what you may not know is melville had a view of mt greylock (the tallest mountain in massachusetts) from the porch of his home, arrowhead. the view of mt greylock covered in snow in winter is said to have reminded melville of a great white whale, and thusly partly inspired him to write the now famous tale. i couldn't find a picture in google image search but i've seen it with my own eyes and yeah it's kinda cool.