Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 5 days ago
Sometimes natural features take on strangely familiar shapes, and southwest Virginia's Cove Mountain, near Roanoke, is one of the best examples out there. This narrow, ridge-type mountain is shaped exactly like the numeral "2," to the extent that it's hard to believe it is completely natural. Interestingly, the shape of the mountain is the result of specifically-shaped geologic folds affecting a variety of rock types which erode differently over time. Appalachian Trail hikers spend plenty of time on the "2," as the trail follows its entire length, passing by the famous "Dragon's Tooth" rock formation. This video shows what the "2" really looks like and explains its geologic origins with several Microsoft Paint sketches. From my perspective, it's likely that this is literally the only "Number 2 mountain" anywhere on Earth today.
Sometimes natural features take on strangely familiar shapes, and southwest Virginia's Cove Mountain, near Roanoke, is one of the best examples out there. This narrow, ridge-type mountain is shaped exactly like the numeral "2," to the extent that it's hard to believe it is completely natural. Interestingly, the shape of the mountain is the result of specifically-shaped geologic folds affecting a variety of rock types which erode differently over time. Appalachian Trail hikers spend plenty of time on the "2," as the trail follows its entire length, passing by the famous "Dragon's Tooth" rock formation. This video shows what the "2" really looks like and explains its geologic origins with several Microsoft Paint sketches. From my perspective, it's likely that this is literally the only "Number 2 mountain" anywhere on Earth today.
