Clinch Mountain Wildlife Management Area
Clinch Mountain Wildlife Management Area is a protected area located in Virginia. At 25,477 acres (103.10 km2) in size, it is the second-largest such area in the Commonwealth, covering portions of Smyth, Washington, Russell, and Tazewell Counties. Given the variety of property types which it covers it is the most biologically diverse of the holdings of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
The area is dominated by steep mountains and narrow valleys, and it is due to this difference in elevation that an unusual type of forest, containing species from both southern and northern forests, has developed. The lowest known elevation within the area is 1,600 feet (490 m) above sea level; the highest, atop Beartown Mountain, is 4,700 feet (1,400 m). The area also contains much water, including a 330-acre (1.3 km2) manmade lake, a major stream, and several tributaries. The land was virgin forest until late in the nineteenth century, and some evidence of logging, including portions of the former gauge railroad, can still be seen.