The USFS submitted this photo to me after it was taken, but nobody seemed to know who it was. Now I
have found out. Thank you very much. I have been doing climate research on the great High Knob
Massif for 22 years. It is a high precipitation area, with 60" to 70" per year on average according
to my research ( except for 2007 which will be the driest on record with only 41"-50" across the
upper elevations ). I'm writing a book on the Biodiveristy & Climatology of the High Knob Landform
( HKL ). I would like to use some of your whitewater information, with full credits to the
information sources of course. You must understand that the entire landform between Duffield and
the Guest River Gorge is the High Knob Massif, with all the streams that you rate along the
Wise-Scott border acting to drain its highcountry ( e.g., Big Stony Creek, Little Stony Creek,
South Fork of the Powell River, Cove Creek, Stock Creek, Devils Fork-Straight Fork, and Guest River
). There are many more streams, of course, but these are some I've seen you rate. From base to base
the High Knob Massif is the widest singular mountain in all of southwestern Virginia, being much
wider than Whitetop-Mount Rogers or any other mountain. Although lower in elevation, with a max of
4223' on the peak of High Knob, the great width of the mass works to compensate for it's lower
relative elevation by aiding orographic enhancement of precipitation. I've talked with such
renowned folks as Dr. Bill Cotton of Colorado State University about this. The High Knob Massif is
like a wide rock in a river, that deforms the water, except in this case it deforms the river of
air we call the atmosphere! A higher but more narrow crested mountain is like a narrow rock,
sticking high up out of a river. It deforms the flow, but not nearly as much across such a wide
section. If anyone would like additional informaton on this extraordinary landform, please
reference the following resources: Wayne Browning Clintwood 1 W National Weather Service
Cooperative Station Email: nws441825@comcast.net Website: http://www.highknoblandform.com/ My
Wikipedia Page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Knob My thanks to Mark and to all of the American
Whitewater family. Edit