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2022 Map of Norton

Name: 2022 Topographic Map of Norton
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2022
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2022

About this map

Norton and the surrounding coal-country landscape of Wise County are defined by a complex network of ridges and narrow valleys. Steep terrain like Rogers Ridge and Black Creek Ridge hems in the developed corridors, where industrial sites at Blackwood and rail-inflected hubs like Kent Junction and Dorchester Junction cluster along the Powell River. This geography necessitated a dense system of mountain passes, including Little Stone Gap and Buffalo Gap, which historically funneled travel through the rugged central Appalachian heights.

Within the Jefferson National Forest and along the periphery of the peaks, numerous family-named burial grounds like Stidham Cem, Robinette Cem, and Wampler Cem provide a genealogical map of early settlers. The presence of Norton Reservoirs and Upper Norton Reservoir tucked into the high folds of Stone Mountain illustrates the engineering required to provide water to the valleys below, while smaller communities such as Dunbar and Laurel Grove remain tied to the river-bottom roads.