Rich Mountain
Rich Mountain rises to 1,455 m in North Carolina. Snake Mountain stands 1,697 m to the north, 6.6 miles off. The nearest named place is Snakeden Mountain, a peak 1.1 miles away. Mission Crossing passes 3.5 miles off.
The story
Rich Mountain is a mountain located in the North Carolina High Country, roughly 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of the town of Boone. Its elevation reaches 4,748 feet (1,447 m). The mountain is sometimes confused with Howard Knob, which is to its immediate east; sharing the same ridge to the west is Snakeden Mountain. The summit is private property. The summit of Rich Mountain has year-round temperatures similar to nearby Beech Mountain. While Beech Mountain stands 800 feet (240 m) taller, the unique environment and prevailing winds that channel through a valley just to the North of Rich, bring winter lows that compete with and are occasionally lower than Beech. The summit, and upper north face of Rich Mountain will also receive 50-90% more snow each winter than Boone. 68" of snow was recorded during the 2017/2018 winter which sported 3 different snowfalls through the end of April. The mountain generates several feeder streams to the South Fork New River (via Doe Fork) and the Watauga River (via Laurel Fork).
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q7323378, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 1,455 m
How to reach it
- 3.5 mi off the Mission Crossing
- 3.9 mi off the US 421 Scenic Byway
- 6.2 mi off the Little Parkway
- 5.7 mi off the Blue Ridge Parkway, National
Overlooks nearby
- Moses Cone Overlook · 6 mi
- Raven Rock Overlook · 7 mi
- Yadkin Valley Overlook · 8 mi
- Thunder Hill Overlook · 8 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- North Street Park: 1.6 mi
- Rivers House Park: 1.6 mi
- Junaluska City Park: 1.6 mi
- Howards Knob County Park: 1.6 mi
- Jimmy Smith Park: 1.7 mi
- Crab Orchard Falls: 5.4 mi
- Dutch Creek Falls: 5.6 mi
- Hebron Colony Falls: 5.8 mi
- New Year's Creek Cascades: 7.7 mi
- Glen Burney Falls: 7.8 mi
- Snakeden Mountain: 1.1 mi
- Howard Knob: 1.7 mi
- Grassy Knob: 1.7 mi
- Bingham Hill: 1.8 mi
- Nettle Knob: 2.0 mi
- Hellbenders: 1.7 mi
- Doc Watson Statue: 1.7 mi
- Doc and Merle Watson: 1.7 mi
- Time and Honor: 1.8 mi
- The Magic Mailbox: 1.9 mi
- Fun 'N' Wheels: 2.0 mi
- Foggy Mountain Gem Mine: 4.2 mi
- Tweetsie Twister: 5.3 mi
- F-80 Jet Planes: 5.3 mi
- Round-Up: 5.4 mi
- Children's Playhouse: 2.4 mi
- Hickory Ridge Living History Museum: 2.8 mi
- Native American Artifacts: 6.0 mi
- Moses Cone Manor: 6.0 mi
- Blowing Rock 1888 Museum: 7.3 mi
- Watauga County Veterans Memorial: 1.8 mi
- Earth Day 2011: 2.1 mi
- Historic Dam Site: 3.8 mi
- Old Blowing Rock Sewage Pump Station: 7.5 mi
- Buck Ridge Lookout Tower: 13.8 mi
- Julian Price Memorial Park Picnic Area: 6.7 mi
- Elk Knob Picnic Area: 7.0 mi
- Cliffside Picnic Area: 12.3 mi
- Forrest Gump Picnic Area: 12.3 mi
- Woods Walk: 12.7 mi
- White Pine Cliffs: 2.0 mi
- Hayes Bluff: 4.0 mi
- Scheer Bluffs: 12.0 mi
- Flattop Cliffs: 12.4 mi
- Linville Bluffs: 12.4 mi
- Watauga Extension Educational Garden: 1.4 mi
- Sustainable Development Civic Garden Project: 1.8 mi
- Fred Webb Jr. Outdoor Geology Laboratory and Rock Garden: 2.0 mi
- Appalachian Roots Garden: 2.1 mi
- Daniel Boone Native Gardens: 2.6 mi
- Bear Wallow Spring: 10.0 mi
- Shanty Springs: 10.6 mi
- Boiling Spring: 23.5 mi
- Cave Spring: 24.4 mi
- Watauga County US 221 Rest Area: 6.2 mi
- Brown Mountain View: 21.6 mi
- Elk Shoals: 17.6 mi
- Shook Branch Swimming Area: 24.0 mi
- Mortimer: 17.6 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 8.7 miles of Rich Mountain. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snake Mountain | N 359° | 1,697 m | 6.6 mi |
| Hanging Rock | SW 229° | 1,582 m | 8.7 mi |
| Pine Orchard Knob | NNE 27° | 1,490 m | 7.3 mi |
| Harmon Knob | N 0° | 1,466 m | 3.6 mi |
| Rittle Knob | NNE 24° | 1,463 m | 6.5 mi |
| Sugarloaf Mountain | N 9° | 1,407 m | 2.4 mi |
| Grassy Knob | NW 320° | 1,403 m | 1.7 mi |
| Snakeden Mountain | WNW 300° | 1,367 m | 1.1 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:31 | 19:05 | 19:39 |
| June solstice | 06:10 | 20:10 | 20:48 |
| September equinox | 07:15 | 18:51 | 19:25 |
| December solstice | 07:35 | 16:36 | 17:16 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 32 | 34 | 41 | 49 | 58 | 65 | 68 | 67 | 61 | 51 | 41 | 35 |
| Precip in | 4.4 | 3.6 | 4.8 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 5.1 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.2 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Boone 1 SE, 4 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/357803395
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