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North Fork Mountain is a quartzite-capped mountain ridge in the Ridge and Valley physiographic province of the Allegheny Mountains (or "High Alleghenies" or "Potomac Highlands") of eastern West Virginia, USA. Kile Knob, at 4,588 feet (1,398 m), is the mountain's highest point,〔 and Panther Knob and Pike Knob are nearly as high. North Fork Mountain is the driest high mountain in the Appalachians,〔 and has vegetation and flora different from nearby, wetter high mountain areas immediately to the west such as Spruce Knob and Dolly Sods, with pines (''Pinus'') abundant on the mountain's ridgecrest, in contrast with the spruces (''Picea'') so characteristic of these comparably high summits across the North Fork Valley.〔 Structurally, North Fork Mountain is an anticline mountain, a major part of the Wills Mountain Anticline system. The mountain's strata (rock layers) are nearly flat, but the Tuscarora quartzite that forms the mountain's caprock is bent downwards (and now mostly eroded away) east and west of the ridge, becoming nearly vertical along the mountain's slopes, where the same quartzite stratum forms such dramatic outcrops as Seneca Rocks. Much of the mountain is within the Monongahela National Forest, and a large portion of the mountain has been proposed for federal wilderness designation or inclusion within a new unit of U.S. National Park System. The Nature Conservancy's Panther Knob and Pike Knob preserves are also located on North Fork Mountain. The scenic North Fork Mountain Trail follows much of the ridge crest,〔 and only one road (U.S. Route 33) crosses the steep, rugged ridge. ==Geography== North Fork Mountain runs roughly northeast to southwest for throughout Grant and Pendleton Counties in West Virginia, defining the eastern edge of the upper watershed of the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River and the western edge of another portion of the watershed of the South Branch of the Potomac River. Near its northern end, it also forms the western edge of the long gorge known as Smoke Hole. The north end of the mountain arises abruptly along the south side of North Fork Gap, a water gap along the North Fork river and West Virginia Route 28 near Cabins, west of Petersburg. The mountain continues southwest from there to Dry Run Gap in southern Pendleton County. North Fork Mountain reaches its highest elevation (4,588 feet, or 1,398 m) at Kile Knob.〔 Other notable points along the mountain include Panther Knob at and Pike Knob, both having nature preserves owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy. Today there are no settlements on the mountain itself — except, arguably, Monkeytown on the western slopes. Only one road, U.S. Route 33, crosses the mountain, although various smaller roads climb its slopes or reach particular points on the ridgetop. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「North Fork Mountain」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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