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Details for Benchmark: FZ1365

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N 36° 47.772 W 080° 28.643 (NAD 83)

Altitude: 3966

Coordinates may not be exact. Altitude is GPS OBS and location is ADJUSTED. (more info)

Location:
In FLOYD county, VA View Original Datasheet
Designation:
BUFFALO RESET
Marker Type:
NGS Benchmark
Setting:
setting not listed - see description
Stability:
Most reliable and expected to hold position/elevation well.

Reference Points

Nearest

Navigation

Must Read!

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Found it 10/7/2009 firefighter4life_2006 found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
Found when we went to find the Buffalo Mountain geocache

Found it 5/30/2009 carten group found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
Great place. How did the surveyors originally get here.

Found it 1/31/2009 Camper Owl found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
Found today with our daughter and granddaughter. Standing there on the rock looking at the great views and looked down and there it was.

Found it 7/12/2008 TracksAll & Will Ketchum found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
All the nearby white stuff just may not be quartz! ;-)

Looks like this Benchmark Reference Bolt is a great marker for the birds to hone in on for their bathing pool and adjacent bathroom facilities too - so beware the buzzard and crow poo! But aren't they awesome to watch soaring above and below!! ;-)

Photos:
photoSoar above the Valley - Enlarge to see bird
photoThere's the Bolt - and there's the "white stuff"!

Found it 12/31/2007 electra1315 found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
I was standing on this one while looking for it. It's real easy to miss.

Photos:
photoeasy to miss
photostupid people with spray paint. They can vote too
Found it 5/15/2007 yupbilly found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
Sitting enjoying the view. Looked down and there it was.

Found it 9/2/2006 Traderjac found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
I found it, I had a very hard time finding it...the wife was sitting beside of it and covering it up with out knowing it.

Photos:
photoMy old gps and the benchmark
Found it 7/15/2006 ItsSkeeter found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
Found while hunting the cache nearby. Awesome view!

Found it 6/23/2006 FACT Finding Family Four found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
We drove from St. Louis, Missouri to Floyd, Virginia for a family reunion. Friday morning my brother and I herded a group of our children, nieces, and nephews up to the top of Buffalo Mtn. After finding the geocache up there, we looked for the benchmark bolts. The youngest cousin spotted a northern ring-necked snake. We found two of the bolts, but then the kids wanted to start hiking back down. I guess finding benchmarks isn't as fun as finding a geocache with goodies to trade. TFTBM! Cheers! --F4

Photos:
photoBM bolt on Buffalo Mtn
photoAnother BM bolt on Buffalo Mtn
photoNorthern ring-necked snake on Buffalo Mtn
Found it 5/29/2006 nrtrider found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
Great spot to visit. Awesome view.

Found it 5/28/2006 cache hound found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
Found this Benchmark while looking for a cache in the area. This was my first ever Benchmark, and the first of many.

Photos:
photocache hound over Benchmark
photocache hound's wife
Found it 4/10/2006 FeatheredFriends found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
Found while tackling the cache in area.

Found it 8/7/2005 Night-Hawk found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
Went up Buffalo Mtn to log a geocache and actually went to this benchmark FIRST.

Photos:
photoStanding on the benchmark
photoGPSr photo at the benchmark - Elevation Shot
Found it 7/10/2005 david&diana found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
N 36° 47.775 W 080° 28.644
Found the benchmark while logging Buffalo Mtn. Preserve Cache.

Photos:
photoBolt with GPSr
photoDiana standing near the benchmark
Found it 6/25/2005 yukonhunter found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
We found the Reset bolt as well as 1 reference bolt and what looked like 2 more bore holes from the other 2 ref bolts that are missing. Also saw the power cable and the old road that led to the tower. Thanks for the listing Yukonhunter/Goldigger

Photos:
photoReset Pin
photoreference pin
Found it 6/11/2005 NCMountie found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
Found this Pin while caching on top of Buffalo Mountian today. I was looking for a disk and was very surprised when I found the Pin. I appears to be solid and in good shape.

Photos:
photoBenchmark w/ GPSr
Found it 6/4/2005 annietozane found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
Found this while exploring Buffalo Mtn. What a beautiful area. The silence is golden.

Photos:
photoBenchmark
Found it 4/27/2005 trunnel found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
Great hike to the top. Went with candicegaud, a fellow geocacher to our second find and what a view we had when we got there! The benchmark was in decent shape, not at all what we expected but it is most certainly present. Great hike, great find, made for a great day!

Found it 4/27/2005 candicegaud found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
Great find! A hefty hike to the top of Buffalo Mtn. proved worthwhile for the gorgeous views. Maybe we'll place a geocache up here to increase traffic. No one should miss this view!!!

Found it 9/6/2003 wp25244 found FZ1365 (NGS Benchmark)   Visit Log
This must be the primary benchmark for Floyd County, sitting atop Buffalo Mountain with a vista extending down into NC. I was surprised to find not a traditional disk, only a pin set in a small mound of aggregate mentioned in the 1994 official history. Wonder why they don't upgrade to a traditional disk? The surface where the pin is located has irregular surface pockets where rainwater collects. White splashes of bird droppings and feathers makes me think it may be a vulture watering hole. None present at sunset, though. Hadn't read history before seeing this. May return to get digital photo series. This is my first benchmark, and a great one to start with!

[last edit: 9/6/2003 3:40:11 AM PST]

[last edit: 9/6/2003 3:41:05 AM PST]

[This entry was edited by wp25244 on Sunday, April 18, 2004 at 5:29:22 AM.]

Photos:
photoSamwitch on the Buffalo
We walked up the fire trail from the parking lot. The fire tower shown on the map is long gone. Just some half buried electric cables. Beautiful views at sunset.
photoBenchmark Reset Pin BUffalo Mtn
This is the reset pin which has replaced the missing benchmark. It is set in a pile of concrete aggregate. See quarter for size comparison.

Documented History (by the NGS)

1/1/1918 by CGS (MONUMENTED)
DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1918 ABOUT 25 MILES BY ROAD NORTHWEST OF STUART, ON BUFFALO MOUNTAIN, AND AT WEST END OF ROCKY RIDGE WHICH IS ABOUT 150 YARDS LONG AND HAS NO TREES ON IT. EAST END OF RIDGE IS ABOUT 6 FEET HIGHER IN ELEVATION THAN WEST END. TO REACH FROM STUART, FOLLOW CARROLL PIKE ABOUT 12 MILES TO OLD EDWARDS PLACE, TAKE RIGHT-HAND ROAD, AND CONTINUE TO BUFFALO MOUNTAIN. SURFACE MARK WAS SQUARE-HEADED COPPER BOLT WITH CROSS CUT IN TOP SET FLUSH WITH TOP OF BLOCK OF MASONRY ABOUT 10 INCHES HIGH. UNDERGROUND MARK WAS COPPER BOLT WITH CROSS CUT IN TOP DRIVEN INTO SOLID ROCK. REFERENCE MARKS WERE COPPER BOLTS WITH CROSSES CUT IN TOP AND DRIVEN 4 INCHES INTO SOLID ROCK AT FOLLOWING DISTANCES AND DIRECTIONS FROM STATION--8.76 FEET, TRUE NORTH. 10.37 FEET, TRUE EAST. 8.38 FEET, TRUE SOUTH. AND 8.75 FEET, TRUE WEST. IN 1918, SURFACE MARK HAD BEEN DESTROYED AND COPPER BOLTS HAD BEEN REMOVED FROM REFERENCE MARKS. UNDERGROUND MARK WAS RECOVERED IN GOOD CONDITION, AND SURFACE MARK WAS REPLACED BY STANDARD DISK STATION MARK IN MOUND OF CONCRETE. TWO STANDARD REFERENCE DISKS IN BEDROCK, WERE ESTABLISHED IN 1918. ONE IS ABOUT 1 METER (3 FEET) IN ELEVATION BELOW STATION, AND 2.66 METERS (8.7 FEET) DUE WEST OF STATION. OTHER IS ABOUT 0.3 METER (1 FOOT) IN ELEVATION BELOW STATION, ABOUT 10 DEG SOUTH OF EAST AND 4.1 METERS (13.5 FEET) DISTANT FROM STATION.
1/1/1918 by CGS (SEE DESCRIPTION)
11/30/1994 by GEOMET (POOR)
RECOVERY NOTE BY GEOMETRICS GPS INCORPORATED 1994 (DAR) THE STATION IS LOCATED IN FLOYD COUNTY, VIRGINIA ON BUFFALO MOUNTAIN ABOUT 25 MILES NORTHWEST OF THE TOWN OF STUART. TO REACH THE STATION FROM THE INTERSECTION OF BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY AND U.S. HIGHWAY 58 PROCEED NORTH ALONG BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY A DISTANCE OF 3.6 MILES TO ITS INTERSECTION WITH STATE ROUTE 799. TURN LEFT AND PROCEED WEST ALONG STATE ROUTE 799 A DISTANCE OF 1.5 MILES TO ITS INTERSECTION WITH STATE ROUTE 604 AT A SIGN FOR GRACE CHURCH. TURN LEFT AND PROCEED WEST ALONG STATE ROUTE 604, PAVED ROAD AND THEN GRAVEL, A DISTANCE OF 1.4 MILES TO ITS ITERSECTION WITH STATE ROUTE 727 (GRAVEL ROAD). TURN LEFT AND PROCEED SOUTH ALONG STATE ROUTE 727 A DISTANCE OF 0.8 MILE TO A FOUR WAY INTERSECTION. TURN RIGHT AND PROCEED UP THE RIDGE A DISTANCE OF 1.3 MILES TO THE END OF TWO WHEEL VEHICLE TRAVEL. HIKE OR FOUR WHEEL DRIVE UP FIRE TOWER ROAD TO THE TOP, GO PAST FIRE TOWER AN APPROXIMATE DISTANCE OF 375 FEET TO THE WEST END OF THE MOUNTAIN TOP AND THE STATION IN A ROCK OUTCROP. DISK HAS BEEN REMOVED. THE STATION IS A 7/8 INCH BRASS STEM IN CEMENTED IN ROCK 3 INCHES HIGH. THREE REFERENCE BOLTS OF THE SAME TYPE EXIST (ALL DIRECTIONS ARE REFERENCED FROM 1995 MAGNETIC NORTH) (1) 13.4 FEET AZIMUTH 120 DEGREES, (2) 8.3 FEET AZIMUTH 175 DEGREES, AND (3) 8.7 FEET AZIMUTH 281 DEGREES.

Control Text

  • The horizontal coordinates were established by GPS observations and adjusted by the National Geodetic Survey in December 1995.
  • The orthometric height was determined by GPS observations and a high-resolution geoid model.
  • The X, Y, and Z were computed from the position and the ellipsoidal ht.
  • The Laplace correction was computed from DEFLEC99 derived deflections.
  • The ellipsoidal height was determined by GPS observations and is referenced to NAD 83.
  • The geoid height was determined by GEOID99.

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