-Belknap Mountain is a mountain

Mountain

Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

 located in Belknap County

Belknap County, New Hampshire

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 56,325 people, 22,459 households, and 15,496 families residing in the county. The population density was 140 people per square mile . There were 32,121 housing units at an average density of 80 per square mile...

, New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

, south of Lake Winnipesaukee

Lake Winnipesaukee

Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It is approximately long and from wide , covering — when Paugus Bay is included—with a maximum depth of ....

. Like the county, the mountain and the associated Belknap Mountains are named after Jeremy Belknap

Jeremy Belknap

Jeremy Belknap was an American clergyman and historian. His great achievement was the "History of New Hampshire", published in three volumes between 1784 and 1792. This work is the first modern history written by an American, embodying a new rigor in research, annotation, and reporting.Jeremy was...

 (1744–1798), a renowned preacher, historian, and author of The History of New Hampshire.

The peak of Belknap Mtn. is the highest point in the county.
Although of only modest elevation, the isolation of the Belknap Mountains gives Belknap Mtn. 1850 ft (563.9 m) of relative height above the low ground separating it from the White Mountains

White Mountains (New Hampshire)

The White Mountains are a mountain range covering about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire and a small portion of western Maine in the United States. Part of the Appalachian Mountains, they are considered the most rugged mountains in New England...

, making it one of the fifty most topographically prominent

Topographic prominence

In topography, prominence, also known as autonomous height, relative height, shoulder drop , or prime factor , categorizes the height of the mountain's or hill's summit by the elevation between it and the lowest contour line encircling it and no higher summit...

 peaks in New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

.
Belknap Mtn. is flanked to the northwest by Gunstock Mountain

Gunstock Mountain

Gunstock Mountain, elevation , is the second highest peak in the Belknap Range of central New Hampshire. It is located north of Belknap Mountain, the highest point in the range. It is also the home to Gunstock Mountain Resort ski area...

, the site of the Gunstock Mountain Resort

Gunstock Mountain Resort

Gunstock Mountain Resort is a sports complex located on Gunstock Mountain in Gilford, New Hampshire, and is owned by Belknap County. Activities include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow tubing, ski jumping, snowshoeing, hiking, swimming, and skateboarding.-History:The original Gunstock...

 ski area. The summit of Belknap Mountain features an active fire tower.

Belknap Mountain stands within the watershed

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 of the Merrimack River

Merrimack River

The Merrimack River is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport...

, which drains into the Gulf of Maine

Gulf of Maine

The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America.It is delineated by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and Cape Sable at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast. It includes the entire coastlines of the U.S...

 in Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

.
The east and northeast sides of Belknap Mtn. drain into Poorfarm Brook, thence into Lake Winnipesaukee, the Winnipesaukee River

Winnipesaukee River

The Winnipesaukee River is a river that connects Lake Winnipesaukee with the Pemigewasset and Merrimack rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire. The river is located in the Lakes Region of central New Hampshire. The total drainage area of the river is approximately .There are two distinct sections of...

, and the Merrimack.
The west side of Belknap Mtn. drains into Gunstock River

Gunstock River

The Gunstock River is a river in the Lakes Region of central New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of Lake Winnipesaukee, part of the Merrimack River watershed.The Gunstock River is entirely within the town of Gilford, New Hampshire...

, thence into Lake Winnipesaukee.
The south side of Belknap Mtn. drains into Manning Lake, thence into Crystal Lake

Crystal Lake (Gilmanton, New Hampshire)

Crystal Lake is a water body located in Belknap County in the Lakes Region of central New Hampshire, United States, in the town of Gilmanton. Water from Crystal Lake flows via the Suncook River to the Merrimack River....

, the source of the Suncook River

Suncook River

The Suncook River is a river located in central New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Merrimack River, which flows to the Gulf of Maine....

, and thence into the Merrimack River.