Pawtuckaway State Park

Pawtuckaway State Park
New Hampshire State Park
Country United States
State New Hampshire
County Rockingham County
Town Nottingham, Deerfield
Coordinates 43°6′7″N 71°10′52″W / 43.10194°N 71.18111°W / 43.10194; -71.18111Coordinates: 43°6′7″N 71°10′52″W / 43.10194°N 71.18111°W / 43.10194; -71.18111
Area 22.22 km2 (9 sq mi)
IUCN category V - Protected Landscape/Seascape
Website: Pawtuckaway State Park

Pawtuckaway State Park is a 5,000-acre (20 km2) preserve in New Hampshire, United States. It is one of the largest state parks in southeastern New Hampshire[1] and is named for Pawtuckaway Lake and the Pawtuckaway Mountains. The park extends from the west shore of the lake to the west side of the mountains.

Geology

1957 topographic map, showing lake and ring dike

The Pawtuckaway Mountains are a small, rocky, circular range that form the outline of an ancient volcanic ring dike[2][3] dating from 130—110 million years ago (Cretaceous).[4] The ring dike, first completely mapped in 1944,[4] is a smaller and more accessible example of the same kind of geological process that formed the Ossipee Mountains to the north. The inner ring is roughly one mile in diameter, while the outer is measured at almost two miles.

Earthquakes occurred in the vicinity of the ring dike in the summer and fall of 1845. Known as the Deerfield explosions, they were described as subterranean noises often as loud as the report of a 12 pounder cannon when heard at a distance of half a mile but without echoes.[5] They were the subject of much speculation at the time.[6]

Environment

The park lies within the Northeastern coastal forests ecoregion.[7]

Recreation

Aerial map of Pawtuckaway Lake and part of Pawtuckaway State Park (green overlay); the southeast quarter of the ring dike is visible in the upper left corner

Hiking trails lead to the approximately 900-foot (270 m) summits of North and South Pawtuckaway mountains and connect the ring dike area to the lake. The lake is a 783-acre (317 ha) water body with numerous islands and coves and is a popular boating, fishing, and swimming destination. Since orienteering enthusiasts made an orienteering map of the park in 1992,[8] the park has become a venue for major orienteering meets, including foot orienteering and canoe orienteering.[9] The venue is shared by several orienteering clubs in New England, including Cambridge Sports Union, New England Orienteering Club, and Up North Orienteers.[8] The Pawtuckaway ring dike includes a boulder field of interest to bouldering climbers,[10] and the park is a popular destination for geocaching.

Park amenities include 195 campsites, 15 miles (24 km) of hiking trails,[1] a boat launch, a swimming beach, camp store, ball field, playground, bathhouse, shelters, picnic tables, and canoe and rowboat rentals.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 New Hampshire GRANIT database
  2. ↑ Sherry Godlewski (Fall 2003). "Pawtuckaway Rocks" (PDF). Bear-Paw Print. Deerfield, New Hampshire, USA: Bear-Paw Regional Greenways. III (II): 1 and 4.
  3. ↑ "Pawtuckaway Ring Dike". Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  4. 1 2 G. Nelson Eby (August 1995). "Third Hutton Symposium on Granites and Related Rocks: Pre-Conference Field Trip: Part I: White Mountain Magma Series" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
  5. ↑ Moore, Jacob Bailey (1893). History of the town of Candia, Rockingham County, N.H.: from its first settlement to the present time. Manchester, New Hampshire: George Waldo Browne. pp. 325–327.
  6. ↑ "New Hampshire correspondence [Letters concerning the Deerfield explosions]". New York Municipal Gazette. I (46): 660–661. February 1, 1847.
  7. ↑ Olson, D. M, E. Dinerstein; et al. (2001). "Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Life on Earth". BioScience. 51 (11): 933–938. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0933:TEOTWA]2.0.CO;2. Archived from the original on October 14, 2011.
  8. 1 2 "UNO Map List". Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  9. ↑ "Gould Home Page, Orienteering Section, Introduction". Retrieved 2008-10-09.
  10. ↑ "Pawtuckaway Ring Dike". Retrieved 2008-10-18.
  11. ↑ "Pawtuckaway State Park", New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation
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