North Fork Mountain
Encyclopedia
North Fork Mountain is a quartzite
-capped mountain ridge
in the Ridge and Valley physiographic province
of the Allegheny Mountains
(or "High Alleghenies" or "Potomac Highlands") of eastern West Virginia
, USA. Kile Knob, at 4,588 feet (1,398 m), is the mountain's highest point, and Panther Knob and Pike Knob are nearly as high.
North Fork Mountain is the driest high mountain in the Appalachians
, and has vegetation and flora different from nearby, wetter high mountain areas immediately to the west such as Spruce Knob
and Dolly Sods, with pines (Pinus) abundant on the mountain's ridgecrest, in contrast with the spruces (Picea) so characteristic of these comparably high summits across the North Fork Valley.
Structurally, North Fork Mountain is an anticline
mountain, a major part of the Wills Mountain Anticline system. The mountain's strata
(rock layers) are nearly flat, but the Tuscarora quartzite
that forms the mountain's caprock
is bent downwards (and now mostly eroded away) east and west of the ridge, becoming nearly vertical along the mountain's slopes, where the same quartzite stratum forms such dramatic outcrops as Seneca Rocks
.
Much of the mountain is within the Monongahela National Forest
, and a large portion of the mountain has been proposed for federal wilderness designation
or inclusion within a new unit of U.S. National Park System
. The Nature Conservancy
's Panther Knob and Pike Knob preserves are also located on North Fork Mountain.
The scenic North Fork Mountain Trail follows much of the ridge crest, and only one road (U.S. Route 33
) crosses the steep, rugged ridge.
and Pendleton
counties in West Virginia, defining the eastern edge of the upper watershed of the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River and the western edge of another portion of the watershed of the South Branch of the Potomac River. Near its northern end, it also forms the western edge of the Smoke Hole Canyon (the "Smoke Hole")
.
The north end of the mountain arises abruptly along the south side of North Fork Gap, a water gap
along the North Fork river and West Virginia Route 28 near Cabins
, west of Petersburg
. The mountain continues southwest from there to Dry Run Gap in southern Pendleton County.
North Fork Mountain reaches its highest elevation (4,588 feet, or 1,398 m) at Kile Knob. Other notable points along the mountain include Panther Knob at 4498 feet (1,371 m) and Pike Knob, both having nature preserves owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy
.
North Fork Mountain is part of the Wills Mountain Anticline, a geological structure that extends from Pennsylvania
through Maryland
and West Virginia
into Virginia
. The same geologic ridge that forms North Fork Mountain is known as New Creek Mountain
north of North Fork Gap. At North Fork's southern end, the ridge fragments into Devils Backbone, Brushy Mountain, and Monterey Mountain, with Snowy Mountain being a minor continuation into Virginia
.
Tuscarora
quartzite
(or sandstone
), a layer of erosion-resistant Silurian
rock only about 50 feet (15.2 m) thick, the major ridge-forming stratum
in eastern West Virginia, caps most of North Fork Mountain, often as a broad, slightly eastward-tilted slab, forming numerous west-facing cliffs and various larger outcrops such as Chimney Top and Harmon Rocks. Immediately west of the mountain, the same quartzite formation is nearly vertical, along the western limb of the anticline, forming such dramatic outcrops as Seneca Rocks
, Champe Rocks
, Nelson Rocks
, and Judy Rocks
The lower, western slopes of the mountain and the adjacent Germany Valley
are underlain by the easily eroded Ordovician
-aged New Market Limestone and are penetrated by numerous caves, such as the celebrated Hellhole
. Shale
s occur on some of North Fork Mountain's slopes.
There are no settlements on the mountain itself. Only one road, U.S. Route 33
, crosses the mountain, although various smaller roads climb its slopes or reach particular points on the ridgetop.
, established in 1911.
The foundations of a fire tower may still be seen on Pike Knob, with ruins of the watchman's cabin nearby.
Rohrbaugh Cabin
(or Allegheny Cabin), a log cabin built about 1880, still stands on the eastern slope of North Fork Mountain, along with various related structures. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1993.
Panther Knob, near the south end of North Fork Mountain, was first explored botanically by P.A. Rydberg
of the New York Botanical Garden
in 1926. He was astonished by the similarity of the mountaintop to the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, especially the presence of the beach heather (Hudsonia tomentosa)
. However, his findings were doubted until the mountaintop was revised by a group of botanists in the 1950's. Botanist Paul J. Harmon studied the flora of the entire length of North Fork Mountain's ridgetop, presenting his findings in 1981.
Beginning in the early 1980's, The Nature Conservancy
has become increasingly involved in habitat conservation on North Fork Mountain, working cooperatively with the U.S. Forest Service and with various private landowners, as well as establishing preserves on Panther Knob and on Pike Knob.
The forests on North Fork Mountain consists mainly of mixed oaks and other hardwoods, along with mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), flame azalea (Rhododendron calendulaceum), and wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)
. Pines (Pinus) are frequent along the ridgecrest, especially just back of clifftop openings. Fern
beds and various wildflower
s are common on the mountain's slopes. The mountain also supports a few high-elevation mountain meadows (sods)
, such as Nelson Sods near Pike Knob.
The exposed sandstone cliff edges so characteristic of the west side of North Fork Mountain support narrow zones of persistingly open, treeless habitat characterized by several unusual or regionally endemic plant species, including the silvery nailwort (Paronychia argyrocoma)
and the white alumroot (Heuchera alba)
. Chestnut oak (Quercus montana) and Table Mountain pine (Pinus pungens) are often found just back of the cliff edges.
Pine barrens
, maintained by frequent fires, cover several peaks; Panther Knob supports the largest pine barren in the Central Appalachians. Other rocky summits, including the 4300 feet (1,310.6 m) summit of Pike Knob, are blanketed by red pine (Pinus resinosa) forests, here at their southernmost natural occurrences. The Monongahela National Forest
has designated 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) of old growth red pine forest
on the mountain as the North Fork Mountain Red Pine Botanical Area.
Another unusual vegetation type on North Fork Mountain is an elfin forest dominated by yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), mountain ash (Sorbus americana)
, and mountain holly.
The oak-and-pine vegetation of North Fork Mountain contrasts strongly with the more diverse vegetation of the nearby mountains just west of the North Fork River, such as Spruce Mountain
and the Allegheny Front
, which receive considerably more rainfall. The lower slopes of those mountains are covered by mixed Appalachian hardwood forests dominated by sugar maple (Acer saccharum), beech (Fagus grandifolia), and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), with red spruce (Picea rubens) abundant at higher elevations. Fraser magnolia (Magnolia fraseri) occurs on the slopes of the Allegheny Front, becoming abundant westward, but is not known from North Fork Mountain.
The contrast is also great between North Fork Mountain's quartzite-outcrop vegetation and the superficially similar vegetation of the rocky sandstone
-conglomerate
openings of Spruce Knob
, Dolly Sods, and similar sites just west of North Fork Mountain. While North Fork Mountain's lesser rainfall is a substantial factor in this difference, another consideration is the nature of the bedrock itself. North Fork Mountain's fine-grained Tuscarora quartzite
erodes into sand
, which either quickly disperses or persists in cracks and crevices, sometimes even forming tiny dune
lets on wide, nearly flat open outcrops, as on Panther Knob. On the other hand, the various mountains along the Allegheny Front
immediately west of North Fork Mountain are capped instead by the coarse Pottsville sandstone conglomerate
, which erodes instead primarily into gravel
rather than sand. While many widespread Appalachian rock-outcrop species are shared between the two areas, openings on Dolly Sods lack the silvery nailwort, the white alumroot, and table-mountain pine, and instead support a greater species diversity, even including such wetland plants as the small cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos).
Paper birch (Betula papyrifera) groves thrive along Little Creek and on Pike Knob; this widespread northern tree is quite rare this far south. Other rare plant species on the mountain's slopes include butternut (Juglans cinerea) and the Smoke Hole bergamot (Monarda fistulosa var. brevis)
. Appalachian oak fern (Gymnocarpium appalachianum)
and Allegheny onion (Allium alleghaniense)
are also known from North Fork Mountain.
Pike Knob supports not only extensive red pine (Pinus resinosa) stands but also various Appalachian-endemic species such as rusty woodsia (Woodsia ilvensis)
, as well as boreal
species such as the three-toothed cinquefoil (Potentilla tridentata) and the bristly rose (Rosa acicularis)
, here at its southernmost known stand.
The cliff-skirted 4508 feet (1,374 m) summit of Panther Knob supports the world's largest population of variable sedge (Carex polymorpha)
, a fire-dependent globally vulnerable plant. Beach heather (Hudsonia tomentosa)
, typically found on coastal dunes, and Michaux's saxifrage (Saxifraga michauxii), a Southern Appalachian rock-outcrop endemic, also occur there.
, black bear
, and a variety of other bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species, including timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus)
. Coyote
s, bear, bobcat
s, and gray fox
es are known from the area near Pike Knob.
Two U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Species of Concern
are found on North Fork Mountain, the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
and the Allegheny woodrat (Neotoma magister)
, and Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos)
are also known there. Various locally abundant but globally rare species of bat
s that roost in nearby limestone
caverns
are also often seen foraging over North Fork Mountain's western slopes. The Pink-edged Sulfur (Colias interior)
is known from Panther Knob; the caterpillar
s of this widespread boreal butterfly feed on the blueberries (Vaccinium)
that thrive atop this knob after fires.
Spectacular views westward overlooking the North Fork River abound from many of North Fork Mountain's rocky outcrops. Places visible to the west from points on the ridgetop may include the River Knobs
(including Seneca Rocks
and Champe Rocks
), the Germany Valley
, the Fore Knobs, Hopeville Gorge, Spruce Mountain
and Spruce Knob
, and the Allegheny Front
. Backpacker Magazine described these views as some of “the best mountain scenery in the East”.
North Fork Mountain and the River Knobs feature prominently in views from the mountaintops immediately west of the North Fork Valley, including Spruce Knob and Dolly Sods.
Nelson Sods on North Fork Mountain offers spectacular views of the Roaring Plains, Spruce Mountain, and the North Fork Valley, as well as Shenandoah Mountain to the east. Similar views are also offered by other open summits on the mountain.
State Route 28 follows the North Fork River from North Fork Gap south to Cherry Grove
, offering diverse views of the River Knobs and North Fork Mountain to the east and the Fore Knobs, Allegheny Front, and Spruce Mountain to the west.
The Germany Valley Overlook on U.S. 33, on the west side of North Fork Mountain near Judy Gap
, offers views of the Germany Valley and North Fork Valley, the River Knobs and the Fore Knobs, Spruce Mountain and Spruce Knob, and the Allegheny Front extending northwards toward Dolly Sods, as well as a view back to the sandstone cliffs along the crest of North Fork Mountain itself.
Panther Knob is easily viewed from the west from Snowy Mountain Road south of Cherry Grove. Other views of Seneca Rocks and North Fork Mountain are offered by U.S. 33 as it descends the Allegheny Front approaching Seneca Rocks, and by SR 28 approaching Cherry Grove from the southwest. North Fork Gap and the eastern sides of North Fork and New Creek mountains may be seen from SR 28 west of Petersburg
, with the Dolly Sods portion of the Allegheny Front visible beyond the gap.
The 24-mile-long North Fork Mountain Trail (NFMT) follows much of the crest of the northern portion of the mountain. This trail was called the best trail in West Virginia by Outside
magazine. The North Fork Mountain Trail provides access to the 4300 feet (1,310.6 m) summit of Pike Knob.
Quartzite
Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to gray, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink...
-capped mountain ridge
Ridge
A ridge is a geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size. There are several main types of ridges:...
in the Ridge and Valley physiographic province
Physiographic province
A physiographic province is a geographic region with a specific geomorphology and often specific subsurface rock type or structural elements.A continent may be subdivided into various physiographic provinces, each having a specific character, relief, and environment which contributes to its...
of the Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
(or "High Alleghenies" or "Potomac Highlands") of eastern West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, USA. Kile Knob, at 4,588 feet (1,398 m), is the mountain's highest point, and Panther Knob and Pike Knob are nearly as high.
North Fork Mountain is the driest high mountain in the Appalachians
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
, and has vegetation and flora different from nearby, wetter high mountain areas immediately to the west such as Spruce Knob
Spruce Knob
Spruce Knob, at , is the highest point in the state of West Virginia and the summit of Spruce Mountain, the tallest mountain in the Alleghenies.-Overview:...
and Dolly Sods, with pines (Pinus) abundant on the mountain's ridgecrest, in contrast with the spruces (Picea) so characteristic of these comparably high summits across the North Fork Valley.
Structurally, North Fork Mountain is an anticline
Anticline
In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core. The term is not to be confused with antiform, which is a purely descriptive term for any fold that is convex up. Therefore if age relationships In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is...
mountain, a major part of the Wills Mountain Anticline system. The mountain's strata
Stratum
In geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers...
(rock layers) are nearly flat, but the Tuscarora quartzite
Tuscarora Formation
The Silurian Tuscarora Formation — also known as Tuscarora Sandstone or Tuscarora Quartzite — is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia.-Description:...
that forms the mountain's caprock
Caprock
The Caprock is a region in the Panhandle of Texas . It is the land to the west of the Caprock Escarpment, which separates it from plains stretching to the east at a much lower elevation....
is bent downwards (and now mostly eroded away) east and west of the ridge, becoming nearly vertical along the mountain's slopes, where the same quartzite stratum forms such dramatic outcrops as Seneca Rocks
Seneca Rocks
Seneca Rocks is a large crag and local landmark in Pendleton County in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, USA. It is easily visible and accessible along West Virginia Route 28 near U.S. Route 33 in the Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area of the Monongahela National Forest...
.
Much of the mountain is within the Monongahela National Forest
Monongahela National Forest
The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally-owned land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Region and portions of 10 counties.The MNF includes some...
, and a large portion of the mountain has been proposed for federal wilderness designation
National Wilderness Preservation System
The National Wilderness Preservation System of the United States protects federally managed land areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. It was established by the Wilderness Act upon the signature of President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 3, 1964...
or inclusion within a new unit of U.S. National Park System
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
. The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
's Panther Knob and Pike Knob preserves are also located on North Fork Mountain.
The scenic North Fork Mountain Trail follows much of the ridge crest, and only one road (U.S. Route 33
U.S. Route 33
U.S. Route 33 is a United States federal highway that runs northwest-southeast for 709 miles from northern Indiana to Richmond, Virginia, passing through Ohio and West Virginia en route. Although most odd-numbered U.S...
) crosses the steep, rugged ridge.
Geography and geology
North Fork Mountain runs roughly northeast to southwest for 34 miles (54.7 km) throughout GrantGrant County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,299 people, 4,591 households, and 3,273 families residing in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile . There were 6,105 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...
and Pendleton
Pendleton County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,196 people, 3,350 households, and 2,355 families residing in the county. The population density was 12 people per square mile . There were 5,102 housing units at an average density of 7 per square mile...
counties in West Virginia, defining the eastern edge of the upper watershed of the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River and the western edge of another portion of the watershed of the South Branch of the Potomac River. Near its northern end, it also forms the western edge of the Smoke Hole Canyon (the "Smoke Hole")
Smoke Hole Canyon
Smoke Hole Canyon — often called simply the Smoke Hole — is a rugged long gorge carved by the South Branch Potomac River in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA...
.
The north end of the mountain arises abruptly along the south side of North Fork Gap, a water gap
Water gap
A water gap is an opening or notch which flowing water has carved through a mountain range. Water gaps often offer a practical route for road and rail transport to cross mountain ridges.- Geology :...
along the North Fork river and West Virginia Route 28 near Cabins
Cabins, West Virginia
Cabins is an unincorporated community on the North Fork South Branch Potomac River in Grant County, West Virginia, USA. Cabins lies within the Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area of the Monongahela National Forest....
, west of Petersburg
Petersburg, West Virginia
Petersburg is a city in Grant County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,423 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Grant County.-History:...
. The mountain continues southwest from there to Dry Run Gap in southern Pendleton County.
North Fork Mountain reaches its highest elevation (4,588 feet, or 1,398 m) at Kile Knob. Other notable points along the mountain include Panther Knob at 4498 feet (1,371 m) and Pike Knob, both having nature preserves owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
.
North Fork Mountain is part of the Wills Mountain Anticline, a geological structure that extends from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
through Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
into Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. The same geologic ridge that forms North Fork Mountain is known as New Creek Mountain
New Creek Mountain
New Creek Mountain is a mountain ridge of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians in Grant and Mineral counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The mountain is named for New Creek which rises and flows along its western flanks. It is part of the Wills Mountain Anticline, with Knobly Mountain along...
north of North Fork Gap. At North Fork's southern end, the ridge fragments into Devils Backbone, Brushy Mountain, and Monterey Mountain, with Snowy Mountain being a minor continuation into Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Tuscarora
Tuscarora Formation
The Silurian Tuscarora Formation — also known as Tuscarora Sandstone or Tuscarora Quartzite — is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia.-Description:...
quartzite
Quartzite
Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to gray, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink...
(or sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
), a layer of erosion-resistant Silurian
Silurian
The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician Period, about 443.7 ± 1.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Devonian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya . As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the...
rock only about 50 feet (15.2 m) thick, the major ridge-forming stratum
Stratum
In geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers...
in eastern West Virginia, caps most of North Fork Mountain, often as a broad, slightly eastward-tilted slab, forming numerous west-facing cliffs and various larger outcrops such as Chimney Top and Harmon Rocks. Immediately west of the mountain, the same quartzite formation is nearly vertical, along the western limb of the anticline, forming such dramatic outcrops as Seneca Rocks
Seneca Rocks
Seneca Rocks is a large crag and local landmark in Pendleton County in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, USA. It is easily visible and accessible along West Virginia Route 28 near U.S. Route 33 in the Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area of the Monongahela National Forest...
, Champe Rocks
Champe Rocks
Champe Rocks are a pair of large crags in Pendleton County in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, USA. Easily visible from West Virginia Route 28, they are situated within the Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area...
, Nelson Rocks
Nelson Rocks
Nelson Rocks Outdoor Center , previously known as Nelson Rocks Preserve, is an outdoor recreation area located in the North Fork Valley of Pendleton County, West Virginia...
, and Judy Rocks
Judy Gap, West Virginia
Judy Gap is an unincorporated community in Pendleton County, West Virginia, United States. Judy Gap is located at the junction of U.S. Route 33 and West Virginia Route 28 west-northwest of Franklin, just west of the mountain gap also called Judy Gap. The Judy Rocks geological formation is just to...
The lower, western slopes of the mountain and the adjacent Germany Valley
Germany Valley
Germany Valley is a scenic upland valley high in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia originally settled by German farmers in the mid-18th Century...
are underlain by the easily eroded Ordovician
Ordovician
The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...
-aged New Market Limestone and are penetrated by numerous caves, such as the celebrated Hellhole
Hellhole
Hellhole is a large, deep and — in the caving community — fabled pit cave in Germany Valley, eastern West Virginia. It is the 11th longest cave in the United States and is home to almost half of the world's population of Virginia big-eared bats...
. Shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
s occur on some of North Fork Mountain's slopes.
There are no settlements on the mountain itself. Only one road, U.S. Route 33
U.S. Route 33
U.S. Route 33 is a United States federal highway that runs northwest-southeast for 709 miles from northern Indiana to Richmond, Virginia, passing through Ohio and West Virginia en route. Although most odd-numbered U.S...
, crosses the mountain, although various smaller roads climb its slopes or reach particular points on the ridgetop.
History
Most of the forests on the North Fork Mountain were cut for timber in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Much of North Fork Mountain has been included in the Monongahela National ForestMonongahela National Forest
The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally-owned land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Region and portions of 10 counties.The MNF includes some...
, established in 1911.
The foundations of a fire tower may still be seen on Pike Knob, with ruins of the watchman's cabin nearby.
Rohrbaugh Cabin
Rohrbaugh Cabin
Rohrbaugh Cabin — also known as Allegheny Cabin — is a historic log cabin located on the eastern slope of North Fork Mountain near Petersburg, Grant County, West Virginia, USA....
(or Allegheny Cabin), a log cabin built about 1880, still stands on the eastern slope of North Fork Mountain, along with various related structures. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1993.
Panther Knob, near the south end of North Fork Mountain, was first explored botanically by P.A. Rydberg
Per Axel Rydberg
Per Axel Rydberg was a Swedish-born, American botanist who was the first curator of the New York Botanical Garden Herbarium. -Biography:...
of the New York Botanical Garden
New York Botanical Garden
- See also :* Education in New York City* List of botanical gardens in the United States* List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City- External links :* official website** blog*...
in 1926. He was astonished by the similarity of the mountaintop to the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, especially the presence of the beach heather (Hudsonia tomentosa)
Hudsonia
Hudsonia is a small genus of three species of flowering plants in the family Cistaceae, native to North America.They are evergreen subshrubs growing to 20 cm tall....
. However, his findings were doubted until the mountaintop was revised by a group of botanists in the 1950's. Botanist Paul J. Harmon studied the flora of the entire length of North Fork Mountain's ridgetop, presenting his findings in 1981.
Beginning in the early 1980's, The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
has become increasingly involved in habitat conservation on North Fork Mountain, working cooperatively with the U.S. Forest Service and with various private landowners, as well as establishing preserves on Panther Knob and on Pike Knob.
Vegetation
Wintergreen
Wintergreen is a group of plants. Wintergreen once commonly referred to plants that continue photosynthesis throughout the winter...
. Pines (Pinus) are frequent along the ridgecrest, especially just back of clifftop openings. Fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
beds and various wildflower
Wildflower
A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more...
s are common on the mountain's slopes. The mountain also supports a few high-elevation mountain meadows (sods)
Sods
Sods is a term used in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia for a mountain top meadow or bog, in an area that is otherwise generally forested...
, such as Nelson Sods near Pike Knob.
The exposed sandstone cliff edges so characteristic of the west side of North Fork Mountain support narrow zones of persistingly open, treeless habitat characterized by several unusual or regionally endemic plant species, including the silvery nailwort (Paronychia argyrocoma)
Paronychia (plant)
Paronychia is a genus of plants in the pink family with over 110 species worldwide, mostly from warm-temperate North America, Eurasia, South America and Africa. They are herbs that are annual or biennial or perennial in life span. Some species have a woody base...
and the white alumroot (Heuchera alba)
Heuchera
The genus Heuchera includes at least 50 species of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Saxifragaceae, all native to North America. Common names include alumroot and coral bells. They have palmately lobed leaves on long petioles, and a thick, woody rootstock...
. Chestnut oak (Quercus montana) and Table Mountain pine (Pinus pungens) are often found just back of the cliff edges.
Pine barrens
Pine barrens
Pine barrens, pine plains, sand plains, or pinelands occur throughout the northeastern U.S. from New Jersey to Maine as well as the Midwest and Canada....
, maintained by frequent fires, cover several peaks; Panther Knob supports the largest pine barren in the Central Appalachians. Other rocky summits, including the 4300 feet (1,310.6 m) summit of Pike Knob, are blanketed by red pine (Pinus resinosa) forests, here at their southernmost natural occurrences. The Monongahela National Forest
Monongahela National Forest
The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally-owned land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Region and portions of 10 counties.The MNF includes some...
has designated 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) of old growth red pine forest
Old growth forest
An old-growth forest is a forest that has attained great age , and thereby exhibits unique ecological features. An old growth forest has also usually reached a climax community...
on the mountain as the North Fork Mountain Red Pine Botanical Area.
Another unusual vegetation type on North Fork Mountain is an elfin forest dominated by yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), mountain ash (Sorbus americana)
Sorbus americana
The tree species Sorbus americana is commonly known as the American Mountain-ash. It is a relatively small deciduous perennial tree, native to eastern northern North America....
, and mountain holly.
The oak-and-pine vegetation of North Fork Mountain contrasts strongly with the more diverse vegetation of the nearby mountains just west of the North Fork River, such as Spruce Mountain
Spruce Mountain
Spuce Mountain is a mountain in Elko County, in the northeastern section of the state of Nevada in the Great Basin region of the western United States. The summit is at ....
and the Allegheny Front
Allegheny Front
The Allegheny Front is the major southeast- or east-facing escarpment in the Allegheny Mountains in southern Pennsylvania, western Maryland, and eastern West Virginia, USA. The Allegheny Front delineates the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians to its east from the Appalachian Plateau to its west...
, which receive considerably more rainfall. The lower slopes of those mountains are covered by mixed Appalachian hardwood forests dominated by sugar maple (Acer saccharum), beech (Fagus grandifolia), and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis), with red spruce (Picea rubens) abundant at higher elevations. Fraser magnolia (Magnolia fraseri) occurs on the slopes of the Allegheny Front, becoming abundant westward, but is not known from North Fork Mountain.
The contrast is also great between North Fork Mountain's quartzite-outcrop vegetation and the superficially similar vegetation of the rocky sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
-conglomerate
Conglomerate (geology)
A conglomerate is a rock consisting of individual clasts within a finer-grained matrix that have become cemented together. Conglomerates are sedimentary rocks consisting of rounded fragments and are thus differentiated from breccias, which consist of angular clasts...
openings of Spruce Knob
Spruce Knob
Spruce Knob, at , is the highest point in the state of West Virginia and the summit of Spruce Mountain, the tallest mountain in the Alleghenies.-Overview:...
, Dolly Sods, and similar sites just west of North Fork Mountain. While North Fork Mountain's lesser rainfall is a substantial factor in this difference, another consideration is the nature of the bedrock itself. North Fork Mountain's fine-grained Tuscarora quartzite
Tuscarora Formation
The Silurian Tuscarora Formation — also known as Tuscarora Sandstone or Tuscarora Quartzite — is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia.-Description:...
erodes into sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
, which either quickly disperses or persists in cracks and crevices, sometimes even forming tiny dune
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...
lets on wide, nearly flat open outcrops, as on Panther Knob. On the other hand, the various mountains along the Allegheny Front
Allegheny Front
The Allegheny Front is the major southeast- or east-facing escarpment in the Allegheny Mountains in southern Pennsylvania, western Maryland, and eastern West Virginia, USA. The Allegheny Front delineates the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians to its east from the Appalachian Plateau to its west...
immediately west of North Fork Mountain are capped instead by the coarse Pottsville sandstone conglomerate
Pottsville Formation
The Pennsylvanian Pottsville Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, western Maryland, West Virginia, and Ohio. The formation is also recognized in Alabama. It is a major ridge-former In the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians of the eastern United States...
, which erodes instead primarily into gravel
Gravel
Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...
rather than sand. While many widespread Appalachian rock-outcrop species are shared between the two areas, openings on Dolly Sods lack the silvery nailwort, the white alumroot, and table-mountain pine, and instead support a greater species diversity, even including such wetland plants as the small cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos).
Flora
Monarda fistulosa
Wild bergamot or Bee Balm is a wildflower in the mint family widespread and abundant as a native plant in much of North America. This plant, with showy summer-blooming white flowers, is often used as a honey plant, medicinal plant, and garden ornamental...
. Appalachian oak fern (Gymnocarpium appalachianum)
Gymnocarpium
Gymnocarpium is a small genus of ferns once placed with various other groups, including the dryopteroid ferns and the athyrioid ferns. Cladistic analysis has demonstrated that Gymnocarpium and Cystopteris form a natural but relatively primitive clade that is basal to the asplenoid, thelypterioid,...
and Allegheny onion (Allium alleghaniense)
Allium
Allium is a monocot genus of flowering plants, informally referred to as the onion genus. The generic name Allium is the Latin word for garlic....
are also known from North Fork Mountain.
Pike Knob supports not only extensive red pine (Pinus resinosa) stands but also various Appalachian-endemic species such as rusty woodsia (Woodsia ilvensis)
Woodsia ilvensis
Woodsia ilvensis, commonly known as Oblong Woodsia, is a fern found in North America and northern Eurasia. Also known as Rusty Woodsia or Rusty Cliff Fern, it is typically found on sunny, exposed cliffs and rocky slopes and on thin, dry, acidic soils.-Distribution:Its distribution is circumpolar...
, as well as boreal
Boreal ecosystem
The term boreal is usually applied to ecosystems localized in subarctic and subantarctic zones, although Austral is also used for the latter....
species such as the three-toothed cinquefoil (Potentilla tridentata) and the bristly rose (Rosa acicularis)
Rosa acicularis
Rosa acicularis, also known as the prickly wild rose, the prickly rose, the bristly rose and the Arctic rose, is a species of wild rose with a Holarctic distribution in northern regions of Asia, Europe, and North America....
, here at its southernmost known stand.
The cliff-skirted 4508 feet (1,374 m) summit of Panther Knob supports the world's largest population of variable sedge (Carex polymorpha)
Carex
Carex is a genus of plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges. Other members of the Cyperaceae family are also called sedges, however those of genus Carex may be called "true" sedges, and it is the most species-rich genus in the family. The study of Carex is known as...
, a fire-dependent globally vulnerable plant. Beach heather (Hudsonia tomentosa)
Hudsonia
Hudsonia is a small genus of three species of flowering plants in the family Cistaceae, native to North America.They are evergreen subshrubs growing to 20 cm tall....
, typically found on coastal dunes, and Michaux's saxifrage (Saxifraga michauxii), a Southern Appalachian rock-outcrop endemic, also occur there.
Fauna
Wildlife on North Fork Mountain includes whitetail deer, wild turkeyWild Turkey
The Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which derives from the South Mexican subspecies of wild turkey .Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green...
, black bear
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
, and a variety of other bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species, including timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus)
Crotalus horridus
Crotalus horridus, the timber rattlesnake, is a species of venomous pitviper found in the eastern United States. This is the only rattlesnake species in most of the populous northeastern United States. No subspecies are currently recognized....
. Coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
s, bear, bobcat
Bobcat
The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
s, and gray fox
Gray Fox
The gray fox is a mammal of the order Carnivora ranging throughout most of the southern half of North America from southern Canada to the northern part of South America...
es are known from the area near Pike Knob.
Two U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Species of Concern
Species of Concern
In wildlife conservation, Species of Concern is an informal term, not defined in the federal Endangered Species Act. The term commonly refers to species that are declining or appear to be in need of concentrated conservation actions. Many agencies and organizations maintain lists of these at-risk...
are found on North Fork Mountain, the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)
Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
and the Allegheny woodrat (Neotoma magister)
Allegheny woodrat
The Allegheny woodrat, Neotoma magister, is a species of "pack rat" in the genus Neotoma. Once believed to be a subspecies of the Eastern Woodrat or Florida Woodrat, Neotoma floridana, extensive DNA analysis has proven it to be a distinct species....
, and Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos)
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
are also known there. Various locally abundant but globally rare species of bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s that roost in nearby limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
caverns
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
are also often seen foraging over North Fork Mountain's western slopes. The Pink-edged Sulfur (Colias interior)
Colias
Colias is a genus of butterflies in the family Pieridae. They are usually called clouded yellows; the North American name "sulphurs" is elsewhere used for Coliadinae in general. The closest living relative is the genus Zerene, which is sometimes included in Colias.This genus occurs throughout the...
is known from Panther Knob; the caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s of this widespread boreal butterfly feed on the blueberries (Vaccinium)
Vaccinium
Vaccinium is a genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the plant Family Ericaceae. The fruit of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry or whortleberry, lingonberry or cowberry, and huckleberry...
that thrive atop this knob after fires.
Scenery and recreation
River Knobs (West Virginia)
For other "River Knobs", see River Knobs .The River Knobs — formerly known as East Seneca Ridge — are a ridge and series of knobs in western Pendleton County, West Virginia, USA, along a stretch of the North Fork South Branch Potomac River...
(including Seneca Rocks
Seneca Rocks
Seneca Rocks is a large crag and local landmark in Pendleton County in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, USA. It is easily visible and accessible along West Virginia Route 28 near U.S. Route 33 in the Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area of the Monongahela National Forest...
and Champe Rocks
Champe Rocks
Champe Rocks are a pair of large crags in Pendleton County in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, USA. Easily visible from West Virginia Route 28, they are situated within the Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area...
), the Germany Valley
Germany Valley
Germany Valley is a scenic upland valley high in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia originally settled by German farmers in the mid-18th Century...
, the Fore Knobs, Hopeville Gorge, Spruce Mountain
Spruce Mountain (West Virginia)
Spruce Mountain, in eastern West Virginia, USA, is the highest ridge of the Allegheny Mountains. The "whale-backed" ridge extends for only about , from northeast to southwest, but several of its peaks exceed in elevation...
and Spruce Knob
Spruce Knob
Spruce Knob, at , is the highest point in the state of West Virginia and the summit of Spruce Mountain, the tallest mountain in the Alleghenies.-Overview:...
, and the Allegheny Front
Allegheny Front
The Allegheny Front is the major southeast- or east-facing escarpment in the Allegheny Mountains in southern Pennsylvania, western Maryland, and eastern West Virginia, USA. The Allegheny Front delineates the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians to its east from the Appalachian Plateau to its west...
. Backpacker Magazine described these views as some of “the best mountain scenery in the East”.
North Fork Mountain and the River Knobs feature prominently in views from the mountaintops immediately west of the North Fork Valley, including Spruce Knob and Dolly Sods.
Nelson Sods on North Fork Mountain offers spectacular views of the Roaring Plains, Spruce Mountain, and the North Fork Valley, as well as Shenandoah Mountain to the east. Similar views are also offered by other open summits on the mountain.
State Route 28 follows the North Fork River from North Fork Gap south to Cherry Grove
Cherry Grove, West Virginia
Cherry Grove is an unincorporated community located in Pendleton County, West Virginia, USA. Cherry Grove lies within the Monongahela National Forest at the confluence of Big Run with the North Fork South Branch Potomac River....
, offering diverse views of the River Knobs and North Fork Mountain to the east and the Fore Knobs, Allegheny Front, and Spruce Mountain to the west.
The Germany Valley Overlook on U.S. 33, on the west side of North Fork Mountain near Judy Gap
Judy Gap, West Virginia
Judy Gap is an unincorporated community in Pendleton County, West Virginia, United States. Judy Gap is located at the junction of U.S. Route 33 and West Virginia Route 28 west-northwest of Franklin, just west of the mountain gap also called Judy Gap. The Judy Rocks geological formation is just to...
, offers views of the Germany Valley and North Fork Valley, the River Knobs and the Fore Knobs, Spruce Mountain and Spruce Knob, and the Allegheny Front extending northwards toward Dolly Sods, as well as a view back to the sandstone cliffs along the crest of North Fork Mountain itself.
Panther Knob is easily viewed from the west from Snowy Mountain Road south of Cherry Grove. Other views of Seneca Rocks and North Fork Mountain are offered by U.S. 33 as it descends the Allegheny Front approaching Seneca Rocks, and by SR 28 approaching Cherry Grove from the southwest. North Fork Gap and the eastern sides of North Fork and New Creek mountains may be seen from SR 28 west of Petersburg
Petersburg, West Virginia
Petersburg is a city in Grant County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,423 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Grant County.-History:...
, with the Dolly Sods portion of the Allegheny Front visible beyond the gap.
The 24-mile-long North Fork Mountain Trail (NFMT) follows much of the crest of the northern portion of the mountain. This trail was called the best trail in West Virginia by Outside
Outside (magazine)
Outside is an American magazine focused on the outdoors. The first issue debuted in September 1977 with its mission statement declaring that the publication was "dedicated to covering the people, sports and activities, politics, art, literature, and hardware of the outdoors..."Its founders were...
magazine. The North Fork Mountain Trail provides access to the 4300 feet (1,310.6 m) summit of Pike Knob.
External links
- At The Nature Conservancy Website:
- WV Wilderness Coalition Proposal