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1976 Map of Big Stone Gap

Name: 1976 Topographic Map of Big Stone Gap
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1981
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1981

About this map

Big Stone Gap and its industrial surroundings are captured here during a period of significant topographic transition in Wise County. The intricate network of valleys is defined by the Powell River and the North Fork Clinch River, which carve through the steep ridges of the Appalachians. To the west, the man-made Lake Keokee serves as a prominent landmark amidst the high-relief terrain.

Smaller residential and industrial hubs like Exeter, Irondale, and Olinger dot the corridors between the mountains, often following the winding paths of drainage like Lovelady Creek and Pigeon Creek. The presence of Seminary and Jasper further south illustrates the pattern of early-to-mid 20th-century settlement that clung to the more navigable bottomlands. This orthophotoquad provides an unvarnished view of the land use, showing the intersection of dense forest, residential pockets, and the scars of resource extraction near Wildcat Summit.