KENTUCKY 50-FINEST

50 mountains with prominence of 665 feet or greater


List compiled and maintained by Ryan Richardson
for contact information please go to his website.

Version:  January 13, 2004

Warning: This list is based solely on landform information. Most of these peaks are privately owned, often by coal companies. Attempting to climb them can result in being arrested or shot at, which is quite likely given Kentuckians' propensity to own firearms. Always obtain permission in advance before attempting these summits.


Rank

Mountain

County

Prominence

Elevation

Latitude

Longitude

Saddle Quad

Saddle Elev

Saddle Lat

Saddle Long

1

Black Mtn

Harlan

1905

4145

36°55'00"N

82°54'03"W

Big A Mountain VA

-2240



2

BM Chunclick, Little Black Mtn

Harlan

1600

3420

36°44'03"N

83°23'00"W

Ewing

1809

36°42'03"N

83°24'24"W

3

White Rocks

Harlan/VA

1553

3513

36°39'54"N

83°27'06"W

Evarts

-1960

36°46'30"N

83°07'48"W

4

Flatwoods

Pike

1440

2840

37°17'06"N

82°31'30"W

Jenkins East

1364

37°12'48"N

82°33'30"W

5

2/3 mil N of BM Nolansburg No 2

Harlan

1200

3640

36°51'03"N

83°04'36"W

Keokee

-2440

36°51'27"N

82°58'12"W

6

Pine Mtn

Letcher

1160

3280

37°06'45"N

82°43'54"W

Flat Gap

-2120

37°04'27"N

82°43'30"W

7

Knox Co. HP

Knox

1062

2322

36°43'03"N

83°51'51"W

Frakes

-1260

36°41'15"N

83°52'39"W

8

Little Black Mtn

Harlan

960

2980

36°42'45"N

83°28'48"W

Ewing

-2020

36°42'30"N

83°27'24"W

9

1 mil NW of Esco

Pike

960

2040

37°22'21"N

82°34'15"W

Dorton

-1080

37°21'45"N

82°35'00"W

10

Black Mtn, 3360

Harlan

920

3360

36°53'48"N

83°09'39"W

Nolansburg

-2440

36°54'51"N

83°08'48"W

11

Flag Top

Bell

895

2295

36°42'57"N

83°40'54"W

Middlesboro North

-1400

36°42'57"N

83°41'24"W

12

Black Mtn, Sp El 3355

Harlan

875

3355

36°53'00"N

83°13'18"W

Nolansburg

2480

36°54'00"N

83°10'54"W

13

BM Fourmile or Strip mine

Bell/Knox

858

2178

36°48'45"N

83°44'00"W

Pineville

-1320

36°49'39"N

83°42'30"W

14

Signal Knob

Floyd

840

2120

37°24'06"N

82°40'06"W

McDowell

-1280

37°22'39"N

82°40'24"W

15

Sugar Camp Mtn
(Jenny Wiley State Pk)

Floyd

840

1560

37°42'18"N

82°45'00"W

Lancer

-720

37°41'09"N

82°43'39"W

16

HP Bald Knob

Whitley

820

1860

36°51'00"N

84°05'36"W

Fount

-1040

36°56'30"N

83°50'18"W

17

Rocky Face

Bell

810

2130

36°41'39"N

83°40'33"W

Middlesboro North

-1320

36°40'48"N

83°41'03"W

18

0.7mil NE of Corbetts Cem

Letcher

805

2325

37°02'12"N

82°57'12"W

Roxana

-1520

37°02'06"N

82°55'18"W

19

Unnamed, Letcher/Knott border

Letcher/Knott

800

2320

37°15'48"N

82°46'39"W

Pikeville

-1520

37°16'00"N

82°45'00"W

20

Grays Mtn OR Grays Knob

Harlan

760

3200

36°46'30"N

83°18'03"W

Rose Hill

-2440

36°44'30"N

83°18'36"W

21

1.1 mil SE of Big Branch

Pike

760

2320

37°18'03"N

82°27'24"W

Hellier

-1560

37°17'12"N

82°27'18"W

22

1.5 mil NE of Dorton

Pike

760

2240

37°17'33"N

82°33'33"W

Dorton

-1480

37°17'27"N

82°33'06"W

23

Radio Tower 1.5 mil NW of Amburgey

Knott

760

2040

37°16'39"N

83°01'00"W

Hindeman

-1280

37°17'27"N

82°55'06"W

24

Joes Knob

Pike

751

1831

37°32'00"N

82°29'42"W

Meta

-1080

37°30'39"N

82°29'15"W

25

Birch Knob, Pine Mtn

Pike/VA

749

3149

37°14'18"N

82°27'27"W

Jenkins West

-2400

37°09'18"N

82°37'57"W

26

Dark Ridge

Bell

722

2162

36°38'54"N

83°41'27"W

Middlesboro North

-1440

36°37'51"N

83°40'33"W

27

0.8 mil E of Hot Spot

Letcher

721

2041

37°07'39"N

82°54'06"W

Blackey

-1320

37°07'42"N

82°53'39"W

28

9 areas in/around gas wells

Letcher

720

2440

37°13'00"N

82°38'42"W

Jenkins West

-1720

37°11'21"N

82°39'09"W

29

0.6 mil NW of BM 1130

Pike

720

2200

37°27'57"N

82°21'57"W

Lick Creek

-1480

37°28'03"N

82°21'30"W

30

1.4 mil SW of McCarr

Pike

720

2000

37°36'00"N

82°11'27"W

Matewan

-1280

37°35'15"N

82°12'00"W

31

Ryans Creek Mtn

McCreary

705

2165

36°39'18"N

84°18'21"W

Hollyhill

1460

36°38'27"N

84°19'42"W

32

Unnamed Knox/Bell border

Knox/Bell

700

2080

36°44'33"N

83°49'42"W

Kayjay

-1380

36°42'21"N

83°51'18"W

33

HP Lawson Mtn

Whitley

700

1940

36°41'15"N

83°56'36"W

Frakes

-1240

36°41'15"N

83°55'45"W

34

Hylton Knob

Pike

698

2498

37°25'21"N

82°09'51"W

Jamboree

-1800

37°29'18"N

82°14'06"W

35

0.9 mil NE of Kingdom Come Cr Sch

Letcher

695

2175

37°05'33"N

82°52'15"W

Whitesburg

-1480

37°04'18"N

82°51'57"W

36

Green River Knob

Casey

689

1789

37°09'12"N

84°50'45"W

Heidrick

-1100

36°57'39"N

83°58'24"W

37

Bear Wallow Mtn

Whitley

688

2188

36°39'24"N

83°59'24"W

Frakes

-1500

36°38'57"N

83°57'42"W

38

Little Black Mtn 3640+

Harlan

680

3640

36°51'48"N

83°02'12"W

Pennington Gap

-2960

36°51'09"N

83°03'18"W

39

Fox Knob

Harlan

680

3320

36°48'00"N

83°22'36"W

Harlan

-2640

36°46'30"N

83°21'54"W

40

Pine Mtn or 1/3 mil ENE of Jacks Gap

Harlan

680

2920

36°57'09"N

83°09'12"W

Louellen

-2240

36°58'42"N

83°01'15"W

41

Dick's Knob

Pike

680

2480

37°30'03"N

82°13'39"W

Jamboree

-1800

37°27'09"N

82°11'30"W

42

3 pts on Pine Mtn

Bell

680

2280

36°44'51"N

83°44'24"W

Frakes

-1600

36°39'30"N

83°54'00"W

43

0.7 mil SE of Sandlick Ch

Letcher

680

2240

37°10'15"N

82°48'54"W

Mayking

-1560

37°12'09"N

82°47'33"W

44

1.1 mil E of Bryant Branch

Whitley

680

2000

36°39'36"N

84°05'18"W

Saxton

-1320

36°38'18"N

84°02'42"W

45

Lookout Tower

Knox

680

1880

36°51'51"N

83°45'57"W

Fount

-1200

36°58'42"N

83°45'42"W

46

3/4 mil NE of Williamson Br

Pike

680

1800

37°39'15"N

82°19'27"W

Williamson

-1120

37°38'03"N

82°19'09"W

47

Radio Towers (WSIP)

Johnson

680

1360

37°47'45"N

82°48'03"W

Paintsville

-680

37°46'42"N

82°48'00"W

48

Sp El 1749

Pike

669

1749

37°32'06"N

82°32'48"W

Broad Bottom

-1080

37°33'03"N

82°31'24"W

49

Strip Mine Sp El 2187 or 1.1 mil NW of Dorton Br

Bell

667

2187

36°46'54"N

83°42'30"W

Pineville

-1520

36°48'33"N

83°40'12"W

50

1 mil SSW of Ramey Br

Pike

665

2065

37°27'39"N

82°25'57"W

Millard

-1400

37°27'42"N

82°25'27"W


NOTES:

All prominences are computed by the “clean” method. In cases where prominences are tied based on this method, peaks are ranked by elevation. For summits that show the same elevation based on USGS 1:24000 maps, and for which only the highest one receives the prominence, the coordinates are for the one with the highest elevation on the SRTM 1 arcsec maps.  Saddle contour intervals (error range) not provided.

MOUNTAINTOP MINING: For (#14) Signal Knob, (#15) Sugar Camp Mtn, and (#34) Hylton Knob, the SRTM 1 arcsec elevation is 110+ feet less than the elevation on the map, so either these summits are much pointier than they appear on the map, or they could have been mined away. For the remainder of the summits, the SRTM 1 arcsec elevation is quite close to the elevation shown on the map.

LINKS:

See also Ryan Richardson's website.