Powell Mountain (or "Powells Mountain") is a mountain

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 ...

of the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians of the Appalachian Mountains. It is a long and narrow ridge, running northeast to southwest, from about Norton, Virginia to near

Tazewell, Tennessee Tazewell is a town in and the county seat of Claiborne County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,165 at the 2000 census and 2,218 at the 2010 census, and 2,348 at the 2020 census. The town is named for Tazewell, Virginia, which itself ...

. It separates the Clinch River basin and the Powell River basin of Powell Valley. It was named for an 18th-century explorer. Its elevation averages between , with its highest points above . The highest point is Bowling Knob (), near the northern end of the mountain. Powell Mountain is about long. It is broken by one stream only, the

North Fork Clinch River The North Fork Clinch River is a river in the U.S. states of Virginia and Tennessee. It rises along the slopes of Wallen Ridge in Lee County, Virginia, and empties into the Clinch River at Hancock County, Tennessee, just across the Tennessee/Virg ...

. North of the river, the mountain is less well-defined as a ridge and merges with Stone Mountain and other mountains near the headwaters of Powell River. The southern part of Powell Mountain is paralleled on the south by

Newman Ridge Newman Ridge is a ridge in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Newman Ridge was named after a pioneer who explored the area in the 1760s. References

Landforms of Hancock County, Tennessee Ridges of Tennessee {{HancockCountyTN-geo-stub ...

and Stone Ridge. Between Powell Mountain and these ridges is Snake Hollow and the headwaters of Blackwater Creek. This area is known for its historic Melungeon population. Powell Mountain is crossed by

U.S. Route 58 U.S. Route 58 (US 58) is an east–west U.S. Highway that runs for from U.S. Route 25E just northwest of Harrogate, Tennessee, to U.S. Route 60 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Until 1996, when the Cumberland Gap Tunnel opened, US 58 ran only ...

, called "Daniel Boone Trail Highway". The original

Wilderness Road The Wilderness Road was one of two principal routes used by colonial and early national era settlers to reach Kentucky from the East. Although this road goes through the Cumberland Gap into southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee, the other (mo ...

crossed the mountain nearby, at Kanes Gap. Beside the large water gap of the North Fork Clinch River, there are numerous wind gaps. Some of the named gaps, from south to north, include: Fugate Gap, Gibson Gap, Mulberry Gap (used by State Route 63), Bryson Gap, Sally Gap, Hunter Gap (used by State Route 70), Kanes Gap, Elisha Lick Gap, and Beaverdam Gap.

South to North Description

Powell Mountain's southern end is in Claiborne County, Tennessee. On the north side of the mountain flows Little Sycamore Creek, and on the south side, Big Sycamore Creek. The two join just south of the end of Powell Mountain, then flowing into the Clinch River and Norris Lake (the reservoir behind Norris Dam). To the northeast, Powell Mountain crosses Hancock County, Tennessee, where Newman Ridge runs closely along the south side. Big Sycamore Creek flows between the two ridges to its headwaters. Its valley is called Snake Hollow. Northeast of that, Blackwater Creek flows northeastward between Powell Mountain and Newman Ridge. In Hancock County, Powell Mountain reaches heights around 2,300 to 2,400 feet (about 700 to 730 meters), with the highest point, ), on the Tennessee-Virginia state line. On the north side of Powell Mountain, Mulberry Creek flows southwestward to join the Powell River. Continuing northeast, Powell Mountain crosses into Lee County, Virginia. Wallen Creek, a tributary of the Powell River, flows along the north side, while Blackwater Creek and its tributaries (themselves all tributaries of the Clinch River), flow on the south side. The

followed part of Wallen Creek, between Powell Mountain and Wallen Ridge. State Route 70 crosses Powell Mountain at Hunter Gap. North of Hunter Gap, Newman Ridge continues along the south side of Powell Mountain, but its name changes to Stone Ridge. Northeast of Hunter Gap, Powell Mountain's elevation increases to and above. The mountain becomes the boundary between Lee County and Scott County, Virginia. It is crossed by

, "Daniel Boone Trail Highway". The actual route of Daniel Boone's Wilderness Road crossed Powell Mountain at Kanes Gap, just northeast of where the modern highway crosses. Northeast of Kanes Gap, Powell Mountain is broken by the North Fork Clinch River. The mountain curves north and then west along southwest side of the river, ending at a summit called "Butt of Powell Mountain" (elevation ).

US Route 23 } U.S. Route 23 or U.S. Highway 23 (US 23) is a major north–south U.S. Highway between Jacksonville, Florida, and Mackinaw City, Michigan. It is an original 1926 route which originally reached only as far south as Portsmouth, Ohio, and has sin ...

and crosses Powell Mountain by following the North Fork Clinch River, as does railroad tracks owned by the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

. Powell Mountain continues on the other side of the North Fork Clinch River, but is less well-defined as a ridge. It blends somewhat with Cliff Mountain, Little Mountain, and Stone Mountain. Near Cliff Mountain is the high summit of Bowling Knob (). Nearby this section of Powell Mountain is Virginia's Natural Tunnel State Park. Also nearby is a section of the old Wilderness Road known as "Devil's Racepath". The crossing of Powell Mountain at Kanes Gap and the difficult Devil's Racepath made this one of the more difficult segments of the Wilderness Road. The northernmost section of Powell Mountain crosses into Wise County, Virginia, where there is another high summit called Morris Butt (). Northeast of that, the headwaters of the Powell River cut a valley into Powell Mountain near the community of Cracker Neck. Northeast of that, Powell Mountain becomes increasingly merged with Little Mountain, Stone Mountain, and Grindstone Ridge. In this section the highest summit occurs, High Knob (), but it is defined as the summit of Stone Mountain rather than Powell Mountain. Finally, Powell Mountain comes to an end near Norton, Virginia. The northern part of Powell Mountain is in Jefferson National Forest.

References

{{coord, 36.511197, -83.396292, type:mountain, display=title Ridges of Virginia Ridges of Tennessee Landforms of Wise County, Virginia Landforms of Scott County, Virginia Landforms of Lee County, Virginia Norton, Virginia Wind gaps of the United States Landforms of Claiborne County, Tennessee