Nescopeck Mountain (also known as Nescopec 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 Columbia County and

Luzerne County 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 ...

, in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, in the United States. Its elevation is 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 ...

. The ridge is a forested ridge, with at least two types of forest and two systems of

vernal pool Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe ...

s. It is a very long and unbroken ridge with two water gaps: one carved by

Catawissa Creek Catawissa Creek (colloquially known as The Cat) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in east-central Pennsylvania in th ...

and one carved by

Nescopeck Creek Nescopeck Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The creek is in the Coal Region of ...

. This later gap was exploited as a transportation corridor with the construction of the Lausanne–Nescopeck Turnpike between the respective frontier communities at

Lausanne Landing Lausanne, alternately named Lausanne Landing of the 1790s–1820s was a small settlement at the mouth of Nesquehoning Creek on the Lehigh River in marshy delta-like flood plain. Some historic references will mention the presence of a 'Landing Ta ...

and Nescopeck (opposite bank from

Shickshinny, PA 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 ...

on the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

) in 1805 connecting the newly developing

Wyoming Valley The Wyoming Valley is a historic industrialized region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The region is historically notable for its influence in helping fuel the American Industrial Revolution with its many anthracite coal-mines. As a metropolitan are ...

with

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

valley; cutting off over 100 miles between Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre. Today's Route

PA 93 Pennsylvania Route 93 (PA 93) is a state route located in Carbon, Luzerne, and Columbia counties in northeastern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 209 (US 209) in Nesquehoning, about half-way from PA just north of the 1800 ...

derives from this historic pack mule road. Rock formations in the ridge include the Lower Helderberg Formation, the Onondaga Formation, the Spechty Kopf Formation, the Trimmers Rock Formation, and the Mauch Chunk Formation. In the most recent ice age, it was affected by glaciation. Native Americans historically settled in the vicinity of Nescopeck Mountain. It was visited by Europeans as early as 1755. The ridge's name most likely means "dirty waters" or "black waters". Two

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 ...

and one state park are situated partially on it. The ridge spans numerous townships in Columbia County and Luzerne County.

Geography

The elevation of Nescopeck Mountain is above sea level, making it the highest ridge in Columbia County. Townships that Nescopeck Mountain occupies include Beaver Township, Mifflin Township, and Main Township in Columbia County. The ridge extends into several townships in Luzerne County, including Nescopeck Township , and reaches at least as far east as

Nescopeck State Park Nescopeck State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Butler and Dennison Townships, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania (in the United States). The park is one of the newest state parks in Pennsylvania. In the early 1970s, the state acquired 164 p ...

. Nescopeck Mountain is an unbroken ridge, being described as "regular and almost unbroken" in Thomas Francis Gordon's 1832 book ''A Gazetteer of the State of Pennsylvania''. John Gosse Freeze's 1888 book ''A History of Columbia County, Pennsylvania: From the Earliest Times'' described the ridge as "beautiful and regular in its formation". It stretches from near the

almost to the

Lehigh River The Lehigh River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania. The river flows in a generally southward pat ...

and has a length of nearly . It is considerably steeper and higher on its northern side, at least in the

United States 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, ...

quadrangle of Berwick. The ridge is too rocky for

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, with large boulders being abundant on it. Nescopeck Mountain is part of a long chain of continuously forested mountains and ridges that stretches from

Moosic Mountain Moosic ( ) is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, south of downtown Scranton and northeast of downtown Wilkes-Barre, on the Lackawanna River. Moosic is in a former coal-mining region. A few older industries existed at one time, includ ...

to the Susquehanna River. It is considered to be an extension of Catawissa Mountain. The ridge is similar in height to mountains in the vicinity of the

. The ridge has a

topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

of up to approximately in places and up to at the Nescopeck Creek water gap. However, it is only high near its western end at Mainville.

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

crosses through the water gap carved by Nescopeck Creek in Nescopeck Mountain. The Susquehanna River Lowlands are in the vicinity of the ridge. Large groups of small

kettle hole A kettle (also known as a kettle lake, kettle hole, or pothole) is a depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating gla ...

s are found along the base of the ridge. Nescopeck Mountain occupies the United States Geological Survey quadrangles of Shumans, Nuremberg, Berwick, Sybertsville, Freeland, and White Haven.

Streams and valleys

A creek known as

is in the vicinity of Nescopeck Mountain. Additionally, Black Creek, a major tributary of Nescopeck Creek, empties into the larger creek at the base of the ridge. The ridge is north of the creek for a portion of its length. There is a valley known as the Nescopeck Valley which is between Nescopeck Mountain and Buck Mountain. Nescopeck Creek flows through this valley. The valley is long and wide. Some streams on the ridge are part of the Lehigh River watershed. A stream known as

Scotch Run Scotch Run may refer to: * Scotch Run (Black Creek), a stream in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania *Scotch Run (Catawissa Creek) Scotch Run is one of the main tributaries of Catawissa Creek in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It i ...

flows through a valley with Nescopeck Mountain on its northern edge. Nescopeck Mountain forms a

water gap A water gap is a gap that flowing water has carved through a mountain range or mountain ridge and that still carries water today. Such gaps that no longer carry water currents are called wind gaps. Water gaps and wind gaps often offer a prac ...

with Catawissa Mountain.

cuts through this water gap. There is also a water gap carved by Nescopeck Creek through Nescopeck Mountain. Both of these water gaps are relatively narrow. The mountain serves as part of the dividing line between the Susquehanna River and the Lehigh River watersheds. For some distance, the ridge runs parallel to the Susquehanna River at a distance of .

Geology

Nescopeck Mountain is mainly formed by hard, upturned conglomerates belonging to the Pocono Formation. There are a total of three

rock formation A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock. The term ''rock formation'' can also refer to specific sediment ...

s on Nescopeck Mountain in the Berwick Quadrangle, which is in Columbia County and Luzerne County. From north to south, these rock formations are the

Trimmers Rock Formation Trimmer may refer to: * Trimmer (construction), beam used in construction * Trimmer (electronics), small electrical component * Trimmer (gardening), gardening power tool * Trimmer (surname) * Trimmer, California, community in Fresno County * La ...

(from the

Devonian Period 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, wh ...

), the Spechty Kopf Formation (from the Devonian Period and the Mississippian Period), and the

Onondaga Formation The Onondaga Limestone is a group of hard limestones and dolomites of Devonian age that form an important geographic feature in some areas in which it outcrops; in others, especially its Southern Ontario portion, the formation can be less promine ...

(from the Devonian Period). All three of these formations occur in bands that are at an angle relative to the surface. The Spechty Kopf Formation occurs at the peak of the ridge and extends to a depth of approximately below sea level. The Onondaga Formation runs from near the ridge's peak to below sea level. The Trimmers Rock Formation runs from the middle elevations of the ridge to more than below sea level. Additionally, the

Mauch Chunk Formation The Mississippian Mauch Chunk Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. It is named for the township of Mauch Chunk, now known as borough of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania and for nearby Mauch Chunk Ridge where th ...

is found on the ridge. The summit of the ridge consists of hard

Pocono 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 ...

rock. A plain of the

Catskill Formation The Devonian Catskill Formation or the Catskill Clastic wedge is a unit of mostly terrestrial sedimentary rock found in Pennsylvania and New York. Minor marine layers exist in this thick rock unit (up to ). It is equivalent to the Hampshire For ...

occurs to the north of the ridge. There are

coal basin Coal mining regions are significant resource extraction industries in many parts of the world. They provide a large amount of the fossil fuel energy in the world economy. The People's Republic of China is the largest producer of coal in the world, ...

s to the south of Nescopeck Mountain. During an

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

glaciers A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

pressed against Nescopeck Mountain and eventually moved over it, carrying gravel from the Susquehanna River. The ridge was near the southern edge of the most recent period of glaciation.

History and etymology

Nescopeck Mountain was entered into the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...

on August 2, 1979. Its identifier in the Geographic Names Information System is 1190986. The ridge is also known as Nescopec Mountain. This variant name appears in Israel C. White's 1883 book ''The geology of the North Branch Susquehanna River Region in the six counties of Wyoming, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Columbia, Montour and Northumberland''. Nescopeck Mountain is most likely named for a Native American village called Nescopeck. The word ''nescopeck'' itself is a corruption of ''neskchoppeck'', which may mean "dirty waters" or "black waters". Historically, there was a Native American village in the vicinity of Nescopeck Mountain, where the borough of Nescopeck is in modern times. Additionally, the Forks Indians arrived at the ridge in 1740 after being evicted from their lands in the Lehigh Valley. As early as 1755, a pair of Moravian missionaries, Christian Seidel and Henry Frey, descended the ridge while visiting Native Americans. In 1838, a man named Mr. Butler requested permission of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

to construct a

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

or through cut through Nescopeck Mountain for the

Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company (LCAN) (1988–2010) was a modern-day anthracite coal mining company headquartered in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. It acquired many properties and relaunched the Lehigh Coal Companies brand in 1988. The LCAN r ...

. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Glen Summit Springs Hotel operated on top of Nescopeck Mountain. It was constructed by the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company. During its most active use, it attracted visitors from the

and from the East Coast of the United States. The

Lehigh Valley Railroad The Lehigh Valley Railroad was a railroad built in the Northeastern United States to haul anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Pennsylvania. The railroad was authorized on April 21, 1846 for freight and transportation of passengers, goods, w ...

historically passed over the ridge. In the late 1800s, the ridge was prospected for

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

. The top of Nescopeck Mountain was devoid of trees by the middle of the 1800s.

Logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

has been done on the ridge in the early 2000s and plans have been made to construct communication towers on the ridge. Local produce is sometimes traded over Nescopeck Mountain. The mountain is almost completely undeveloped. A

gypsy moth ''Lymantria dispar'', also known as the gypsy moth or the spongy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. ''Lymantria dispar'' is subdivided into several subspecies, with subspecies such as ''L. d. dispar'' and ''L. d. japonica'' bei ...

infestation began on Nescopeck Mountain in the summer of 2014, causing hundreds of trees to be defoliated. The Bureau of Forestry expects to begin spraying the area in May 2015 and June 2015.

Biology

Nescopeck Mountain is one of several mountains in Columbia County to contain undisturbed

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

/mixed hardwood

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. This forest is also an Appalachian Oak Forest. Specific tree species on the ridge in Columbia County include

red oak The genus Oak, ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many List of the largest genera of flowering plants, large genera, is Taxonomic rank#Ranks in botany, divided into subgenus, subgen ...

chestnut oak ''Quercus montana'', the chestnut oak, is a species of oak in the white oak group, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus''. It is native to the eastern United States, where it is one of the most important ridgetop trees from southern Maine southwest ...

scarlet oak ''Quercus coccinea'', the scarlet oak, is a deciduous tree in the red oak section ''Lobatae'' of the genus ''Quercus'', in the family Fagaceae. It is primarily distributed in the central and eastern United States. It occurs on dry, sandy, usuall ...

black birch Black birch is a common name for several trees, and may refer to: * Asian black birch, the English name for '' Betula dahurica'', tree species native to eastern Asia * Black birch, a common name for ''Betula lenta'', tree species native to eastern ...

American chestnut The American chestnut (''Castanea dentata'') is a large, fast-growing deciduous tree of the beech family native to eastern North America. As is true of all species in genus Castanea, the American chestnut produces burred fruit with edible nuts. ...

pitch pine ''Pinus rigida'', the pitch pine, is a small-to-medium-sized pine. It is native to eastern North America, primarily from central Maine south to Georgia and as far west as Kentucky. It is found in environments which other species would find unsuit ...

red maple ''Acer rubrum'', the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant nativ ...

, and

serviceberry ''Amelanchier'' ( ), also known as shadbush, shadwood or shadblow, serviceberry or sarvisberry (or just sarvis), juneberry, saskatoon, sugarplum, wild-plum or chuckley pear,A Digital Flora of Newfoundland and Labrador Vascular Plants/ref> is a g ...

. Other plants on the ridge include

black huckleberry Black huckleberry is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Gaylussacia baccata'', native to eastern North America *''Vaccinium membranaceum ''Vaccinium membranaceum'' is a species within the group of Vaccinium commonly referred t ...

lowbush 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 ...

, mountain laurel, sheep's laurel,

bracken fern Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family (biology), family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produ ...

, wild sarsaparilla, and

Virginia creeper ''Parthenocissus quinquefolia'', known as Virginia creeper, Victoria creeper, five-leaved ivy, or five-finger, is a species of flowering vine in the grape family, Vitaceae. It is native to eastern and central North America, from southeastern Ca ...

. An ephemeral/fluctuating pool natural community known as the Edgewood Vernal Pools is located on and near Nescopeck Mountain. It consists of dozens of

s created by glaciation. Numerous

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

species breed in the pools and

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

trees and hemlock are present on the southern edge of the pool system. A globally rare species of

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

was observed in the pools in 1990. Another system of vernal pools known as the Briggsville Vernal Pools are found north of the ridge. The Nescopeck Mountain Barrens are a ridgetop dwarf-tree forest natural community. The barrens consist of

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 ...

s, hairgrass, pitch pines,

little bluestem ''Schizachyrium scoparium'', commonly known as little bluestem or beard grass, is a species of North American prairie grass native to most of the contiguous United States (except California, Nevada, and Oregon) as well as a small area north of t ...

s, and

blueberries 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 ...

Recreation

A portion of the Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 58 is on Nescopeck Mountain. Additionally, the

Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 187 Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appa ...

contain the Nescopeck Mountain Barrens. The ridge is on the northern border of the 3550-acre

. Historically, there were

trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...

leading up to the top of Nescopeck Mountain. There is high visibility from the top of the ridge and the town of Bloomsburg can be seen. The water gap where Catawissa Creek flows between Nescopeck Mountain and Catawissa Mountain was described as "attractive" by I. W. Hartman in 1912. The water gap where Nescopeck Creek flows through Nescopeck Mountain is described as "impressive" in Jeff Mitchell's book ''Paddling Pennsylvania''.

References

External links

* {{coord, 41.007, -76.221, type:mountain_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Landforms of Columbia County, Pennsylvania Landforms of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Ridges of Pennsylvania