Penobscot Knob
Penobscot Knob, also Penobscot Mountain, is a summit located in the southwest fringe of the Poconos nearest to Mountain Top, Pennsylvania which in the pass below it and, which at one time before incorporation was known by the Amerindian name Penobscot; the whole upland over looks the Wyoming Valley from the southeastern corner towards Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton.
The shoulders of the peak, an elevated flat area saddle pass peak today is perhaps best known as the site of many local television and radio station transmitter antennas. WVIA-TV, WVIA-FM, WSWB, WNEP, WYOU, WOLF-TV, WQMY, and WBRE are some of the major stations that broadcast from the high elevation there, but the peak was known for another reason in the 19th-century, the saddle or pass on its western slope together with its other terrain features were the best place to build a railroad across the south and east faces of the bowl of the Wyoming Valley from the 'direct road' down the level water route to the Delaware Canal and Delaware River above and alongside the Lehigh Canal, cutting off nearly 100 miles from a rail trip to Philadelphia.
Penobscot Hill is about 2,100 feet (640 meters) above sea level.
Analog broadcast tower collapse
WNEP-TV's transmission tower broadcasting the analog signal on channel 16 collapsed on December 16, 2007[1] due to severe ice, winds, and snow at the transmitter location on Penobscot Knob. The tower collapse also destroyed the transmitter building. No one was injured during the incident. Transmission of the digital signal on channel 49 was restored after a brief interruption of power to the tower supporting the digital transmitter and antenna. WNEP's signal on local cable systems and satellite was restored before the end of the day. The ice and winds on December 16, 2007 also brought down or damaged the towers broadcasting WYOU-TV, WBRE-TV (digital), WVIA-TV (analog and digital), and WCLH which are located within proximity on Penobscot Knob. The 800-foot (240 m) WNEP tower completely collapsed.
The top 150 feet (46 meters) of the WVIA tower fell, as well as its digital antenna. The WNEP tower fell across power lines knocking out the power to the other transmitters, except the WBRE analog transmitter, which was on a different line.[2]
References
Coordinates: 41°10′58″N 75°52′16″W / 41.182644°N 75.871068°W