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1968 Map of Amonate

Name: 1968 Topographic Map of Amonate
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1972
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1972

About this map

The coal-rich borderlands of Virginia and West Virginia are extensively detailed in this 1968 survey, where industrial activity and complex topography define the landscape. The Norfolk and Western railroad follows the valleys of Beech Fork and Dry Fork, serving as the primary corridor for a region dominated by strip mines, mine dumps, and a network of gas wells. These extractive industries are interspersed with tight-knit settlements like Amonate, Vallscreek, and Harman, which are situated along the narrow bottoms between massive ridges.

Ridges such as Stone Steps and Whitaker Ridge create sharp geographic divides, necessitating a reliance on creek-side transportation and numerous pipelines. To the south, Bandy and the curiously named The Yumps sit near the headwaters of Sinking Creek, while the presence of several Cem labels throughout the hollows suggests old family burial sites located near formerly bustling mining communities like Faraday and Dunford Village.