Devils Backbone (also Devil's Backbone) is a ridge and rock outcrop located in Highland County, Virginia, United States. The ridge is located approximately 7.6 miles (12.2 km) north-northeast of Monterey, Virginia near the village of Blue Grass.[2]
| Devils Backbone | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Devils Backbone in 2009 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 3,829 ft (1,167 m)[1] |
| Coordinates | 38°30′50″N 79°31′34″W / 38.51389°N 79.52611°W |
| Geography | |
  Devils Backbone | |
| Parent range | Ridge-and-valley Appalachians |
| Topo map(s) | USGS Snowy Mountain, Monterey |
Along the crest of the ridge line is a near vertical outcrop of Tuscarora Sandstone approximately 84 feet (26 m) thick.[3][4][5] This formation gives the ridge its name of Devils Backbone, as the outcrop has been described "like the vertebrae of some monstrous prehistoric animal".[6] The formation has also been described as resembling that of "the comb on the head of a domestic fowl".[3]
References
edit- ^ "Devils Backbone". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
- ^ "The National Map". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
- ^ a b Morton, Oren Frederic (1922). A Handbook of Highland County: And a Supplement to Pendleton and Highland History. Highland Recorder. p. 10.
- ^ Morton, Oren Frederic (1911). A History of Highland County, Virginia. p. 24. ISBN 9780722246450.
- ^ Wilkes, Gerald P. (2013) [2011]. "Geology of the Monterey Quadrangle, Virginia" (PDF). Charlottesville, Virginia: Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy: Division of Geology and Mineral Resources. p. 5. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
- ^ Workers of the Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Virginia (1992) [1940 by Oxford University Press]. Virginia: A Guide to the Old Dominion. Richmond, Virginia: Virginia State Library and Archives. Archived from the original on October 12, 1999. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
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