How does Owl's Head in White Mountains look like an actual owl's head?

[alxga]

Hi, all

I've been trying to figure it out for a long time. I've been to the Owl's Head summit and even did a loop around it (the Pemi loop) to view the mountain from different angles. I cannot understand how the mountain resembles an owl's head. I'd be happy to learn what features make it look like the said head

 

[Ear Drum]

The Owl's Head is a rock outcropping on the Southeast side of the mountain. I perceived it as an owl's head only in winter, when snow fills in part of the rock, and the light is just so. Here's my pic from this past March, on a winter morning, taken at the Black Pond. From here, it's like you're looking into the face of the owl, perhaps a fierce owl:



The summit is to the left and out of the frame. The coordinates of this rocky point are: 44.12939, -71.59364.

I was once told that from the Franconia Ridge, the entire ridge line of Owl's Head looks like the head of an owl. It's an exaggerated stretched-out depiction of an owl, and some imagination helps to see it—I see it! This may not be the best angle, but I think you can make out a long curved head with two pointy ears at each far end. My photo from this August on Mt Lafayette:

 

[peakbagger]

I would tend to support that the Owls Head Cliff on the south end at one time reminded someone of an Owls Head from some vantage point. JE Henry moved into the area to log it from the East Branch from the south so expect if it was not named previously, it would have gotten a name as the cliff and presumable profile would be very apparent. Keep in mind, slides, slide so it may have changed over the years. The OJI slides at BSP at one point soon after the slides formed distinctly looked like the letters OJI (from old photos) but subsequent slides, obscured the letters.

 

[Grey J]

I can definitely see it in the winter photo of the cliff at the south end, but I fail to see it in any of the photos showing the whole mountain. All good photos though.

 

[Salty]

JE Henry moved into the area to log it from the East Branch from the south so expect if it was not named previously, it would have gotten a name as the cliff and presumable profile would be very apparent.

FWIW, it was named as early as 1890, quite a while before Henry poked his nose about there. 😊

Crawford's Map of the White Mountains of New Hampshire

A mammoth 1890 map of the White Mountains of New Hampshire by George T. Crawford, one of the leading North Country foresters of his time. Crawford’s map i

bostonraremaps.com

 

[OldEric]

The Arrow Slide on North Hancock is another that is fading into obscurity

 

[alxga]

Thanks, all! Yes, I think the first photo does resemble an owl's head lol. That's an interesting angle. I'm assuming this would be the area in the red circle in my photo but maybe I'm wrong. Looks like it takes a lot of zoom as well to actually see it. The photo is taken from 44.106185, -71.581803.



As for the ridge pic, it takes too much imagination for me to see it there. It only has the two raised points on each edge for ears - I can see those but not anything else to make it an owl

 

[alxga]

FWIW, it was named as early as 1890, quite a while before Henry poked his nose about there. 😊

Crawford's Map of the White Mountains of New Hampshire

A mammoth 1890 map of the White Mountains of New Hampshire by George T. Crawford, one of the leading North Country foresters of his time. Crawford’s map i

bostonraremaps.com

Actually, on that map the label is indeed close to that rocky outcropping on the Southeast of the mountain - which seems to support this naming theory

 

[KRooney]

Thanks, all! Yes, I think the first photo does resemble an owl's head lol. That's an interesting angle. I'm assuming this would be the area in the red circle in my photo but maybe I'm wrong. Looks like it takes a lot of zoom as well to actually see it. The photo is taken from 44.106185, -71.581803.

View attachment 7250

As for the ridge pic, it takes too much imagination for me to see it there. It only has the two raised points on each edge for o ears - I can see those but not anything else to make it an owl

I for one really have to strain to pretend there's an Owl in there somewhere. All I know is that when I'm at Black Pond and look north I know that some refer to that cliff area as Owls Head.

 

[NHClimber]

There's a bird in there somewhere...

 

[Ear Drum]

Thanks, all! Yes, I think the first photo does resemble an owl's head lol. That's an interesting angle. I'm assuming this would be the area in the red circle in my photo but maybe I'm wrong. Looks like it takes a lot of zoom as well to actually see it. The photo is taken from 44.106185, -71.581803.

....

That's it, in your red circle. I also have some photos that have the owls head in the trees like that. So, my pic where you can see the cliff is from a slightly different spot.

 

[Ear Drum]

I can just make it out, the outline of the top of an owl's head, in the summit ridge:



It's like a cartoon drawing:


Kind of like seeing characters in the cliffs, or the clouds.

Actually, I do feel that the owl is really in the rock outcropping (as shown in my other photo above, in post #2).

 

[NHClimber]

I can just make it out, the outline of the top of an owl's head, in the summit ridge:

View attachment 7253

It's like a cartoon drawing:
View attachment 7252

Kind of like seeing characters in the cliffs, or the clouds.

Actually, I do feel that the owl is really in the rock outcropping (as shown in my other photo above, in post #2).

Thx for the crayola 64. In all seriousness, I didn’t see it until your drawing. That said, seems like a tremendous stretch to me!

 

[Grey J]

FWIW I believe it's labeled Owl Head on the old map, not Owl's Head.

 

[Salty]

I've always seen it labeled at the south end (the outcrops) FWIW.

 

[NHClimber]

1929 Topo says “Owls Head”.