| House Mountain | |
|---|---|
 View from the northwest, looking to the east-southeast. The tower between the two peaks is not on top of the mountain itself, but rather, about 50 feet (15 m) down the north slope, on the western end. |
|
| Elevation | 2064 ft ( 629 m) |
| Location | Tennessee, USA |
| Range | Ridge-and-valley Appalachians |
| Coordinates | |
| Topo map | USGS John Sevier |
House Mountain is a mountain near Blaine, Tennessee. In topography a summit is a point on a surface which is higher in Elevation than all points immediately adjacent to Tennessee ( is a state located in the Southern United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A mountain range is a chain of Mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by passes or valleys The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. A topographic map is a type of Map characterized by large-scale detail and quantitative representation of relief, usually using Contour lines in modern The United States Geological Survey ( USGS) is a scientific agency of the United States government. Blaine is a city in Grainger County, Tennessee, United States. It is located at [1], about 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Knoxville, Tennessee and is the highest point in Knox County. Knox County is a county in the US state of Tennessee. Its 2007 population was estimated at 423874 by the United States Census Bureau With its 2,064-foot (629 m) peak, it was designated the House Mountain State Natural Area in 1987. The mountain is known for huge sandstone boulders and a wide variety of bird and plant life. Sandstone is a Sedimentary rock composed mainly of Sand -size Mineral or rock grains. House Mountain rises from a large plain in eastern Knox County, about 3 miles (4. 8 km) southwest of the southern terminus of Clinch Mountain. Clinch Mountain is a Mountain Ridge in the US states of Tennessee and Virginia, lying in the ridge-and-valley section The Unaka Range, which includes the Great Smoky Mountains to the southwest, and the Bald Mountains to the northeast, is visible across the southern horizon from the southern slope on clear days the Cumberland, Powell, and Clinch mountains are visible across the northern horizon. The Unaka Range is a Mountain range on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, in the southeastern United States The Great Smoky Mountains are a major Mountain range in the southern part of the Appalachian Mountains, the second ridge line forming a north-south running mountain The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau. Powell Mountain (or "Powells Mountain" is a Mountain Ridge of the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians of the Appalachian Mountains. Clinch Mountain is a Mountain Ridge in the US states of Tennessee and Virginia, lying in the ridge-and-valley section
Broadcasting History
Located about a half mile east of House Mountain on much lower Zachary Ridge (behind House Mountain in the picture), is a 1,751-foot (534 m) tall broadcasting tower, formerly owned and used by WBIR-TV, Channel 10, Knoxville, Tennessee. WBIR-TV channel 10 is the NBC affiliate in Knoxville Tennessee. Old-time broadcast engineers say that the reason the tall tower was built, was because the former owners of WBIR were unable to purchase private property atop House Mountain to build a new, much shorter tower for their antenna, at a time back in the early 1960's when the station owners wanted to greatly expand that station's broadcast coverage area. WBIR had long wanted to move from its original 800-foot (240 m) tower on Sharp's Ridge in downtown Knoxville, and if a new WBIR tower had been built atop House Mountain 15 miles (24 km) away, the tower would have only needed to be about 600 to 700 feet (210 m) tall to reach the 1,800 feet (550 m) allowable tower height the FCC had already approved for the station. Sharp's Ridge is the name of a steep ridge about three miles (5km long north of downtown Knoxville Tennessee.
As it turns out, there was a very good reason why WBIR-TV could not build a tower on House Mountain. WBIR-TV channel 10 is the NBC affiliate in Knoxville Tennessee.
John Reece, the late former TV program director at WATE-TV, Channel 6, Knoxville, remembered all too well the tense situation, which he relayed in an interview to Calvin Sneed for that station's "PM Magazine" program in 1983. WATE-TV, Channel 6 is the ABC affiliate in Knoxville Tennessee. See also Evening Magazine PM/Evening Magazine was a television series with a news and entertainment format
Anticipating a WBIR House Mountain tower and its huge broadcasting coverage area from there, Mr. Reece said, the then-owners of WATE, quickly went in and purchased the only property for sale on the mountaintop that could be used as a tower base. The WATE owners then convinced their new neighbors, the adjoining private property owners there, to NOT sell their mountaintop property up there to anybody else, for aesthetic reasons. That move prevented any land purchase atop House Mountain by the station's main competitor WBIR. The action forced WBIR to spend millions more dollars to build a taller tower for its broadcasting antenna in the surrounding valley below. The resulting 1,751-foot (534 m) tower, now owned by South Central Communications and used by its WIMZ-FM 103. WIMZ-FM is a Classic rock Radio station based in Knoxville Tennessee at 103 5, was and still is, the tallest man-made structure in the state of Tennessee. The height of structures in the United States has historically been poorly documented After WBIR was forced to build the tall tower, Mr. Reece said WATE then sold its newly acquired House Mountain mountaintop property to a private owner.
Eventually, WBIR-TV left the tall tower, to move to a shorter tower (1,504 ft) on Sharp's Ridge in downtown Knoxville, built right next to its original 800-foot (240 m) tower. WBIR-TV channel 10 is the NBC affiliate in Knoxville Tennessee. Sharp's Ridge is the name of a steep ridge about three miles (5km long north of downtown Knoxville Tennessee. Ironically, WATE-TV is now on an adjacent tower on Sharp's Ridge, and 20 feet (6. WATE-TV, Channel 6 is the ABC affiliate in Knoxville Tennessee. Sharp's Ridge is the name of a steep ridge about three miles (5km long north of downtown Knoxville Tennessee. 1 m) higher (1. 525 ft) than WBIR-TV's. WBIR-TV channel 10 is the NBC affiliate in Knoxville Tennessee.
References
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census as defined in Title) is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João Retrieved on 2008-01-31. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes
External links
- Tennessee Dept of Environment and Conservation page on House Mtn.
- USGS GNIS: House Mountain
- House Mountain is at coordinates Coordinates:
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