High Knob

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High Knob
High Knob Tower
Elevation	4,223 ft (1,287 m)
Location	Virginia, USA
Range	Cumberland Mountains
Prominence	2,053 ft (626 m) [1]
Coordinates	36°53′56″N, 82°37′78″W
Topo map	USGS Norton
First ascent	Prehistoric
Easiest route	Hike, or drive from Route 619 to near the summit

High Knob is the peak of Stone Mountain (Virginia), a large mountain, or massif, in Wise County, Virginia near the city of Norton that rises to 4223 feet (1287 meters) above mean sea level.

High Knob is found on the western front range of the Appalachian Mountains and is part of the mountainous southeastern edge of the Cumberland Plateau of southwest Virginia. It stretches across portions of southern Wise County, northern Scott County and the northeastern tip of Lee County. It is one of the most significant physical features in Virginia and is among the widest singular mountains in the southern Appalachians, being locally greater than 13 miles (21 km) wide from base to base and more than 26 miles (42 km) long. From the perspective of a singular mountain the High Knob mass is very large and can be said to represent a small massif, being today a remnant of a much greater mountain mass that once filled a large portion of the geologically celebrated Cumberland Mountain Overthrust Block upon which it rests.

Although some 1000 to 1500 feet (300 to 450 m) lower in elevation than the famed Mount Rogers highcountry (Mount Rogers is the highest peak in Virginia), the terrain surrounding the High Knob of Stone Mountain forms a true highcountry with respect to the western slopes of the Appalachians in Virginia (i.e., the Cumberland Mountains).

The High Knob massif exerts a significant impact upon the climate of southwestern Virginia and surrounding areas, being one of the rainiest and snowiest locations in both Virginia and the southern Appalachians. It unofficially holds the record for the most snow ever measured in Virginia during a single season, with 200.5 inches (509 cm) during the 1995-96 winter.

It contains numerous bogs and six high elevation man-made water bodies (when including its northwest arm called Little Stone Mountain), ranging in elevation between 2360 feet and 3480 feet (720 to 1160 m) above mean sea level. It is the only known mountain in the southern Appalachians with so many bodies of water.

It is located just beyond the northern end of Powell Mountain.

The High Knob massif forms a core area of the Clinch Valley Bioreserve, a 2200 square mile (5700 km²) section of southwestern Virginia and upper east Tennessee that has been designated by the Nature Conservancy as one of the Last Great Places in the World.

On a clear day, four other states can be seen from the summit: West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and North Carolina.

At its peak stood one of the few remaining fire towers of the Appalachian Mountains. Built in 1938-39 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, the original structure was a 14'x14' wooden house. The most recent three-story structure was built by the Flatwoods Job Corps in 1978-79. High Knob's fire tower is listed in the National Historic Lookout Registry.

On October 31, 2007, the High Knob Lookout Tower was destroyed by arson. The tower was set on fire in the early hours of Halloween morning. By the time the Jefferson Forest Service and local fire departments arrived on scene, the fire tower was fully engulfed in flames, and could not be saved. Firefighters were able to keep the fire from spreading to the rest of the Knob, which was suffering from drought conditions.