Cross Mountain
Cross Mountain rises to 627 m in Pennsylvania. Big Mountain stands 740 m to the north, 16 miles off. The nearest named place is Bullskin Mountain, a peak 1.4 miles away. Historic National Road - Maryland passes 5.4 miles off.
The story
Cross Mountain is the highest peak in the Bear Pond Mountains, a sub range of the Appalachian Mountains in the United States. This grouping of mountains straddle the Maryland and Pennsylvania border. Cross Mountain and Hearthstone Mountain 2,021 feet (616 m) which is on the Maryland side, form a unique geologic formation known as the "Punchbowl". This feature was created by the weathered shales of the Ordovician age in the center of a south-plunging anticline, having been eroded to expose a large amphitheater like feature (punchbowl). Cross and Hearthstone Mountain are made of hard resistant quartzite of the Tuscarora Formation of the Silurian age. Cross Mountain is also the site of a deactivated microwave relay station, that was used during the Cold War. The unit was encased in a 103 ft. tower, and known as the "Cannonball" site 2. The site was closed in 1977. Access to the summit is still restricted.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q5188359, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 627 m
How to reach it
- 5.4 mi off the Historic National Road - Maryland, National
- 5.9 mi off the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Byway
- 8.7 mi off the Washington Heritage Trail, National
- 22.0 mi off the Antietam Campaign Byway
Overlooks nearby
- Devils Nose · 10 mi
- Sideling Hill Viewpoint · 15 mi
- Prospect Overlook · 16 mi
- Georgians Overlook · 24 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Bullskin Mountain: 1.4 mi
- Hearthstone Mountain: 1.5 mi
- Two Top Mountain: 2.2 mi
- Sword Mountain: 2.3 mi
- Sword Mountain: 2.3 mi
- Clear Spring Park: 6.0 mi
- Montgomery Township Park: 6.9 mi
- Mercersburg Lions Club: 7.9 mi
- Redbud Valley Nature Center: 8.1 mi
- John W Angle Veterans Memorial Park: 8.4 mi
- Sleepy Creek Post Office: 6.4 mi
- Fort Frederick: 8.2 mi
- March 17 1936 High Water Mark: 8.5 mi
- Tonoloway Fort: 11.4 mi
- Doubleday Hill Monument: 12.6 mi
- CCC museum: 8.3 mi
- Hancock Museum: 10.3 mi
- Hagerstown Aviation Museum: 14.2 mi
- Museum of Berkeley Springs: 14.4 mi
- Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum: 14.9 mi
- Junior Officer's Quarters: 8.2 mi
- Captain's Quarters: 8.2 mi
- Hagerstown Cultural Trail: 15.3 mi
- Hagerstown Cultural Trail: 15.3 mi
- Hagerstown Cultural Trail: 15.3 mi
- Big Spring: 8.3 mi
- Reese Spring: 8.5 mi
- Lord Fairfax Spring: 14.4 mi
- Tayamentasachta Spring: 14.9 mi
- Moss Spring: 15.3 mi
- Conservation Easement East of Indian Springs Wildlife Management Area: 3.9 mi
- Boyd Mountain Pond Heritage Conservation Fund Site: 5.7 mi
- Sweeney, Carl and Rebecca Conservation: 10.0 mi
- Round Top Hill Heritage Conservation Fund Site: 13.3 mi
- State Game Lands Number 128: 13.7 mi
- I-81 Southbound West Virginia Welcome Center: 12.4 mi
- Sideling Hill Rest Area Westbound: 15.4 mi
- Sideling Hill Rest Area Eastbound: 15.4 mi
- South Mountain Welcome Center: 24.8 mi
- Morgan Arts Council: 14.3 mi
- Saint Maria Goretti: 14.8 mi
- 42 West: 22.0 mi
- Founding Father's Memorial Statue: 22.7 mi
- The Lockings: 4.6 mi
- Lovers Leap: 11.5 mi
- The Little Point: 17.5 mi
- Jarrett Falls: 11.6 mi
- Old Dam Waterfall: 23.8 mi
- Sideling Hill Picnic Area: 21.7 mi
- Bear Valley Picnic Area: 24.0 mi
- Four Square Garden: 19.9 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 22.3 miles of Cross Mountain. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Mountain | N 11° | 740 m | 15.5 mi |
| Bald Knob | NNW 337° | 702 m | 21.1 mi |
| Fisher Point | NNW 339° | 701 m | 20.7 mi |
| Emmaville Mountain | NW 313° | 690 m | 16.9 mi |
| Cacapon 2 | SW 232° | 673 m | 21.6 mi |
| King Knob | NNW 343° | 638 m | 22.2 mi |
| Broad Mountain | NNE 27° | 623 m | 19.7 mi |
| The Lockings | WNW 292° | 618 m | 17.7 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:16 | 18:49 | 19:24 |
| June solstice | 05:45 | 20:04 | 20:44 |
| September equinox | 07:00 | 18:35 | 19:11 |
| December solstice | 07:30 | 16:09 | 16:51 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 33 | 36 | 43 | 55 | 64 | 73 | 78 | 75 | 68 | 57 | 46 | 37 |
| Precip in | 2.5 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 2.8 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Hagerstown Rgnl AP, 14 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidata- USGS Geographic Names Information System feature 1172745 — Cross Mountain, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
OpenStreetMap element node/357282303
Day trips start here
- Mercersburg · 8 mi
- Hancock · 10 mi
- Hedgesville · 12 mi
- Washington County · 13 mi
- Hagerstown · 16 mi
- Martinsburg · 19 mi
Take the scenic way to Cross Mountain.
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