Blackjack Mountain is a scenic landmark, located in the very southwest corner of

Carroll County, Georgia Carroll County is a county in the West Central region of the State of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, its population was 119,148.US 2020 Census Bureau report, Carroll County, Georgia Its county seat is the city of Carrollton. Carroll County ...

on the

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

border and Heard County line. The nearest city is

Ephesus, Georgia Ephesus is a city in Heard County, Georgia, United States. The city was founded as "Loftin", and was incorporated as "Ephesus" in 1964, after the local church and school, which had been named for the biblical city of Ephesus in present-day Turke ...

, to the south. While not an impressive

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

, at 1,545 ft (471 m) the summit is the highest point in Georgia south of

Interstate 20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Reeves County, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. B ...

. Blackjack Mountain is a long north–south trending

ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

. The Native Americans used this promontory as a reference point on their east–west trading path and are believed to have used the summit for sacred ceremonies. The mountain was named for its

blackjack oak ''Quercus marilandica'', the blackjack oak, is a small oak, one of the red oak group ''Quercus'' sect. ''Lobatae''. It is native to the eastern and central United States. Description ''Quercus marilandica'' is a small deciduous tree growing to ...

timber.

Conservation

In 2003, Carroll County earmarked about $19 million for land conservation, parks and recreation. Blackjack Mountain was a high land conservation priority. In early 2005, the

Trust for Public Land The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...

(TPL) helped the county protect Blackjack Mountain. The acquisition of Blackjack Mountain will protect a very scenic

viewshed A viewshed is the geographical area that is visible from a location. It includes all surrounding points that are in line-of-sight with that location and excludes points that are beyond the horizon or obstructed by terrain and other features (e.g. ...

and preserve over of pines and mixed hardwoods, two small lakes, several small tributaries, a federally designated wetland and a valuable wildlife habitat. Blackjack is named for all of the Blackjack oaks that grow on it.

References

Protected areas of Carroll County, Georgia Ridges of Georgia (U.S. state) Parks in Georgia (U.S. state) Landforms of Carroll County, Georgia {{CarrollCountyGA-geo-stub