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Mount Pisgah is a peak in Carbon County, Pennsylvania situated north-northwest from and looming over the right bank business district in downtown Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. Mount Pisgah is located above Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, which terminates the northeastern end of the 12.5 mile long Pisgah Mountain (or Pisgah Ridge) in the Lehigh Valley. The peak is located in northeastern Pennsylvania's Anthracite Upland region on the right & south bank of the Lehigh River just North of and parallel to Broadway which is a block downhill from the lower looping end of the historic LC&N company's historic Mauch Chunk & Summit Hill Railway (The second in North America), which delivered coal to barges through chutes crossing what is now U.S. Route 209 and the rail yard along the Lehigh.
| Mount Pisgah | |
|---|---|
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,557 ft (475 m) |
| Prominence | 300 ft (91 m) |
| Geography | |
| Location | Carbon County, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Parent range | Appalachian Mountains |
| Topo map | USGS East Troy (PA) Quadrangle |
While lower south slope of the mountain and the ends of the broken railroad loop and yard has now been developed into private lots and a town street, there are still two railway rights-of-ways&emdash;railroad bed road ends now turned into bike & hiking trails to travel the 7.6 miles (12.2 km) trip to the upper terminous and loop at Summit Hill, Pennsylvania. The former Upwards or climbing roadbed connects via a switchback and path to the Mount Pisgah summit that has a view of the surrounding countryside, especially the Lehigh Valley and the Mauch Chunk-Bear Mountain Gap 600 feet (183 m)[1] and the canal TBDL-XXX feet below, and two hiking-biking trails now depart along the pathways upto Summit Hill, Pennsylvania once the uproad and downroads of the United States' and North America's second railroad, Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway is also located at the base of the mountain.
Mt. Pisgah is named for the biblical mountain in Jordan from which Moses first saw the promised land. During the late 19th century, this mountain was a favorite summer resort for those from eastern cities, even as far away as Chicago. Visitors were able to stay on a mountaintop hotel, which featured a 100 foot observation tower. The views from the tower looked over the bucolic Pennsylvania landscape.
Today none of those amenities on the summit exist but the views from the top are still sublime and attract hikers and nature lovers.
The summit today offers mainly a westerly view. Visible from the viewing platform is Armenia Mountain and further to the west, approximately 17 miles are the mountains north of Mansfield in Tioga County. About 8 miles away, to the west and southwest, are mountains in the eastern most portion of the Tioga State Forest.
References
- ^ estimated from USGS Topogical map, given summit and the benchmark notation BM=490 ft at confluence of "Beaverdam Run", along US-209 near the Parkerton rail yard
- Alan R. Geyer (1979) "Outstanding Geologic Features of Pennsylvania", Geological Survey of Pennsylvania
- Tom Thwaites (1997) "50 hikes in Eastern Pennsylvania", Third edition
- Art Michaels (2003) "Pennsylvania Overlooks a guide for Sightseers and Outdoor People", Penn State Press
- "Latitude and Longitude from TopoQuest". TopoQuest.com.