High Knob

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 This article's factual accuracy is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. (January 2010)
High Knob = High Knob Massif = High Knob Landform ( HKL )

High Knob Tower
Elevation 4,223 ft (1,287 m)
Prominence 2,050 ft (620 m) [1]
Location
Location Wise County, Virginia, USA
Range Cumberland Mountains
Coordinates 36°53′34″N 82°37′45″W / 36.89278°N 82.62917°W / 36.89278; -82.62917Coordinates: 36°53′34″N 82°37′45″W / 36.89278°N 82.62917°W / 36.89278; -82.62917
Topo map USGS Norton
Climbing
Easiest route Hike, or drive from Route 619 to near the summit

High Knob is the peak of Stone Mountain, and is part of a large mountain, or massif, in Wise County, Virginia near the city of Norton that rises to 4,223 feet ( 1,287 meters ) above mean sea level.

High Knob is found on the western front range of the Appalachian Mountains, along the mountainous southeastern edge of the Cumberland Plateau of southwestern Virginia. It's massif is unique to Virginia in containing both Appalachian Plateau and Ridge and Valley topography; although, it is largely a karstic landform of the Ridge and Valley Province.

The High Knob Massif stretches across portions of southern Wise County, northern Scott County, and the northeastern tip of Lee County. It is one of the most significant physical features in Virginia and is among the widest singular mountains in the southern Appalachians, being locally greater than 13 miles ( 21 km ) wide from base to base and more than 26 miles ( 42 km ) long. From the perspective of a singular mountain the High Knob mass is very large and can be said to represent a small massif, being today a remnant of a much greater mountain mass that once filled a large portion of the geologically celebrated Cumberland Mountain Overthrust Block upon which it rests ( first described in notable detail during the 1920s and 1930s by geologist's Charles Butts and John Rich ).

Although some 1,000 to 1,500 feet (300 to 450 m) lower in elevation than the famed Mount Rogers highcountry ( Mount Rogers is the highest peak in Virginia ), the terrain surrounding the High Knob of Stone Mountain forms a true highcountry with respect to the western slopes of the Appalachians in Virginia (i.e., the Cumberland Mountains).

The High Knob peak caps the High Knob Landform ( HKL ), which collectively contains the remnant massif of its highcountry ( between the Duffield Valley and Guest River Gorge ), as well as the extended landform of its ancient domain.

The HKL forms one of the greatest natural areas in the eastern United States. Today its calcareous heart has been breached by massive erosion to expose an ecologically renowned karst landscape which stretches from the subterranean wilderness of its remnant massif, and the Powell Valley of Wise County, southwest across the Powell River Valley of Lee County to the Norris Lake of Tennessee. Drainage from the High Knob Massif has also formed hydrologically complex conduit systems which have directly led to formation of the magnificent Natural Tunnel and Rye Cove Karst Basin of Scott County [2], where endemic species such as the Rye Cove Isopod [3] are found.

Included amid these amazing karst valleys of the HKL are such renowned features as The Cedars Natural Area Preserve and The Unthanks Cave Natural Area Preserve. The Cedars contain a unique flatrock-type of calcareous terrain that is home to at least 33 rare species of flora and fauna, such as the federally endangered Lee County Cave Isopod [4], and is considered to be one of the most significant natural areas in the southern Appalachians. The limestone barrens and glades of The Cedars are underlain by a complex subterranean drainage system that spreads outward to greatly enhance the ecological richness of the Powell River, and to join other renowned systems such as Unthanks Cave [5], one of the most biologically significant cave systems in Virginia and the southern Appalachians.

Standing boldly above this vast karst landscape are the rugged flanks of the HKL, which extend southwestward from the highcountry of its remnant massif to hold such incredible features as Cumberland Gap National Historical Park ( NHP ), Cave Springs Wilderness Area, Roaring Branch Gorge, and Flag Rock Recreation Area [6].

The northwestern arm of the HKL can be traced from Pickem Mountain, above the city of Norton and High Knob Massif, southwest to beyond Cumberland Gap NHP. It is only broken by water level gaps at Big Stone Gap and Pennington Gap before reaching Cumberland Gap NHP, with the wind gap of Little Stone Mountain near Norton featuring the scenic Powell Valley Overlook and passage of U.S. 23 ( i.e., the Country Music Highway ). The most famous gap of all within the northwestern arm of the HKL is historic Cumberland Gap.

The northwestern mountain arm of the HKL contains some of the most rugged terrain in the Appalachians, associated with highly overturned rock stratas, with the "White Rocks" [7] of Cumberland Gap NHP being one of the more infamous sections. The Grindstone Ridge Dome, towering above the head of Powell Valley in Wise County, looks downward upon the northwestern arm ( across the Valley ) and features a 2,000 foot ( 610 meters ) vertical drop within only 0.8 mile ( among the greatest short-distance plunges in Virginia and the southern Appalachians ).

The southeastern arm of the HKL is separated from its remnant massif of High Knob by the North Fork of the Clinch River Gap, between Duffield and Jasper, and stretches southwest as Powell Mountain and Powell Mountain-Newman Ridge into Tennessee. The southeastern arm of the HKL, and much of the remnant massif of its highcountry, acts to greatly enhance the flow volume and diversity of the ecologically renowned Clinch River.

The Nature Conservancy's extraordinary Pendleton Island Preserve [8] is located on the Clinch River near its confluence with the mainstem of the Big Stony Basin of High Knob. The Big Stony Basin is a 42-square mile ( 108.8 km2 ) multi-gorge wonder, with a vertical elevation range of nearly 3,000 feet ( 915 meters ).

The HKL is essentially the geological equivalent of the Powell Valley Anticline of the Cumberland Mountain Overthrust Block, and is its most dominant structural feature. With its adjoining faults ( Hunter Valley-Clinchport system ), this region possessess the greatest concentration of significant caves in Virginia [9].

The High Knob Massif of the HKL, in particular, exerts a significant impact upon the climate of southwestern Virginia and surrounding areas, being one of the rainiest and snowiest locations in both Virginia and the southern Appalachians. It helps generate an atypical decrease in precipitation upon traveling up-basin in the Clinch River Valley, via moisture extraction leeward of its windward slopes and crests, which makes the head of the Clinch River Basin much drier than locations within, and downstream of, the High Knob Massif.

This orographically forced climate has, through the vastness of time, worked in intimate union with the geology and topography to create a richly diverse landscape possessing vast biological diversity. The renowned biodiversity of the Clinch River Valley [10].

The High Knob Massif unofficially holds the record for the most snow ever measured in Virginia during a single season, with 200.5 inches ( 509 cm ) during the 1995–96 winter.

During a typical year, 60.0 inches to 70.0 inches ( 152.4 cm to 178.0 cm ) of total precipitation falls across the massif, to make it one of the wettest areas north of the Great Smokies, and the wettest in Virginia for which there are available records. Significant additional moisture contributions occur from fog drip off trees and rime deposition on trees, with many days during the year being spent amid orographic feeder clouds that cap its upper elevations.

The High Knob Massif contains numerous bogs & wetlands, as well as seven mid-upper elevation man-made water bodies ( when including its northwestern arm segment called Little Stone Mountain ), ranging in elevation between 2,360 feet and 3,490 feet ( 720 to 1,064 m ) above mean sea level.

It is the only known mountain in the southern Appalachians with so many bodies of water upon its crest, and the only mountain in which one can drive by five different lakes and never drop below 3,000 feet ( 915 m ) above mean sea level until either the very end or beginning of the journey ( depending upon the starting point ). Many more lakes, including the great Norris Lake, are contained within the complete expanse of the HKL.

A large number of mid-upper elevation basins hold all these lakes and wetlands, which acts to separate the High Knob Massif from other mountains within the southern Appalachians ( again, a function of its atypically large base-to-base widths, and sprawling crestal surface ).

A few of the more notable basins within the core of the massif include: High Knob Lake Basin, Benges Basin, Big Cherry Basin, Glady Fork Basin, and Bark Camp Basin.

The High Knob Massif contains one of the greatest concentrations of mountain gorges in Virginia, with many being associated with a complex duplex imbricate system that topographically possessess an atypically long back-slope. The longest back-slope on any mountain in western Virginia.

The High Knob Massif contains one of the greatest concentrations of extreme whitewater creeks of any single mountain in the eastern United States, arising from its high concentration of gorges, with such notable American Whitewater [11] rated runs as: Little Stony Gorge [12], South Fork Gorge[13], Mountain Fork of Big Stony Gorge [14], Guest River Gorge [15], and many other extreme to super-extreme micro-creek runs such as the Jasper Creek Narrows of Dry Fork Gorge [16]. Rugged extreme creeks, and micro-creeks, draining the immense Straight Fork Gorge and Chimney Rock Fork Gorge have not yet even been run or rated. Many more are candidates.

The High Knob peak is located just beyond the northern end of Powell Mountain, which is also part of the High Knob Massif and HKL.

The High Knob Massif forms a core area of the Clinch Valley Bioreserve, a 2,200 square mile ( 5,700 km² ) section of southwestern Virginia and upper east Tennessee that has been designated by the Nature Conservancy as one of the Last Great Places in the World.

The HKL is a national biodiversity hotspot, with the HKL and its remnant massif of High Knob forming the center of rarity and richness of limited range species in the continental United States, as designated by Precious Heritage: The Status of Biodiversity in the United States [17].

On a clear day, four other states can be seen from the summit: West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and North Carolina.

At its peak stood one of the few remaining fire towers of the Appalachian Mountains. Built in 1938–39 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the original structure was a 14' × 14' wooden house. The most recent three-story structure was built by the Flatwoods Job Corps in 1978–79. High Knob's fire tower is listed in the National Historic Lookout Registry.

On October 31, 2007, the High Knob Lookout Tower was destroyed by arson. The tower was set on fire in the early hours of Halloween morning. By the time the Jefferson Forest Service and local fire departments arrived on scene, the fire tower was fully engulfed in flames, and could not be saved. Firefighters were able to keep the fire from spreading to the rest of the Knob, which was suffering from drought conditions.

For more information about High Knob, current events, and important news, please reference The Clinch Coalition [ http://www.clinchcoalition.net/index.php?pr=Home_Page ].

For more information about the High Knob Landform ( HKL ), to read about current climate and biodiversity topics, or to contact the biologist and climate researcher behind this project, please reference the following site [ http://www.highknoblandform.com/2009/09/high-knob-landform.html ].

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Key col elevation between 2,160 and 2,180 feet. [1]

[edit] External links

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