Mount Bigelow (Maine)

Mount Bigelow (also called the Bigelow Range and Bigelow Mountain) is a long mountain ridge with several summits. It is located in Franklin County and Somerset County, Maine. It is one of Maine's highest summits. The mountain is named after Major Timothy Bigelow who climbed the rugged summit in late October 1775 "for the purpose of observation."[3] Major Bigelow was one of Colonel Benedict Arnold's four division commanders during the 1775 Invasion of Canada. The expeditionary force passed along the Dead River on the northern edge of the Bigelow Range, now dammed into Flagstaff Lake.

Mount Bigelow
Avery Peak (right), West Peak (left).
Highest point
Elevation4,145 ft (1,263 m)
Prominence2,845 ft (867 m) [1]
ListingNew England 4000 footers
Coordinates45°08′50″N 70°17′21″W [2]
Geography
Mount Bigelow
Parent rangeAppalachian Mountains
Topo mapUSGS Stratton, The Horns
Climbing
Easiest routeHiking via the Appalachian Trail.

The highest summit of Bigelow Mountain is West Peak, at 4,145 ft (1,263 m). Subpeaks include Avery Peak (Myron H. Avery Peak) at 4,088 ft (1,246 m), The Horns at 3,805 ft (1,160 m), Cranberry Peak at 3,194 ft (974 m), and Little Bigelow Mountain at about 3,070 ft (940 m). The Maine Appalachian Trail Club (MATC) maintains the trails on Bigelow Mountain and stations seasonal caretakers at the popular backcountry campsites at Horns Pond and Bigelow Col.

Bigelow Mountain is part of the Rangeley-Stratton mountain range, which also includes Sugarloaf Mountain, Crocker Mountain, Saddleback Mountain, Mount Abraham, Mount Redington, and other mountains.

The Appalachian Trail traverses Bigelow Mountain. Much of the mountain and surrounding area is part of the 10,540-acre (42.7 km2) Bigelow Preserve, created in 1976 in response to a massive proposed ski resort.[4][5][6]

The Appalachian Mountain Club considers both the West Peak and Avery Peak of Bigelow to be "four-thousand footers" because Avery Peak rises more than 200 feet (61 m) above the col that adjoins it to the higher West Peak. By this same criteria, the South Horn of Bigelow, while under 4,000 feet (1,200 m), qualifies for the New England Hundred Highest list.

In 1975, Bigelow Mountain was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.[7]

  • Mount Bigelow, Avery Peak
  • Little Bigelow Mountain
  • South Horn and North Horn
  • Little Bigelow Mountain as seen from the summit of Burnt Mountain.

See also
  • List of mountains in Maine

References
  1. "Bigelow Mountain, Maine". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2012-05-06.
  2. "Mount Bigelow". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  3. Hersey, Charles, Reminiscences of the Military Life and Sufferings of Col. Timothy Bigelow (1860) -- accessed 8 September 2008
  4. Bigelow Preserve Public Reserved Land
  5. Bigelow Mountain Ski Area - New England's Cancelled Ski Areas
  6. Bigelow Preserve Natural Area
  7. "National Natural Landmarks - National Natural Landmarks (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2019-03-22. Year designated: 1975
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