Mount Jefferson is a mountain located in Ashe County, North Carolina. The mountain is part of the Mount Jefferson State Natural Area. The mountain has an elevation of above sea level, and it sharply rises more than 1,600 feet above the towns of Jefferson, North Carolina and West Jefferson. The mountain lies on the drainage divide between the north and south forks of the New River.

A paved road leads to the mountain's summit; on a clear day the summit affords sweeping views of the surrounding countryside, the towns of Jefferson and West Jefferson, and the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

The mountain has a secondary peak at the eastern end of its ridge which is marked as Luther Rock on trails and as Luther Overlook on USGS maps. According to another source, Nigger Mountain was named from its black granite coloration. for many years until finally, in an effort to find a name that is not an ethnic slur, the mountain was renamed Mount Jefferson after the town at its base.

Geology

thumb|upright=1.8|Panorama from Luther Rock Peak of Mount Jefferson, North Carolina.Mount Jefferson is part of the Ashe Metamorphic Suite, a large province of metamorphic rock that formed from the opening and closing of a large sea between the Cambrian and Ordovician periods. The mountain itself is composed primarily of black amphibolite gneiss, which gives it its aforementioned dark color.

See also

  • Mount Jefferson State Natural Area

References

  • North Carolina State Park - Mount Jefferson