View source for Cheaha Mountain

{{Short description|Highest point in Alabama, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox mountain
 |name= Cheaha Mountain
 |photo= Cheaha Mountain, Alabama.jpg
 |photo_caption= Cheaha Mountain, the highest point in Alabama, viewed from Skyway Mountainway, April 2018
 |elevation_ft= 2413
 |elevation_ref =<ref name=ngs>{{cite ngs |pid=DG3595 |name=Cheehahaw |accessdate=2008-10-12}}</ref>
 |prominence_ft= 1445
 |prominence_ref =<ref name="pb">{{cite peakbagger |pid=7542 |name=Cheaha Mountain, Alabama |access-date=2012-11-07}}</ref>
 |map= Alabama
 |map_caption =
 |map_size= 200
 |label_position= left
 |listing= [[List of U.S. states by elevation|U.S. state high point]] 35th
 |location= [[Cleburne County, Alabama]], [[United States|U.S.]]
 |range= [[Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians]]
 |coordinates= {{coord|33.485511278|N|85.80866305|W|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
 |coordinates_ref =
 |topo= [[United States Geological Survey|USGS]] Cheaha Mountain
 |type= [[Metamorphic rock|Metamorphic]] [[Plateau]]
 |age= [[Devonian]]
 |first_ascent = Unknown
 |easiest_route= Road
}}

'''Cheaha Mountain''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|tʃ|iː|h|ɔː}}, often called '''Mount Cheaha''', is the highest natural point in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Alabama]]. It is located a few miles northwest of the town of [[Delta, Alabama|Delta]] in [[Cheaha State Park]], which offers a lodge, a restaurant, and other amenities. The nearest higher peak is [[Brushy Top]] in [[Gilmer County, Georgia]], 106.72 miles (171.75&nbsp;km) away.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cheaha Mountain - Peakbagger.com |url=https://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=7542 |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=www.peakbagger.com}}</ref>

==Description==
The highest point is marked with a USGS [[benchmark (surveying)|benchmark]] in front of [[Bunker Tower]], a stone [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] building with an [[observation deck]] on top.  The CCC also constructed a road to Cheaha, but the road has been closed for years.  The old road is known as CC Road and contains interesting ruins.  Near the peak is [[Bald Rock (Alabama)|Bald Rock]], which was recently improved with a [[wheelchair-accessible]] wooden walkway that provides an impressive [[overlook]] of the surrounding region. The mountain was opened to the public as part of [[Cheaha State Park]] on June 7, 1939.<ref name=loc>{{Cite web |url= http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cocoon/legacies/AL/200002660.html |title= Local Legacies - Cheaha Mountain State Park |publisher= The Library of Congress; The American Folklife Center |access-date= January 16, 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Alabama4.jpg|thumb|left|[[Bunker Tower]] on top of Cheaha Mountain, December 2003]]
The mountain is a host to several commercial and public service transmitters. These [[antenna (radio)|radio antennas]], along with sundry structures dating back to commercial schemes by the state of Alabama in the 1970s, stand in stark contrast to the surrounding natural environment. The Calhoun County Amateur Radio Association has a [[repeater]] near the peak, and [[Alabama Public Television]] has its [[transmitter]] for [[WCIQ]] TV 7 on a tower {{convert|176|m|ft|abbr=on|order=flip}} tall,<ref name=fcc>{{Cite web |date= 14 August 1996 |url= http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Notices/fcc96317.txt| title= Advanced Television Systems and Their Impact upon the Existing Television Broadcast Service |publisher= Federal Communications Commission |access-date= January 16, 2007}}</ref> rebuilt after the January 1982 [[ice storm]] brought the previous one crashing to the ground.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/w4tp/3970688448/|title=Wciq tower fall|date=September 30, 2009}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The name ''Cheaha'' is thought to come from the [[Choctaw language|Choctaw]] word ''chaha'' 'high'.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Read |first1=William A. |title=Indian Places Names in Alabama |date=1984 |publisher=[[University of Alabama Press]] |location=Tuscaloosa |isbn=9780817302313 |page=14 |edition=2nd |url=https://www.uapress.ua.edu/9780817302313/indian-place-names-in-alabama/ |access-date=1 September 2024}}</ref>

== Geology ==
[[File:Cheaha from Kentuck.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Cheaha Mountain from [[Kentuck Mountain]], with the large [[Quartzite]] cliffs visible on the upper slopes of the mountain]]
Cheaha Mountain is part of the [[Talladega Mountains]], a small section of the [[Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians|Ridge and Valley Mountains]], unlike other elevations of the [[Appalachian Mountains|Appalachians]] in north Alabama, which are part of the [[Cumberland Plateau]]. The [[mountain]] is the highest point in the eastern portion of the [[Sun Belt]] (east of the [[Mississippi River]], south of [[Interstate 20]], and north of the [[Gulf of Mexico]]). The summit of the mountain gives an impression of being at a much higher [[elevation]] than it actually is, in part because of the relatively low elevation of the adjacent area to the west. For example, the summit of Cheaha Mountain (elevation 2,413 feet or 735 meters) measures roughly 1,725.72 feet (526 meters) above the city of [[Oxford, Alabama|Oxford]] (elevation 686 feet or 209 meters) near the base of the mountain. Geologically it is composed of weakly metamorphosed [[sandstone]]s and conglomerates of the Cheaha [[quartzite]], of [[Silurian]] / [[Devonian]] age,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mrdata.usgs.gov/sgmc/al.html|title=Mineral Resources Online Spatial Data: Geologic maps|website=mrdata.usgs.gov}}</ref> and stands high topographically due to the erosional resistance of these rocks. The soil, only moderately deep, is a brown stony silt loam of the Cheaha series; it is well drained and very strongly acidic.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SoilWeb California Soil Resource Lab |url=https://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/gmap/ |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Geography|United States|Mountains}}
* [[List of U.S. states by elevation]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
{{clear}}

==External links==
{{commons and category|Cheaha Mountain}}
* [http://www.highlandgallery.com Images from Cheaha and Cleburne County]
* [https://www.alapark.com/cheaha-state-park Cheaha State Park]

{{Mountains of Alabama}}
{{U.S. State Highest Points}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Landforms of Cleburne County, Alabama]]
[[Category:Mountains of Alabama]]
[[Category:Civilian Conservation Corps in Alabama]]
[[Category:Highest points of U.S. states]]
[[Category:State parks of Alabama]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1939]]
[[Category:1939 establishments in Alabama]]
[[Category:Alabama placenames of Native American origin]]