# Wachusett seamount

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wachusett-seamount/36076>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 7, 2000, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wachusett-seamount/36076 "2000-10-07T17:38:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![scratch1300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@scratch1300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scratch1300)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wachusett-seamount/36076/1 "2000-10-07T17:38:49Z")

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Our local mountain here in central Mass. is called Wachusett. There is also an underwater mountain of the same name: Wachusett Seamount in the Pacific Ocean. I’m wondering, what is the connection? I haven’t been able to find the origin of the seamount’s name, though I suspect it has something to do with a ship called Wachusett (and there’s been more than one ship with that name, I believe).

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**Author:** ![Jorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@Jorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jorge)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wachusett-seamount/36076/2 "2000-10-07T21:12:30Z")

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Probably so-named by a whaling ship whose captain hailed from that part of Massachusetts.

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**Author:** ![jamshid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecd19e/32.png) [@jamshid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jamshid)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2000, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wachusett-seamount/36076/3 "2000-10-08T04:02:17Z")

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Whaling ships naming seamounts? Hmmm…

scratch, why not just phone the mountain and ask?

IIRC from when I used to ski that “mountain” (vertical drop of about 250 ft), the story had something to do with an Indian (sorry, _Native American_) name.

If you’re really interested (god have mercy upon my extremely bored soul), go here: [Wachusett Mountain](http://www.wachusett.com/)

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**Author:** ![madd1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@madd1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madd1)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2000, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wachusett-seamount/36076/4 "2000-10-08T04:09:46Z")

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It has always amazed/amused me that Mt. Wachusett is called a “Mountain”. So (Hijack) Why is it called a mountain? It is more of a hill. (/Hijack)