Cumberland Mountains
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The Cumberland Mountains are a mountain range in the southeastern section of 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 ...
. They are located in western
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 ...
, southwestern
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
, the eastern edges of
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 ...
, and eastern middle
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 ...
, including the
Crab Orchard Mountains The Crab Orchard Mountains are a rugged, detached range of the southern Cumberland Mountains. They are situated in East Tennessee atop the Cumberland Plateau just west of the plateau's eastern escarpment, and comprise parts of Morgan, Anderso ...
. Their highest peak, with an elevation of above mean sea level, is
High Knob High Knob is the peak of Stone Mountain, that forms part of the border between Scott County and Wise County, Virginia, near the city of Norton that rises to above mean sea level. Location High Knob is found on the western front range of the ...
, which is located near
Norton, Virginia Norton is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in the far western tip of the state in Wise County, Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,687, making it the least populous city in Virginia. The Bureau of E ...
. According to the
USGS 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, a ...
, the Cumberland Mountain range is long and wide, bounded by the Russell Fork on the northeast, the Pound River and Powell River on the southeast, Cove Creek on the southwest, and Tackett Creek, the Cumberland River, Poor Fork Cumberland River, and Elkhorn Creek on the northwest. The crest of the range forms the Kentucky and Virginia boundary from the Tennessee border to the Russell Fork River. Variant names of the Cumberland Mountains include Cumberland Mountain, Cumberland Range, Ouasioto Mountains, Ouasiota Mountains, Laurel Mountain, and Pine Mountain. They are named for Prince William, Duke of Cumberland. The Cumberland Mountains range includes Pine Mountain, Cross Mountain, Cumberland Mountain, Log Mountain, Little Black Mountain, and Black (Big Black) Mountain, as well as others.


Conservation

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a U.S. multiprogram science and technology national laboratory sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and administered, managed, and operated by UT–Battelle as a federally funded research an ...
( Oak Ridge, Tennessee) is involved with the conservation of the mixed mesophytic forests within the northern Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. The conservation organizations include
The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...
, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and the Natural Resources Defense Council with focus on the Cumberland Plateau.Sustaining the landscape: a method for comparing current and desired future conditions of forest ecosystems in the North Cumberland Plateau and Mountains
Retrieved on April 28, 2009


Geology and physiography

The Cumberland Mountains are a physiographic section of the larger
Appalachian Plateau The Appalachian Plateau is a series of rugged dissected plateaus located on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian Mountains are a mountain range that run down the Eastern United States. The Appalachian Plateau is the nor ...
province, which in turn is part of the larger Appalachian physiographic division.


Pine Mountain

Pine Mountain is a long, narrow ridge starting in northern Tennessee and extending northeastward into southeastern Kentucky and southwestern Virginia. Its southwestern terminus is near Pioneer, Tennessee, and it extends approximately to the northeast to near the
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 ...
in Kentucky and Virginia.


Geology

Pine Mountain is at the headward ramp of the Pine Mountain Thrust Fault. The hard Lee-type sandstones of the Early Pennsylvanian form the ridge line. The sandstone strata crop out here because northwestward movement along the
thrust fault A thrust fault is a break in the Earth's crust, across which older rocks are pushed above younger rocks. Thrust geometry and nomenclature Reverse faults A thrust fault is a type of reverse fault that has a dip of 45 degrees or less. If ...
caused these sandstones to be pushed up the ramp and over younger strata. Because the sandstones are resistant to erosion, they form a prominent ridge along this ramp. The southwestern terminus of Pine Mountain is marked by the northwest-trending Jacksboro Fault, a lateral ramp fault (part of the Pine Mountain Thrust Fault). The northwestern slope of Pine Mountain is cliff-lined (escarpment slope) whereas the southeastern slope is gentle, this is the
dip slope A dip slope is a topographic (geomorphic) surface which slopes in the same direction, and often by the same amount, as the true dip or apparent dip of the underlying strata.Jackson, JA, J Mehl and K Neuendorf (2005) ''Glossary of Geology.'' Amer ...
, and it is roughly parallel to the dip of the sandstones. This is also the northern limb of the Middlesboro Syncline. Several gaps occur along Pine Mountain, and these are usually caused by erosion along cross-cutting faults. These gaps include the gap at High Cliff, Tennessee (near Jellico), the Narrows gap at Pineville, Kentucky, and Pound Gap near
Jenkins, Kentucky Jenkins is a home rule-class city in Letcher County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,203 as of the 2010 census. History In autumn of 1911, the Consolidation Coal Company purchased the current location of Jenkins as part of a tr ...
. There are other minor gaps as well.


Cumberland Mountain

Cumberland Mountain, not to be confused with the Cumberland Mountains within which it resides, is a long ridge extending from northeastern Tennessee, southeastern Kentucky and southwestern Virginia. Its peak forms the boundary between Kentucky and Virginia in some areas. The southeastern side of Cumberland Mountain is a cliff-lined wall that was a barrier to exploration and settlement in Kentucky during the westward expansion in the late eighteenth century. The famous
Cumberland Gap The Cumberland Gap is a pass through the long ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, within the Appalachian Mountains, near the junction of the U.S. states of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. It is famous in American colonial history for its r ...
is one of several gaps along Cumberland Mountain that allowed access across the mountain. Cumberland Mountain is a long ridge running from near
Caryville, Tennessee Caryville is a town in Campbell County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,297 at the 2010 census. History Originally known as Wheeler's Station, the town was renamed in honor of Judge William Carey, a prominent local landowner, in ...
, northeastward to near Norton, Virginia, a distance of approximately . The southeastern slope of the ridge is cliff lined, whereas the northwestern slope is more gentle. The ridge is interrupted by several gaps, including Cumberland Gap, Big Creek Gap between Ivydell and
LaFollette, Tennessee LaFollette is a city in Campbell County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 7,456 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population in 2018 of 6,737. It is the principal city of the LaFollette, Tennessee micropolitan statistical area, ...
, Pennington Gap near
Pennington Gap, Virginia Pennington Gap is the most populous town in Lee County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,781 at the 2010 census. The Lee Regional Medical Center was in Pennington Gap until it closed in October 2013, and the United States Penitentiar ...
, and Big Stone Gap near
Big Stone Gap, Virginia Big Stone Gap is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The town was economically centered around the coal industry for much of its early development. The population was 5,643 at the 2010 census. History The community was formerly kno ...
. The crest of Cumberland Mountain ranges from to in elevation. Cumberland Mountain is roughly parallel to Pine Mountain which lies from eight to ten miles to the northwest.


Geology

Cumberland Mountain is part of the Cumberland Overthrust Sheet or block and is the northern limb of the Powell Valley Anticline, a ramp
anticline In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is the ...
. The ridge exists because hard Lee-type sandstones of Early Pennsylvanian Age crop out along this line. Softer rocks have been eroded away, leaving the resistant sandstones to form a ridge. The southwestern terminus of Cumberland Mountain is marked by the northwest-trending Jacksboro Fault, a lateral ramp fault (part of the Pine Mountain Thrust Fault). The northwestern terminus is located near Norton, Virginia, where the hard sandstones dip below the surface as the axis of the Powell Valley anticline plunges to the northeast. The various gaps in Cumberland Mountain are caused by rock weaknesses at cross-cutting faults or joints. For example, Cumberland Gap was caused by erosion along the cross-cutting Rocky Face Fault. The cliff-lined southeastern slope (escarpment slope) of Cumberland Mountain was created by erosion along the breached side of the Powell Valley Anticline. The more-gentle northwestern slope is the dip slope and roughly parallel to the dip of the Early Pennsylvanian sandstones. This northwestward dip is the northern limb of the Powell Valley Anticline. Cumberland Mountain forms the drainage divide between the Cumberland River to the north and the Powell River to the south.


Synclinal mountains

Several mountains that lie between Pine Mountain and Cumberland Mountain include Black Mountain and Little Black Mountain as well as a number of smaller mountains (Short, Walnut, Rich, Log, Reynolds, etc.). These are all synclinal mountains and reside along the axis of the northeast-trending Middlesboro Syncline. The Pine Mountain ramp forms the northwestern limb of this syncline and Cumberland Mountain (the northwestern limb of the Powell Valley Anticline) forms the southeastern limb.


Further reading

* Caudill, Harry M., '' Night Comes to the Cumberlands'' (1963).


See also

* Cumberland Plateau *
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park The Cumberland Gap National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located at the border between Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia, centered on the Cumberland Gap, a natural break in the Appalachian Mountains. The park lies ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Mountain ranges of Kentucky Mountain ranges of Tennessee Mountain ranges of Virginia Mountain ranges of West Virginia Subranges of the Appalachian Mountains Physiographic sections Borders of Virginia Borders of Kentucky