Knob Mountain (also known as Nob Mountain) is a

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

in the northeastern part of

Columbia County, Pennsylvania Columbia County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,727. Its county seat is Bloomsburg. The county was created on March 22, 1813, from part ...

and parts of

Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Luzerne County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of ...

. Its

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 over 1720 feet above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. Knob Mountain can be seen from a considerable distance, and is also visible from Bloomsburg. The peak of the mountain is one of the highest points in Columbia County.

Geology and geography

Knob Mountain's western terminus is near Orangeville. The mountain runs eastward and slightly northward for ten or twelve miles (16 or 20 kilometers) before descending to the level of the surrounding land, slightly over the Luzerne County line. However, it has a slightly lower

subsidiary peak A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a ...

known as Huntington Mountain that extends in approximately the same direction as the main mountain as far as

Shickshinny Shickshinny is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 630 at the 2020 census. The borough is named after Shickshinny Creek, which runs through the municipality and the surrounding area. According to the book ...

. Knob Mountain is a fairly steep mountain. It is more steep on its northern side than it is on its southern side. Its base is in the watersheds of Fishing Creek and Huntington Creek. At one point, Fishing Creek makes a sharp curve around the base of Knob Mountain. The outline of the mountain is fairly uniform. However, there is a notch near the eastern terminus of Knob Mountain. A

terminal moraine A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a type of moraine that forms at the terminal (edge) of a glacier, marking its maximum advance. At this point, debris that has accumulated by plucking and abrasion, has been pushed by the front edge ...

runs from the nearby Lee Mountain to the southern base of Knob Mountain and then over Knob Mountain to Fishing Creek. The mountain has coarse, hard

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) ...

near its peak and is situated in the Wyoming coal basin. This coal basin is part of a chain of coal-containing areas that runs between

Lackawanna County Lackawanna County (; unm, Lèkaohane) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania and had a population of 215,896 as of the 2020 census. Its county seat and largest city is Scranton. The county ...

and

Dauphin County Dauphin County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Daffin Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 286,401. The county seat and the largest city is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital and ninth ...

. The Wyoming and Lackawanna coal field terminates at Knob Mountain. There is also 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 ...

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 ...

basin under the mountain. Lee Mountain and Huntington Mountain are mountains that are near to Knob Mountain, and they can be considered eastward extensions of Knob Mountain.

Climbing

Knob Mountain can be approached from any direction. Two roads cross over the main part of the mountain. The highest point on the whole ridge is over 1720 feet.

History

The area in the vicinity of Fishing Creek and Knob Mountain was first settled in 1780. However, it was not until 1785 that large numbers of people traveled to the area around Knob Mountain. The settlers that arrived in this year primarily traveled from

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

to the mouth of Fishing Creek via Berwick and from the mouth of Fishing Creek up the creek's valley to near Knob Mountain. Such settlement was, at the time, the northernmost non-native settlement in the Fishing Creek watershed. A community at the base of the mountain was built in 1822. An

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

path once passed over the mountain near its eastern terminus. The

Susquehanna and Tioga Turnpike The Susquehanna and Tioga Turnpike; also called the Berwick and Tioga Turnpike, and Susquehanna & Tioga Turnpike connecting via the high ground of tributary valleys Berwick and upstream, Tioga—chartered & incorporated in 1806, the toll road, l ...

once crossed over Knob Mountain. A township border was once determined to be a heap of

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

s on the top of Knob Mountain.

Fauna and flora

Knob Mountain has

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s at its peak. It is surrounded by agricultural communities. In the early days of civilization in the area around Knob Mountain, the mountain was commonly believed to be home to numerous

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...

and

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

References

External links