Rocky Gorge, on Kancamagus Highway

I expected to fall in love with New Hampshire’s mountains and waterfalls. I didn’t expect to become fascinated by rocks (that’s Denise’s thing).
But once someone explained what I was looking at, I couldn’t stop seeing it everywhere. Some of the pictures below may not look like much at first glance, but they’re showing millions of years of nature at work. Two geological features especially caught my attention.

1. Giant potholes in solid granite
At several places, the river formed whirlpools that kept sand, gravel, and rocks spinning in the same spot. Those rocks acted like a drill, slowly grinding perfectly round holes into solid granite. Not over decades - but over thousands of years.

2. Granite gorges
The gorges tell a different story. Long ago, cracks formed in the granite and molten rock filled them. When it cooled, it created a rock softer than the granite around it. Later, a glacier nearly a mile thick covered the area. As it melted, huge amounts of rushing water carved away the softer rock, leaving behind the steep granite walls and narrow gorges the rivers travel through.

Once you know the story behind these places, you stop seeing “just rocks.” You see what water, ice, and time can create. It was amazingRead more