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Peak · Virginia

Willis Mountain

Willis Mountain, seen from above at true elevation

Willis Mountain rises to 304 m in Virginia. Spears Mountain stands 497 m to the west-northwest, 17 miles off. The nearest named place is Horsepen Lake, a nature reserve 5.9 miles away. Lee's Retreat passes 11 miles off. 72 named places lie within 25 miles, 24 of them named summits.

About

The story

Willis Mountain is a monadnock rising from the rolling hills of the Piedmont province of Buckingham County, Virginia, a little east of the geographic center of the state. Willis Mountain is located about 6 mi (9.7 km) southeast of Buckingham, Virginia, and 18 mi (29 km) northwest of Farmville, Prince Edward County. In a general north-south direction, U. S. Highway 15 borders the western side of the mountain. Willis Mountain consists of a narrow ridge that is about 2 mi (3.2 km) long, with steep rocky slopes. Near its center, it is broken into two segments by a low saddle. Southward of the saddle, this ridge rises to an elongated knob known locally as Round Mountain with an elevation of 1,150 ft (350 m). Northward of the saddle, this ridge rises to an elevatione of 1,159 ft (353 m), which is about 500 ft (150 m) above the adjacent valley floor. Second-growth timber, mostly hardwood and some pine, cover the sides of Willis Mountain. A fire lookout tower occupies the highest point of Willis Mountain. Willis Mountain is well known as the site of a large deposit of kyanite quartzite that has been actively mined for kyanite for decades. This deposit is the largest of five large kyanite deposits that occur within a 7 mi (11 km) wide belt known as the Willis Mountain kyanite-quartzite belt.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Wikidata Q2805142, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.

The record

What the record says

Elevation
304 m
Getting there

How to reach it

Driving directionsPlan a drive around it
Coordinates37.47654, -78.46361
Around it

72 named places within 25 miles

Peaks: 24
Parks: 18
Nature reserves: 12
Historic sites: 8
  • Joan of Arc: 12.9 mi
  • Camp Paradise Earthworks: 14.2 mi
  • Sailor’s Creek Battlefield Memorial: 17.8 mi
  • Pamplin Smoking Pipe & manufacturing Co., Inc.: 18.9 mi
  • Clay Pipe Kiln: 18.9 mi
Museums: 7
Springs: 1
  • Picketts Spring: 16.5 mi
Attractions: 1
  • Confederate Cemetery: 19.9 mi
Beaches: 1
  • Goodwin Lake Swim Beach: 23.2 mi
On the horizon

Other summits around it

The highest named summits within 25 miles of Willis Mountain. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.

SummitBearingElevationDistance
Spears MountainWNW 290°497 m17.4 mi
Pruetts MountainWNW 288°414 m17.6 mi
Monasco MountainNW 321°411 m24.9 mi
Thomas MountainNW 313°360 m24.3 mi
Piney MountainNW 315°357 m24.7 mi
Kyles MountainW 271°353 m14.9 mi
Piney MountainW 261°348 m18.9 mi
Findlay MountainNW 307°345 m24.9 mi
Conditions

When to go

Light through the year

DateSunriseGolden hourSunset
March equinox07:1818:5119:26
June solstice05:5420:0020:39
September equinox07:0218:3819:13
December solstice07:2616:1917:00

Local time (America/New_York).

Climate normals

Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Oct.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg °F373946566573787670584840
Precip in3.53.04.13.44.23.34.03.64.63.63.43.7

1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Farmville, 14 mi away.

Sources

Where this comes from

Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.

OpenStreetMapWikidata
  • USGS Geographic Names Information System feature 1476784 — Willis Mountain, Buckingham County, Virginia.

OpenStreetMap element node/356567513

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