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Mount Clay

Mount Clay, seen from above at true elevation

Mount Clay rises to 1,684 m in New Hampshire. Mount Washington stands 1,917 m to the south-southeast, 1.2 miles off. The nearest named place is Ball Crag, a peak 1.1 miles away. Presidential Range Tour passes 3.7 miles off.

The story

Mount Clay is a peak located in Thompson and Meserve's Purchase in Coos County in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. It is a rise about 0.9-mile (1.4 km) long and a few hundred feet tall, with summit elevation of 5,533 feet (1,686 m); it lies on the ridge joining the summits of Mount Washington, about 0.9-mile (1.4 km) to the south-southeast, with that of Mount Jefferson, about 1.3-mile (2.1 km) north. The Appalachian Trail, coinciding there with the Gulfside Trail, rises about a hundred feet approaching it northbound, and passes 0.1-mile (0.16 km) from the summit, 200 feet (61 m) below it. The 1.2-mile (1.9 km) Mt. Clay Loop passes over the summit. The Jewell Trail is a popular choice as a relatively less strenuous route to Mt. Washington's summit; hikers ascending it, eastbound, from the vicinity of the cog rail base station join the Gulfside Trail about 0.4-mile (0.64 km) from Clay's summit and about 200 feet (61 m) below, and give up about 100 feet (30 m) in descending the southern tail of Clay, before resuming the ascent of Washington. The mountain is named for Henry Clay, 19th-century senator and U.S. Secretary of State from Kentucky, known as "The Great Compromiser". In 2003, the New Hampshire state legislature, participating in a Reagan Legacy project, made it state law that Mt. Clay "shall hereafter be called and known as Mount Reagan," after President Ronald Reagan. The legal force of this is limited to actions by the state of New Hampshire. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) voted in May 2010 not to change the name of the mountain. Maps used in connection with foot travel in the Presidentials are typically published by the U.S. Geological Survey (which adheres by law to BGN's naming), and by the Appalachian Mountain Club and two New England companies, all three of whom as of 2010 use "Clay" and make no mention of "Reagan". Although well over 4,000 feet (1,200 m) in height above sea level, the Appalachian Mountain Club does not consider Mount Clay a "four-thousand footer" because it stands less than 200 feet (61 m) above the col on the ridge from Washington, making it a secondary summit of that peak.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Wikidata Q6920171, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.

What the record says

Elevation
1684 m

How to reach it

Coordinates44.28589, -71.31580

Overlooks nearby

Named places within 25 miles

Peaks
Nature reserves
Parks
  • Randolf Springs Town Park: 5.6 mi
  • Durand Lake: 6.2 mi
  • Mossy Glen: 6.6 mi
  • William H. Peek Memorial Park: 6.7 mi
  • Prospect Farm: 7.5 mi
Waterfalls: 51
Attractions: 41
  • Mount Washington Observatory: 1.2 mi
  • ZipRider Wildcat Mountain: 4.1 mi
  • Cog Railway Display: 11.1 mi
  • Ho Ho Ho H20: 13.0 mi
  • Rudys Rapid Transit: 13.1 mi
Cliffs: 39
Museums: 22
Picnic sites: 20
Historic sites: 18
Springs: 6
  • Gulfside Spring: 1.7 mi
  • Spaulding Spring: 1.8 mi
  • Peabody Spring: 2.3 mi
  • Deer Hill Spring: 16.8 mi
  • lower falls: 19.1 mi
Beaches: 6
  • Echo Lake Beach: 20.2 mi
  • Pleasant Point Town Beach: 21.5 mi
  • Beach Area #1: 22.3 mi
  • Beach Area #2: 22.7 mi
  • Fiddlehead Campground: 24.4 mi
Artworks: 4
  • Hannes Schneider: 18.8 mi
  • Pollyanna Statue: 22.7 mi
  • Tree Harp: 22.7 mi
  • Sunflowers: 22.8 mi
Rest areas: 3
Gardens: 2
  • Laura Lee Viger Community Gardens: 14.1 mi
  • Lancaster Community Garden: 18.8 mi
Ghost towns: 1
Covered bridges: 1

Other summits around it

The highest named summits within 7.8 miles of Mount Clay. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.

SummitBearingElevationDistance
Mount WashingtonSSE 150°1,917 m1.2 mi
Ball CragSE 136°1,843 m1.1 mi
Agiocochook CragESE 111°1,748 m1.3 mi
Mount AdamsNNE 26°1,748 m2.7 mi
Mount JeffersonN 358°1,725 m1.3 mi
Nelson CragESE 107°1,708 m1.5 mi
Mount Sam AdamsNNE 18°1,682 m2.6 mi
Boott SpurSSE 155°1,664 m2.5 mi

When to go

Light through the year

DateSunriseGolden hourSunset
March equinox06:4918:1918:58
June solstice05:0219:4920:33
September equinox06:3318:0618:45
December solstice07:1915:2216:10

Local time (America/New_York).

Climate normals

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg °F6613243646504943312112
Precip in5.75.46.77.37.78.68.97.77.710.08.17.4

1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — MT Washington, 1 mi away.

Where this comes from

Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.

OpenStreetMapWikidata
  • USGS Geographic Names Information System feature 871692 — Mount Clay, Coos County, New Hampshire.

OpenStreetMap element node/357729820

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