Blue Knob (
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
) is a summit in the
eastern
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
with a broad dome that is the northernmost 3,000-footer in the
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...
. It is the highest point in
Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Bedford County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,577. The county seat is Bedford.
History
In 1750 Robert MacRay, a Scots-Irish immigrant, opened the first trading post in Raystown (w ...
.
The mountain is the site of
Blue Knob State Park
Blue Knob State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Kimmel, Lincoln, and Pavia townships in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The average annual snowfall at the park is about . The park is named for Blue Knob, the second high ...
and contains approximately
18 miles (29 km) of hiking trails and numerous overlooks. An
alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National Pa ...
ski area
A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort.
...
is located on the mountain's north slopes.
The towns of
Pavia
Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...
and
Claysburg lie at the foot of the mountain, and
Johnstown,
Altoona, and
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
are located within .
Geography
The satellite peaks of Blue Knob include:
Herman Point
Herman Point is a satellite of Blue Knob mountain in Pennsylvania and one of the few summits in the state which exceed feet. This summit is located in the Blue Knob State Park
Blue Knob State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Kimmel, Linc ...
,
Spruce Knob
,
Round Knob
,
Cattle Knob
,
Pine Knob
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
,
Ritchey Knob
Ritchey Knob is a summit located on the Blue Knob massif. This mountain is connected to Pine Knob and forms the northernmost summits of the massif.
Ritchey Knob is the fourth highest of this grouping behind Blue Knob , Herman Point and Schaefe ...
and
Schaefer Head
Schaefer Head is a mountain in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania. It is one of the peaks that make up the Blue Knob massif, an isolated group of mountains that stand apart from the Allegheny Front. Schaefer Head is the third highest of the ...
.
Summits to the north include
Brush Mountain (17 miles),
Schaefer Head
Schaefer Head is a mountain in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania. It is one of the peaks that make up the Blue Knob massif, an isolated group of mountains that stand apart from the Allegheny Front. Schaefer Head is the third highest of the ...
(2.5 miles) and the other satellite peaks listed above, The "Loop" in
Tussey Mountain
Tussey Mountain is a stratigraphic ridge in central Pennsylvania, United States, trending east of the Bald Eagle, Brush, Dunning and Evitts Mountain ridges. Its southern foot just crosses the Mason–Dixon line near Flintstone, Maryland, running ...
(27 miles) and
Lock Mountain
Lock(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
*Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance
*Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lock ...
(13 miles).
To the east the views are of
Dunning Mountain
Dunning Mountain is a stratigraphic ridge in central Pennsylvania, United States. The mountain's north end is at McKee Gap, which separates it from Short Mountain, and where Halter Creek flows westward towards the Frankstown Branch of the Juniat ...
(7 miles),
Tussey Mountain
Tussey Mountain is a stratigraphic ridge in central Pennsylvania, United States, trending east of the Bald Eagle, Brush, Dunning and Evitts Mountain ridges. Its southern foot just crosses the Mason–Dixon line near Flintstone, Maryland, running ...
(16 miles),
Jacks Mountain
Jacks Mountain is a stratigraphic ridge in central Pennsylvania, United States, trending southeast of the Stone Mountain ridge and Jacks Mountain Anticline. The ridge line separates Kishacoquillas Valley from the Ferguson and Dry Valleys. Jacks ...
with
Butler Knob
Butler Knob is a peak on the Jacks Mountain ridge in south central Pennsylvania in the United States. The "Knobs" summit is underlain with weather resistant quartzite of the Tuscarora Formation (Silurian Age). Butler Knob is accessible by a rough ...
(31 miles),
Sideling Hill
Sideling Hill, also Side Long Hill, is a long, steep, narrow mountain ridge in the Ridge-and-Valley (or Allegheny Mountains) physiographic province of the Appalachian Mountains, located in Washington County in western Maryland and adjacent West ...
(28 miles), and on the distant horizon
Big Mountain (41 miles) and the
Tuscarora Mountain
Tuscarora Mountain is a mountain ridge of the Appalachian Mountains in the Ridge and Valley province in central Pennsylvania. It reaches its highest point on Big Mountain (Pennsylvania) at above sea level. The mountain is named after the Tuscaro ...
Ridge. To the south are
Wills Mountain
Wills Mountain is a quartzite-capped ridge in the Ridge and Valley physiographic province of the Appalachian Mountains in Pennsylvania and Maryland, United States, extending from near Bedford, Pennsylvania, to near Cumberland, Maryland. It is the ...
(32 miles),
Savage Mountain
Savage Mountain is an anticline extending from Bedford County, Pennsylvania southwest into Western Maryland. Except when available at another wikiarticle or cited otherwise, Google Maps is the source for coordinates in this article:
(28 miles) and Bald Knob on the
Allegheny Front
The Allegheny Front is the major southeast- or east-facing escarpment in the Allegheny Mountains in southern Pennsylvania, western Maryland, eastern West Virginia, and western Virginia, USA. The Allegheny Front forms the boundary between the Rid ...
(20 miles). The town of Bedford is hidden by
Kinton Knob
Kinton Knob is a peak that is located in Bedford County, Pennsylvania.
Geography
Kinton Knob marks the north end of Wills Mountain where it abruptly ends just southwest of the town of Bedford.
The mountain has an array of communication towe ...
(18 miles).
The views west include
Laurel Hill with the
Conemaugh Gorge (22 miles), and the
Allegheny Plateau
The Allegheny Plateau , in the United States, is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. It is divide ...
.
;Drainages
A few of the major streams are Big Lick Branch, Rhodes Run, Pavia Run, Deep Hollow Run, Scubgrass Creek, Beaverdam Creek and Little Beaverdam Creek. Bob's Creek which is in the valley below the mountain is a "Class A" trout stream and popular among local fisherman. Adjacent to the mountain on the Allegheny Front are Big Break Hollow and Wallacks Branch, portions of these streams are located within the State Park boundary.
Geology
![Massifcloseup](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Massifcloseup.jpg)
Blue Knob and its subsidiary peaks form a grouping of mountains that stand out as a
massif
In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...
from the rest of the
Allegheny Front
The Allegheny Front is the major southeast- or east-facing escarpment in the Allegheny Mountains in southern Pennsylvania, western Maryland, eastern West Virginia, and western Virginia, USA. The Allegheny Front forms the boundary between the Rid ...
and form some of the highest elevations in Pennsylvania's
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...
. Blue Knob is separate from the rest of the Allegheny Front
escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations.
The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...
, and the mountain's lower base is made up of
siltstone
Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, p ...
and
shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
of the
Devonian
The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...
Catskill and
Devonian
The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...
-
Mississippian Rockwell formations. The upper slopes and
summit
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous.
The term (mountain top) is generally used ...
are made up of the buff-colored
Mississippian Burgoon Formation
The Mississippian Pocono Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia, in the United States. It is also known as the Pocono Group in Maryland and West Virginia,
and the upper part of the Pocono Formation is somet ...
of
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
and
conglomerate, which is far more resistant to weathering than the underlying shale and siltstone.
History
![Westface](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Westface.jpg)
Blue Knob was thought to be the highest mountain in Pennsylvania until 1921, when the
U.S. Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...
determined a summit of was higher (later named
Mount Davis). In the 1950s the summit was cleared of vegetation and was the location of
Claysburg Air Force Station
Claysburg Air Force Station (ADC ID: P-63) is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located west of Claysburg, Pennsylvania. It was closed in 1961 due to budget constraints. The unit was eventually move ...
until it was deactivated in 1961. Shortly afterward the Blue Knob Ski area was developed. Signs from the former station remain on the summit, and one building remains as a ski lodge. Ski lifts, a ski lodge and a couple of maintenance structures occupy the broad summit of Blue Knob, and a few ski chalets are downhill of the bald summit.
Climate
![North slope](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/North_slope.jpg)
The state record snowfall of was recorded on Blue Knob during the winter of 1890–91. In December 1890 alone, fell on the mountain. Average snowfall is about annually, while temperatures usually are cooler than in the surrounding towns.
Blue Knob's weather can be attributed to its
aspect
Aspect or Aspects may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Aspect magazine'', a biannual DVD magazine showcasing new media art
* Aspect Co., a Japanese video game company
* Aspects (band), a hip hop group from Bristol, England
* ''Aspects'' (Benny Carter ...
and elevation. The mountain rises approximately above the plateaus to the west, and over above the lowlands to the east. The
prevailing winds
In meteorology, prevailing wind in a region of the Earth's surface is a surface wind that blows predominantly from a particular direction. The dominant winds are the trends in direction of wind with the highest speed over a particular point on ...
hit the mountain's slopes, accelerating up and over its bald summit. It is these conditions that can cause
wind chill
Wind chill or windchill (popularly wind chill factor) is the lowering of body temperature due to the passing-flow of lower-temperature air.
Wind chill numbers are always lower than the air temperature for values where the formula is valid. When ...
factors to dip below zero during the winter months.
Vegetation
Eastern Hemlock
''Tsuga canadensis'', also known as eastern hemlock, eastern hemlock-spruce, or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as ''pruche du Canada'', is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It is the state tree of ...
trees are located along streams of the mountain's lower slopes, and the drier east and southeast face of the mountain is predominantly a
Red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
and
White oak
The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera '' ...
and maple mix, with grapevines and some exotic
invasive species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
where there are holes in the canopy. The north and west faces of the mountain contain
Tulip poplar
''Liriodendron tulipifera''—known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tulipwood, tuliptree, tulip poplar, whitewood, fiddletree, and yellow-poplar—is the North American representative of the two-species genus '' Liriodendron'' (the othe ...
,
American Beech and other associated hardwoods due to the richer soils. The upper slopes of the mountain have
Black Cherry
''Prunus serotina'', commonly called black cherry,World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a deciduous tree or shrub of the g ...
,
Striped Maple,
Scrub Oak Scrub oak is a common name for several species of small, shrubby oaks. It may refer to:
*the Chaparral plant community in California, or to one of the following species.
In California
*California scrub oak (''Quercus berberidifolia''), a widespr ...
and a forest floor of
blueberry
Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, bi ...
and
fern
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...
. Over the contour the trees are distinctively stunted due to the winds and fierce weather.
In September 2004, during
Hurricane Ivan
Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlan ...
, strong winds streamed through the saddle between Herman Point and Blue Knob. Many of the larger trees were blown down, opening holes in the forest canopy.
Wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...
is abundant on the slopes of Blue Knob. Species such as
white-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
,
ruffed grouse
The ruffed grouse (''Bonasa umbellus'') is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is the most widely distributed game bird in North America. It is non-migratory. It is the only specie ...
,
turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
,
coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...
,
porcupine
Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...
and
fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
are difficult to see, but finding their tracks in the snow is not uncommon.
Black bears are also resident on the mountain and are more likely to be seen during the early morning and evening hours.
Red-tailed hawk
The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members with ...
s,
warbler
Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous.
Sylvioid warblers
Th ...
s,
vireo
The vireos make up a family, Vireonidae, of small to medium-sized passerine birds found in the New World (Canada to Argentina, including Bermuda and the West Indies) and Southeast Asia. "Vireo" is a Latin word referring to a green migratory bir ...
s and songbirds are found here throughout the seasons.
Adjacent to the state park is the
Pennsylvania State Game Lands The Pennsylvania State Game Lands (SGL) are lands managed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) for hunting, trapping, and fishing. These lands, often not usable for farming or development, are donated to the PGC or purchased by the PGC with hu ...
No. 26. This area combined with the park creates an area of over of public land. There are a few areas in Blue Knob State Park which are closed to hunting (see park map). Hikers need to be extremely careful during the hunting season in late November and through December.
References
*Alan R. Geyer (1979) "''Outstanding Geologic Features of Pennsylvania''",
Geological Survey of Pennsylvania
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...
*Charles H. Shultz (1999) "''The Geology of Pennsylvania''",
Geological Survey of Pennsylvania
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...
*Jere Martin (1997) "Pennsylvania Almanac" published by: Stackpole Books
External links
*
Current conditions at Blue KnobBlue Knob Ski Area
{{Authority control
Allegheny Mountains
Mountains of Pennsylvania
Mountains of Bedford County, Pennsylvania