,000-foot and higher mountains in New Hampshire; the others are excluded, in some cases because of lesser height and in others because of more technical criteria.

Mount Reagan complexities

In 2003, the New Hampshire legislature passed House Bill 82 "officially renaming Mt. Clay to Mount Reagan". As names (even of persons) are generally regarded in law a matters of fact rather than direct results of legal action, the legal force of this legislation is unlikely to extend beyond actions of New Hampshire state agencies in, for instance, printing maps for promoting tourism.

Maps used in connection with foot travel in the Presidentials are generally those published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). Both of these organizations adhere to the names listed by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN).

The policies as of 2004 of the BGN are expected to at least delay it from putting its approval on the name "Mt. Reagan", including not considering "commemorative names" for geographic features when the namesake is a living person or one alive in the previous five years. The applicability of its policy of resisting most kinds of changes is unclear.

Watersheds

The Presidentials separate drainage via the Saco and Androscoggin Rivers into the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of Maine, from drainage into the Israel and Ammonoosuc Rivers, thence into the Connecticut River, and thence into Long Island Sound.