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Located in the northeastern region of the U.S., New Hampshire is one of the smallest states and ranks
46th in total area at 9,351 square miles (24,219 square kilometers or 2,421,898 hectares). The state
contains 8,969 square miles (23,230 square kilometers or 2,322,960 hectares) of land, whereas 382
square miles (989 square kilometers or 98,938 hectares) are covered by water. New Hampshire shares
borders with Canada’s province Quebec to the north, Massachusetts to the south, the Atlantic Ocean and
Maine to the east, and by Vermont to the west.
The geography of New Hampshire is characterized by three land areas: the Coastal Lowlands, the
Eastern New England Upland, and the White Mountain Region. The Coastal Lowlands of the southeastern
part of the state contain the state’s short, 13-mile (21 kilometer) coastline with the Atlantic Ocean.
These lowlands are characterized by the sandy beaches of the coast, and rivers and wetlands further
inland. The Eastern New England Upland region comprises much of southern New Hampshire, and extends
from Maine to Connecticut. Within this region, the Merrimack Valley, Hills and Lakes Region, and
Connecticut River Valley contain distinctive features. The Merrimack Valley represents a hilly valley
traversed by the Merrimack River, and features fertile soil. The Hills and Lakes region extends from
the Maine border south nearly to Vermont; most of the state’s lakes are found here. The Connecticut
River Valley follows the Connecticut River north to south and contains pastoral land as well as
forested hills. In the White Mountains Region of the northern part of the state, the landscape is
rugged and mountainous, with six peaks reaching over a mile (over 1.6 kilometers) in elevation.
Major rivers in the Granite State, also known as the "Mother of Rivers", include the
Connecticut, Pemigewasset, Winnipesaukee, Coheco, Salmon Falls, Piscataqua, Androscoggin, and Saco
rivers. The state boasts over 1,300 lakes or ponds. The highest peak is Mount Washington at 6,288 feet (1,917 meters) above sea level.
New Hampshire experiences a variable climate with four distinct seasons. Summers are short and
cool, winters are long and cold, and fall is pleasant and showcases extraordinary leaf color. The
state’s location midway between the North Pole and the equator places it between air-mass boundaries
which are warm and moist from the south, and cold and dry from the north; the result is a highly
varying climate. Additional influences include the cold water current along the east coast and a warm
water current along the southern coast, and the elevation variation throughout the state. The average
daily temperature in Concord is 46 degrees F (7.8 degrees C), with an average January high of 21
degrees F (-6.1 degrees C) and an average July high of 70 degrees F (21.1 degrees C). Precipitation
averages at 37.6 inches (95.5 centimeters) annually in Concord, with an average snowfall of 65 inches
(165.1 centimeters) a year, with over 100 inches (254 centimeters) per year in the mountains. Extreme
weather conditions occur at Mount Washington, which received the strongest non-tornado wind ever
recorded (231 miles (372 kilometers) per hour) in 1934.
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