The Mount Rogers Cluster is a region recognized by The Wilderness Society for its unique high elevation mountains, vistas, trout streams and wildlife habitat. The heart of the region is

Mount Rogers Mount Rogers is the highest natural point in Virginia, United States, with a summit elevation of above mean sea level. The summit straddles the border of Grayson and Smyth Counties, Virginia, about WSW of Troutdale, Virginia. Most of the mo ...

, the highest mountain in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. The area extends over the

Mount Rogers National Recreation Area Mount Rogers National Recreation Area is a United States national recreation area (NRA) in southwestern Virginia near the border with Tennessee and North Carolina. It centerpiece is the Lewis Fork Wilderness containing Mount Rogers, the highest p ...

and into part of the Cherokee National Forest.Virginia's Mountain Treasures, report issued by The Wilderness Society, May, 1999 With elevations above 5000 feet, the area is unlike any other in Virginia. The high elevations have a Canadian-type climate with a spruce-fir remnant forest and high timbered ridges opening to grassy alpine meadows similar to The Montana Big Sky country. Many trails offer a summer escape from nearby humid lowlands.

Description

The Mount Rogers Wilderness Cluster contains

wilderness areas Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

, a National Scenic Area and wildlands recognized by the Wilderness Society as "Mountain Treasures", areas that are worthy of protection from logging and road construction. All of the areas are at least partially within the

with some extending into the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee. Mount Rogers view

The areas in the cluster are: *Wilderness Areas ** Lewis Fork Wilderness **

Little Wilson Creek Wilderness The Little Wilson Creek Wilderness is an area in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area protected by the Eastern Wilderness Act of Congress to maintain its present, natural condition. As part of the wilderness system, it is intended to preserve ...

** Raccoon Branch Wilderness **

Little Dry Run Wilderness The Little Dry Run Wilderness is an area in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area protected by the Eastern Wilderness Act of Congress to maintain its present, natural condition. As part of the wilderness system, it is intended to preserve a var ...

*Scenic Area ** Seng Mountain National Scenic Area *Wildareas recognized by the Wilderness Society as "Mountain Treasures" ** Devil's Den-Ewing Mountain ** Horse Heaven (conservation area) ** Little Dry Run Wilderness Addition ** Shaw Gap ** Feathercamp ** Mount Rogers Crest Zone **

Whitetop Mountain (conservation area) Whitetop Mountain (conservation area) is a wildland in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of western Virginia that has been recognized by the Wilderness Society as a special place worthy of protection from logging and road const ...

** Whitetop Laurel ** Rogers Ridge ** London Bridge Branch ** Beaverdam Creek (conservation area)

Location and access

Mount Rogers National Recreation Area LOC 82696165

The cluster can be accessed from the south and east by US 58, on the north from Va 16 on the north, and on the east Va 94. A visitor center on Va 16 has maps and information about the area. The nearest towns are Marion, 7 miles north of the visitor center, and Damascus, near the Virginia-Tennessee border. Roads and trails are given on National Geographic Maps 786 (Mount Rogers)., Map 318 (Mount Rogers High Country) and Map 783 (South Holston and Watauga Lakes). A great variety of information, including topographic maps, aerial views, satellite data and weather information, is obtained by selecting the link with the wild land's coordinates in the upper right of this page.

Biological significance

With elevations ranging from 2000 feet to 5700 feet, the area offers a contrast of deep forested areas and high mountain meadows kept open by burning, cattle grazing and feral ponies. There are nearly 160 different species of birds, as well as rare

salamanders Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...

including the golden pygmy salamander.

Geologic history

The bedrock beneath Mt Rogers is different from most other rocks in Virginia. The formation is divided into three sections—the oldest is made of basalt lava flows, some

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained groundmass. The mineral ...

, volcanic ash and sandstone indicating volcanic formation; the second oldest, about half of the total thickness, is made mainly of rhyolite with some basalt and sediments; and the youngest is mainly composed of sediments with some basalt and rhyolite. There are several explanations for the origins of these rocks with some geologists claiming that the rocks were formed elsewhere and transported along fault lines. Most of the area drains into the New River, the southernmost river on the American continent that flows from south to north cutting across the Appalachians into the Gulf of Mexico by way of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Some geologists have the New River as a successor to a larger river that drained the entire area to the west and east of Mount Rogers. With time, the Atlantic Ocean opened to create an Atlantic drainage capturing some of the headwaters of the New River's predecessor by a process known as stream capture.

Other clusters

Other clusters of the Wilderness Society's "Mountain Treasures" in the Jefferson National Forest (north to south): * Glenwood Cluster * Craig Creek Cluster * Barbours Creek-Shawvers Run Cluster *

Sinking Creek Valley Cluster The Sinking Creek Valley Cluster is a region in the Jefferson National Forest recognized by The Wilderness Society for its unique recreational and scenic values as well as the importance of its watershed protection for Johns Creek and Craig Creek ...

Mountain Lake Wilderness Cluster The Mountain Lake Wilderness Cluster is a region recognized by The Wilderness Society for its unique waterfalls, vistas, trout stream and wildlife habitat. The heart of the region is the Mountain Lake Wilderness, the largest wilderness in the Geo ...

* Angels Rest Cluster * Walker Mountain Cluster *

Kimberling Creek Cluster The Kimberling Creek Cluster is a region in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, Jefferson National Forest recognized by The Wilderness Society (United States), The Wilderness Society for its diversity of habitats extending along ...

* Garden Mountain Cluster * Clinch Ranger District Cluster

Description

Location and access

Biological significance

Geologic history

See also

Other clusters

References

Further reading

External links