House Mountain (Knox County, Tennessee)
| House Mountain | |
|---|---|
View from the northwest, looking to the east-southeast. The tower barely visible between the two peaks is not on top of the mountain itself, but rather, about 50 feet (15 m) down the north slope, on the western end.
|
|
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,064 ft (629 m) |
| Coordinates | 36°06′42″N 83°46′00″W / 36.11167°N 83.76667°WCoordinates: 36°06′42″N 83°46′00″W / 36.11167°N 83.76667°W |
| Geography | |
| Location | Knox County, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Parent range | Ridge-and-valley Appalachians |
| Topo map | USGS John Sevier |
House Mountain is a mountain located in Corryton, Tennessee, United States, about 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Knoxville. Rising to an elevation of 2,064 feet (629 m) above sea level, House Mountain is the highest point in Knox County.
The House Mountain State Natural Area— designated in 1987— consists of 525 acres (2.12 km2), mostly on the south side of the mountain. House Mountain is known for its huge sandstone boulders, its wide variety of bird and plant life, and for the views from its two peaks. On a clear day, the Great Smoky Mountains and the upper Unaka Range are visible to the south and east, the Cumberland Plateau is visible to the west, and Powell Mountain and Clinch Mountain are visible to the north and northeast.
The origin of the mountain's name is unknown, though a local legend suggests early settlers thought the mountain was shaped like the roof of a house.
House Mountain rises from a large plain in eastern Knox County, about 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of the southern terminus of Clinch Mountain and immediately north of McAnnally Ridge. House, McAnnally, and Clinch are all part of the Appalachian Ridge-and-Valley Province, which consists of a series of narrow, elongate ridges stretching in a northeast-to-southwest direction between the main Appalachian crest to the east and the Cumberland Plateau to the west. These ridges are typically flanked by fertile river valleys that are part of the upper Tennessee River watershed.
House Mountain stretches for just over 3 miles (4.8 km) from its southwestern base along Hogskin Branch to its northeastern base along Flat Creek, and covers approximately 2,500 acres (10 km2). The mountain's crest is crowned by two main peaks— one rising southwest of the center of the mountain and one rising on the mountain's northeastern end. The southwest peak is the true summit, although both peaks rise above 2000 feet.
Geologically, House Mountain is a "synclinal outlier" of Clinch Mountain. Erosion by Flat Creek— which lies halfway between House and Clinch— separated the two mountains in ancient times. Like all of the Ridge-and-Valleys, House Mountain was created approximately 250 million years ago during the Alleghenian orogeny mountain-building epoch. House Mountain's base is covered with a mesophytic forest consisting chiefly of maple, tulip poplar, ash, and buckeye. Chestnut oak and table mountain pine dominate the mountain's steeper slopes and upper elevations.
...
Wikipedia