Pisgah Mountain
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Pisgah Mountain or Pisgah Ridge (on older USGS maps) is a ridgeline running from Tamaqua to
Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania Jim Thorpe is a borough and the county seat of Carbon County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is historically known as the burial site of Native American sports legend Jim Thorpe. Jim Thorpe is loc ...
(from the
Little Schuylkill River The Little Schuylkill River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Schuylkill River in Northeastern Pennsylvania. It rises south of McAdoo He ...
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 ...
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 ...
water gap). It is oriented north-northeast to south-southwest, and its north-side valley is followed by U.S. Route 209 from river gap to river gap. The ridge is a succession of peaks exceeding rising above the boroughs of Lansford, Coaldale, and Tamaqua in the Panther Creek valley. The highest point on Pisgah Mountain is at in the borough of Summit Hill, which sits atop the ridge. Near Summit Hill was the "Sharpe Mountain" (peak) where in 1791 Phillip Ginter is documented as having discovered
anthracite Anthracite, also known as hard coal, and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the hig ...
, leading to the formation of the
Lehigh Coal Mine Company Lehigh may refer to: Places United States * Lehigh, Iowa *Lehigh, Kansas * Lehigh, Oklahoma * Lehigh, Barbour County, West Virginia *Lehigh, Wisconsin *Lehigh Acres, Florida *Lehigh Township (disambiguation) *Lehigh Valley, a region in eastern Pe ...
. In 1818 the
Lehigh Coal Company Lehigh may refer to: Places United States * Lehigh, Iowa *Lehigh, Kansas * Lehigh, Oklahoma * Lehigh, Barbour County, West Virginia *Lehigh, Wisconsin *Lehigh Acres, Florida *Lehigh Township (disambiguation) *Lehigh Valley, a region in eastern Pe ...
took over the mines, and the mining camp gradually became a settlement and grew into Summit Hill. Pisgah Ridge forms the left bank
drainage divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a singl ...
of Panther Creek to its south and the stream's source in Summit Hill. The peak at the east end of the ridge is named Mount Pisgah and represents a hard rock knob that towers above the Lehigh River to the east. Pisgah Ridge is entirely in 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 ...
watershed. The western part of the north side of the ridge feeds Panther Creek running to the west as a Little Schuylkill River tributary, while the eastern part of the north side drains to
Nesquehoning Creek Nesquehoning Creek is an east flowing tributary of the Lehigh River in northeastern Pennsylvania in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Keystone Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2004. Nesquehoning Creek joins the Lehigh River 2 miles (3.2  ...
, a tributary of the Lehigh River, which flows past the east end of the mountain. The eastern end of the south side of the mountain drains into the valley of
Mauch Chunk Creek Mauch Chunk Creek ( Lenape for "''at the bear mountain''" ) is a tributary of the Lehigh River in Carbon County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is dammed to form Mauch Chunk Lake near the borough of Summit Hill. The upper reaches of th ...
Inspection today via maps.google.com shows the headwaters begin to flow east from ~ (~2600 ft, estimated) south of Coaldale. Today's creek now leads to Mauch Chunk Lake at Mauch Chunk Lake Park, but Google maps names it White Bear Creek. (White Bear Creek), while the western part of the south side drains to Owl Creek, which flows west to the Little Schuylkill. Mount Pisgah is joined by
Nesquehoning Mountain Nesquehoning MountainUSGS Geographic Names Information System
s ...
, a ridge of similar height, near their eastern end, at a summit between the centers of Jim Thorpe and Nesquehoning. The bulk of Nesquehoning Mountain is separated from Mount Pisgah proper by a short and very steep valley that US-209 climbs from the borough of Nesquehoning westwards to reach the head of the Panther Creek valley in Lansford. The railroad tracks paralleling PA-54 also transiting the town of Nesquehoning's flat river-bank terrain takes over farther to climb and descend to once again reach an elevation where it can turn to enter the Panther Creek Valley near the confluence with the Little Schuylkill via the rail yard at Tamaqua in a longer more circuitous climb—and demonstration why dump trucks have replaced railroads in short-haul situations.


Geology

Mount Pisgah is a typical end-ridge formed by a watercourse gap. Pisgah Mountain is but one average folded mountain in a succession of near parallel ridgelines, where each are made by a succession of peaks of nearly the same height. This
Ridge and Valley province The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division and are also a belt within the Appalachian Mountains extending ...
is a geological feature that extends from New Jersey into Virginia forming a great barrier of successive valleys. Pisgah Mountain, located along the southern fringe of northeastern Pennsylvania's Poconos region is also central to the Southern Anthracite Region of Pennsylvania— known as the site of the Richest Anthracite Seam, in the heart of the Southern Pennsylvania Anthracite Field and the geological province known as the Anthracite Upland section. The ridgeline parallels the escarpment of the Blue Mountain region but unlike that barrier with several major cuttings, Mount Pisgah is a divide between waters running southwesterly in the historic Panther Creek (Pennsylvania).


References


Reference works

* Alan R. Geyer (1979) "''Outstanding Geologic Features of Pennsylvania''", Geological Survey of Pennsylvania * Tom Thwaites (1997) "''50 hikes in Eastern Pennsylvania''", Third edition * Art Michaels (2003) "''Pennsylvania Overlooks a guide for Sightseers and Outdoor People''", Penn State Press * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pisgah Mountain Mountains of Pennsylvania Landforms of Carbon County, Pennsylvania Landforms of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania