- Bays Mountain
Bays Mountain is a
ridge of theRidge-and-valley Appalachians , located in easternTennessee . It runs southwest to northeast, from just south of Knoxville to Kingsport.Its southern segment is relatively low in elevation (up to about convert|1300|ft|m|1|lk=on). In some places it essentially merges with the surrounding plains, especially where it is bisected by the
French Broad River and theNolichucky River .The northern segment of Bays Mountain reaches higher elevations, averaging above convert|2000|ft|m|1 with peaks reaching up to convert|3000|ft|m|1. It is not a single ridge, but rather a series of closely related ridges, some of which have names of their own. The highest peak is Chimneytop Mountain (convert|3117|ft|m|1), a spur ridge south of the main Bays Mountain ridge.
Bays Mountain runs just south of the
Holston River , which flows northeast to southwest. At Kingsport the Holston River curves east and south, splitting into three tributary forks that flow fromVirginia to the northeast. Bays Mountain ends abruptly at this curve of the Holston River. Kingsport is on the north side of the river, directly across from the end of Bays Mountain.There is a nature park and planetarium located on Bays Mountain in Kingsport, featuring cross-cut viewing sections of beaver dams, bee hives, cave systems, and more. Their outdoor park features otters, an aviary, and several free-roaming deer, as well as a wolf pen. Wolf howling sessions are held regularly, where people are allowed to howl with the wolves, spurring the wolves into howling even more. The park also features a freeze-drying laboratory where animals of the region who die of natural causes are preserved for everyone to examine up close.
References
*Williams, "Fort Robinson on the Holston," East Tennessee Historical Society Publications, no.4 (1932)
*Samuel C. Williams, Dawn of Tennessee Valley and Tennessee History (Johnson City, 1937)
*Long, Howard. Kingsport: A Romance of Industry. Overmountain Press (October 1993)
*Wolfe, Margaret Ripley. Kingsport Tennessee: A Planned American City. University Press of Kentucky (November 1987)
*Moore, J.S. Understanding Apples. Outskirts Press (October 2006)External links
* [http://www.baysmountain.com/ Bays Mountain Park website]
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