Pine 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

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

running through

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

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 ...

and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. It extends about 125 miles from near Pioneer, Tennessee, to a location near

Elkhorn City, Kentucky Elkhorn City is a home rule-class city in Pike County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 982 at the 2010 census. The city is located in proximity to the Breaks Interstate Park. History Elkhorn City was first settled by William ...

. Birch Knob, the highest point, is above sea level and is located on the Kentucky-Virginia border. It has long been a barrier to transportation, as the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

at Pineville, Kentucky is one of only two waterways that pass through the entire ridge. The other is the

Clear Fork (Cumberland River tributary) The Clear Fork is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 tributary of the Cumberland River in Kentucky and Tennessee. By the Cumberland and Ohio rivers, it is par ...

near

Jellico, Tennessee Jellico is a city in Campbell County, Tennessee, United States, on the state border with Kentucky, by road north of Knoxville. The population was 2,355 at the 2010 census. History The name "Jellico" is a local alteration of "angelica", the name ...

. Natural areas located on the mountain includes

Pine Mountain State Resort Park Pine Mountain State Resort Park is a Kentucky state park located in Bell County, southeastern Kentucky, United States. Located on part of the Pine Mountain ridge in the Appalachians, the park opened in 1924 as Kentucky's first state park. Each ...

and

Kingdom Come State Park Kingdom Come State Park is a part of Kentucky's state park system in Harlan County atop Pine Mountain near the city of Cumberland. It was named after the 1903 best-selling novel '' The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come'' by native Kentuckian John ...

Breaks Interstate Park Breaks Interstate Park is a bi-state state park located partly in southeastern Kentucky and mostly in southwestern Virginia, in the Jefferson National Forest, at the northeastern terminus of Pine Mountain. Rather than their respective state par ...

Kiwanis Raven Rock Park Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Since 1987, the organizatio ...

Kentenia State Forest Kentenia State Forest is a state forest in Harlan County, Kentucky, 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 Continental United States, primaril ...

Pine Mountain State Scenic Trail Pine Mountain State Scenic Trail is a trail under development in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Once completed, the trail will wind along Pine Mountain Ridge from the Breaks Interstate Park to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. The park itse ...

, the Little Shepherd Trail, Blanton Forest State Nature Preserve, Bad Branch State Nature Preserve, and several others owned and managed by the

Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves is an agency of the Commonwealth of Kentucky in the United States dedicated to the protection of Kentucky's natural heritage. The agency's primary focus is protecting rare and endangered species habitat. It o ...

. Wildlife is abundant on Pine Mountain. The land is claimed to be the "Black Bear Capital of Kentucky." Black bears,

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

rattlesnakes Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genera '' Crotalus'' and '' Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small an ...

, and

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

are found on Pine Mountain.

References

{{Mountains of Tennessee Ridges of Kentucky Ridges of Tennessee Ridges of Virginia Landforms of Bell County, Kentucky Landforms of Harlan County, Kentucky Landforms of Letcher County, Kentucky Landforms of Whitley County, Kentucky Landforms of Claiborne County, Tennessee Landforms of Campbell County, Tennessee

See also

References