Rich Mountain,
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...
, is the highest point in the
Rich Mountain Wilderness of the
Chattahoochee National Forest
The Chattahoochee River () is a river in the Southeastern United States. It forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida and Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a rela ...
in
Gilmer County,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
. It is the second-highest peak in Gilmer County; only
Big Bald Mountain is taller, with its summit at .
Description
Rich Mountain is the namesake peak of the Rich Mountains, a circular-shaped range of mountains located in northeastern
Gilmer County.
Rich Mountain is located at the center of this range, with ridges and valleys radiating outward from the mountain.
[Foose, M.P. ]
Geology of the Rich Mountain Roadless Area, Gilmer and Fannin counties, Georgia
' (1985). USGS. Many of these mountains are covered in a deep, black porter's
loam
Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...
.
[The Georgia Conservancy]
The Rich Mountains
''Longstreet Highroad Guide to the North Georgia Mountains.'' Retrieved 18 March 2017. The vegetation in the area consists of
second-growth
A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused disturbances, such as timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or equivalently disruptive natura ...
hardwood forests.
[USDA. ''Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest (N.F.), Land and Resource(s) Management Plan (LRMP) - Environmental Impact Statement.'' (1985). pp. C-52.]
The mountain is located about southwest of
Cherry Log and northeast of
Ellijay
Ellijay, occasionally spelled Elijay, is a city in Gilmer County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 1,862 at the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Gilmer County.
Agriculture is important in Gilmer County, known as the "Apple ...
.
Big Bald Mountain, the highest point in Gilmer County, is located about northeast of Rich Mountain.
U.S. Route 76
U.S. Route 76 (US 76) is an east–west U.S. highway in the Southeastern United States that travels for . Its western terminus is at U.S. Route 41 in Tennessee, US 41 and the eastern terminus of U.S. Route 72 in Tennessee, US 72 (Broad Street) in ...
runs to the west of the mountain. Rich Mountain's summit is located inside the
Rich Mountain Wilderness, as well as the Rich Mountain
Wildlife Management Area
A wildlife management area (WMA) is a protected area set aside for the conservation of wildlife and for recreational activities involving wildlife.
New Zealand
There are 11 wildlife management areas in New Zealand:
* Horsham Downs Wildlife Ma ...
.
[Rich Mountain Wildlife Management Area]
georgiawildlife.com. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
With an elevation of , Rich Mountain is the second tallest mountain in
Gilmer County and the highest point of the Rich Mountain Wilderness.
It is also the 21st tallest mountain in the state of Georgia, if using a 160 feet prominence rule.
[Georgia 4000-foot Peaks]
peakbagger.com. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
The
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...
built a
fire tower
A fire lookout tower, fire tower, or lookout tower is a tower that provides housing and protection for a person known as a " fire lookout", whose duty it is to search for wildfires in the wilderness. It is a small building, usually on the summit ...
on Rich Mountain's summit during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
; only a stone chimney and fireplace remain standing on the summit.
[ Gilmer County High Point Trip Report]
COHP.org. 16 April 2000. Retrieved 18 March 2017.[Georgia. Dept. of Forestry and Geological Development. ''Forestry-geological Review ..., Volumes 1-7'' (1931).]
Hiking
No trails pass over Rich Mountain's summit. However, hikers can climb to the summit by hiking off-trail from Rich Mountain Road, a former
logging road
A gravel road is a type of unpaved road surfaced with gravel that has been brought to the site from a quarry or stream bed. Gravel roads are common in less-developed nations, and also in the rural areas of developed nations such as Canada and ...
running through the Rich Mountains.
[USDA Forest Service]
DECISION NOTICE AND FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS FOR THE RICH MOUNTAIN PROJECT
2004. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
See also
*
List of mountains in Georgia (U.S. state)
This article lists notable mountains in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia.
Highest mountains
The following sortable table lists the 10 topographic elevation, highest summit (topography), mountain peaks of Georgia with at least of ...
References
Georgia's Named SummitsGeorgia peaks over 4,000 feet
External links
Topographical map of Rich Mountain
{{coord, 34, 44, 37, N, 84, 20, 35, W, display=title
Mountains of Gilmer County, Georgia
Mountains of Georgia (U.S. state)
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest