Cane Creek Mountains
Encyclopedia
Cane Creek Mountains is a small mountain range that lies south of Burlington, North Carolina
. The range covers an area including Alamance County
, Guilford County
, Randolph County
, and Chatham County
in North Carolina
.
region of North Carolina, and are somewhat similar in formation to the nearby Caraway Mountains and Uwharrie Mountains
. The Cane Creek Mountains may have formed as a part of the larger coastal range that was once the Uwharries, which are thought to have formed as a part of the Alleghenian or Appalachian Orogeny
300-350 million years ago during the formation and rifting of Pangaea
. This earlier range is through to have had peaks more than 20000 feet (6,096 m) high, which would rival the Himalayas
, the Andes
, or the Alaska Range
. However, erosion
has worn this old mountain range down. The highest peaks of this old range are now are found in the Appalachian Mountains
on the eastern coast of North America
and in the Anti-Atlas Mountains
of Morocco
in Africa
.
The heavily-eroded hills of Piedmont, including the Cane Creek Mountains are remnants of the sizable mountain chain.
mines. North Carolina led the nation in gold production for 50 years, between the discovery of a 17 pound (7.7 kg) gold nugget at the Reed Gold Mine
in Cabarrus County, NC
near Charlotte
in 1799 and the discovery of gold during the California Gold Rush
of 1849. Limited gold mining continues to take place, but several mining
companies continue to operate, both on the slate belt and in and near the Cane Creek Mountains. Most mineral production in the area is crushed stone for road aggregate and pyrophyllite
for refactories, ceramics, filler, paint and insecticide carriers.
, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Interstate 40
in Graham
and runs in a southwesterly direction towards Liberty
in Randolph County
. The range covers much of the southwest quadrant of Alamance County. While much of the range is a series of rolling hills that are common throughout the North Carolina Piedmont Region, there are several peaks in the Cane Creek Mountains located north of Snow Camp. The highest point in the range and in Alamance County
is Cane Creek Mountain, which is approximately 987 feet (300.8 m) .
Perhaps the most famous peak in the range is the 267 m (902 ft) Bass Mountain, the former home of an annual bluegrass music
festival. Contrary to some local belief, Bass Mountain is not the highest peak in the range, although the range is occasionally referred to as the "Bass Mountains".
tribes, including the Sissipahaw
. The area saw major activity during the American Colonial and Revolutionary
period, with several battles taking place in and near the range, including Pyle's Massacre
and the Battle of Alamance
. There are several cave sites
throughout the mountains where local historians theorize that small military parties may have been able to fortify their position.
s, and television
, radio
, and cellular communications towers. There is also a fire tower located on top of Cane Creek Mountain that is no longer safe for use.
s, including:
Burlington, North Carolina
Burlington is a city in Alamance and Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Alamance County, in which most of the city is located. The population was 49,963 at the 2010...
. The range covers an area including Alamance County
Alamance County, North Carolina
Alamance County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It coincides with the Burlington, North Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, Guilford County
Guilford County, North Carolina
Guilford County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In 2010, the Census Bureau estimated the county's population to be 491,230. Its seat is Greensboro. Since 1938, an additional county court has been located in High Point, North Carolina, making Guilford one of only a handful...
, Randolph County
Randolph County, North Carolina
-Notable people:*Naomi Wise, murder victim*Richard Petty - Nascar driver.*Lee Petty - Nascar pioneer. Richard Petty's father.*Kyle Petty - Nascar driver. Son of Richard Petty*Adam Petty - Nascar driver. Kyle Petty's son...
, and Chatham County
Chatham County, North Carolina
Chatham County is a county located in the Piedmont area of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2000, the population was 49,329. Its county seat is Pittsboro.-History:...
in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
.
Formation
The mountains are typical of the rolling terrain of the piedmontPiedmont (United States)
The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division...
region of North Carolina, and are somewhat similar in formation to the nearby Caraway Mountains and Uwharrie Mountains
Uwharrie Mountains
The Uwharrie Mountains are a mountain range in North Carolina. The range lies in the counties of Randolph, Montgomery, Stanly, and Davidson, although its foothills stretch into Cabarrus, Anson, Union counties and terminate in the hills of Person. Formed approximately 500 million years ago by...
. The Cane Creek Mountains may have formed as a part of the larger coastal range that was once the Uwharries, which are thought to have formed as a part of the Alleghenian or Appalachian Orogeny
Alleghenian orogeny
The Alleghenian orogeny or Appalachian orogeny is one of the geological mountain-forming events that formed the Appalachian Mountains and Allegheny Mountains. The term and spelling Alleghany orogeny was originally proposed by H.P. Woodward in 1957....
300-350 million years ago during the formation and rifting of Pangaea
Pangaea
Pangaea, Pangæa, or Pangea is hypothesized as a supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago, before the component continents were separated into their current configuration....
. This earlier range is through to have had peaks more than 20000 feet (6,096 m) high, which would rival the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
, the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
, or the Alaska Range
Alaska Range
The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 650-km-long mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest end to the White River in Canada's Yukon Territory in the southeast...
. However, erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
has worn this old mountain range down. The highest peaks of this old range are now are found in the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
on the eastern coast of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and in the Anti-Atlas Mountains
Anti-Atlas
The Anti-Atlas or Lesser Atlas or Little Atlas, is a mountain range in Morocco, a part of the Atlas mountains in the northwest of Africa. The Anti-Atlas extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest toward the northeast, to the heights of Ouarzazate and further east to the city of Tafilalt,...
of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
The heavily-eroded hills of Piedmont, including the Cane Creek Mountains are remnants of the sizable mountain chain.
Geology
The Cane Creek Mountains lie in the Carolina Slate Belt, a belt that consists of heated and deformed volcanic and sedimentary rocks. The belt is best known for old abandoned goldGold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
mines. North Carolina led the nation in gold production for 50 years, between the discovery of a 17 pound (7.7 kg) gold nugget at the Reed Gold Mine
Reed Gold Mine
The Reed Gold Mine is located in Midland, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, and is the site of the first documented commercial gold find in the United States...
in Cabarrus County, NC
Cabarrus County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 131,063 people, 49,519 households, and 36,545 families residing in the county. The population density was 360 people per square mile . There were 52,848 housing units at an average density of 145 per square mile...
near Charlotte
CHARLOTTE
- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...
in 1799 and the discovery of gold during the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
of 1849. Limited gold mining continues to take place, but several mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
companies continue to operate, both on the slate belt and in and near the Cane Creek Mountains. Most mineral production in the area is crushed stone for road aggregate and pyrophyllite
Pyrophyllite
Pyrophyllite is a phyllosilicate mineral composed of aluminium silicate hydroxide: Al2Si4O102. It occurs in two more or less distinct varieties, namely, as crystalline folia and as compact masses; distinct crystals are not known....
for refactories, ceramics, filler, paint and insecticide carriers.
Geography
The northern edge of the mountains begins on the southern bank of Great Alamance CreekGreat Alamance Creek
Great Alamance Creek is an 11-mile long creek that is a tributary of the Haw River. The creek's headwaters are in Guilford County, but it flows primarily through Alamance County, North Carolina. It is a major source of water for the cities of Burlington and Greensboro through the Lake Mackintosh...
, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Interstate 40
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 is the third-longest major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90 and I-80. Its western end is at Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern end is at a concurrency of U.S. Route 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina...
in Graham
Graham, North Carolina
Graham is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The current population estimate is 14,533...
and runs in a southwesterly direction towards Liberty
Liberty, North Carolina
Liberty is a town in Randolph County, North Carolina, United States.-History:Originally named Liberty Oak, the town was founded in 1809 near the plantation of John Leak . The first church within the town was the Liberty Christian Church founded on October 11, 1884...
in Randolph County
Randolph County, North Carolina
-Notable people:*Naomi Wise, murder victim*Richard Petty - Nascar driver.*Lee Petty - Nascar pioneer. Richard Petty's father.*Kyle Petty - Nascar driver. Son of Richard Petty*Adam Petty - Nascar driver. Kyle Petty's son...
. The range covers much of the southwest quadrant of Alamance County. While much of the range is a series of rolling hills that are common throughout the North Carolina Piedmont Region, there are several peaks in the Cane Creek Mountains located north of Snow Camp. The highest point in the range and in Alamance County
Alamance County, North Carolina
Alamance County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It coincides with the Burlington, North Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area...
is Cane Creek Mountain, which is approximately 987 feet (300.8 m) .
Perhaps the most famous peak in the range is the 267 m (902 ft) Bass Mountain, the former home of an annual bluegrass music
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
festival. Contrary to some local belief, Bass Mountain is not the highest peak in the range, although the range is occasionally referred to as the "Bass Mountains".
History
The mountains and Alamance County were home to the local Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
tribes, including the Sissipahaw
Sissipahaw
The Sissipahaw or Haw Tribe were most likely a Siouan tribe of North Carolina. They are also variously recorded as Saxahapaw, Sauxpa, Sissipahaus, etc. Their settlements were generally located in the vicinity of modern-day Saxapahaw, North Carolina on the Haw River in Alamance County upstream...
. The area saw major activity during the American Colonial and Revolutionary
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
period, with several battles taking place in and near the range, including Pyle's Massacre
Pyle's Massacre
Pyle's Massacre, also known as Pyle's Hacking Match or the Battle of Haw River, was fought during the American Revolutionary War in Orange County, North Carolina , on February 24, 1781, between Patriot and Loyalist North Carolina militia troops...
and the Battle of Alamance
Battle of Alamance
The Battle of Alamance was the final battle of the War of the Regulation, a rebellion in colonial North Carolina over issues of taxation and local control. In the past, historians considered the battle to be the opening salvo of the American Revolution and locals agreed with this assessment...
. There are several cave sites
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
throughout the mountains where local historians theorize that small military parties may have been able to fortify their position.
Current Use
The mountains are home to families, farmFarm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
s, and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, and cellular communications towers. There is also a fire tower located on top of Cane Creek Mountain that is no longer safe for use.
Nearby Mountains
The piedmont region of North Carolina is home to several small mountain ranges and monadnockMonadnock
A monadnock or inselberg is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain...
s, including:
- Stony Creek Mountain - a monadnock in Northern Alamance County that rises to 288 m (938 ft)
- Caraway Mountains - a small range in Randolph CountyRandolph County, North Carolina-Notable people:*Naomi Wise, murder victim*Richard Petty - Nascar driver.*Lee Petty - Nascar pioneer. Richard Petty's father.*Kyle Petty - Nascar driver. Son of Richard Petty*Adam Petty - Nascar driver. Kyle Petty's son...
, to the southwest - Uwharrie MountainsUwharrie MountainsThe Uwharrie Mountains are a mountain range in North Carolina. The range lies in the counties of Randolph, Montgomery, Stanly, and Davidson, although its foothills stretch into Cabarrus, Anson, Union counties and terminate in the hills of Person. Formed approximately 500 million years ago by...
- a range of mountains in four counties southwest of the Cane Creeks - Occoneechee MountainOcconeechee Mountain State Natural AreaOcconeechee Mountain State Natural Area is a North Carolina state park in Orange County, North Carolina in the United States. Located adjacent to the town of Hillsborough, it covers 124 acres and includes Occoneechee Mountain, the highest point in Orange County and a settlement of the...
- a monadnock near the Eno RiverEno RiverThe Eno River, named for the Eno Indians who once lived along its banks, is the initial tributary of the Neuse River in North Carolina, USA.The Eno rises in Orange County. The river's watershed occupies most of Orange and Durham counties...
in Orange CountyOrange County, North CarolinaOrange County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 133,801. Its county seat is Hillsborough...
to the east