Pilot Mountain is a part of the Sauratown Mountains, an ancient range named after the Saura Indians. Its knob, called Big Pinnacle, is part of a monadnock (an isolated mountain or hill formed by erosion). The knob is made of hard quartzite and the mountain around it is weathering away faster than the knob. Geologists believe the Sauratown Mountains were once part of the shores of an ancient ocean. Beach sands were made up of almost pure quartz grains. Through a series of continental collisions begininning over 460 million years ago, heat and pressure changed the sand into hard rock.
Thin layers of quartzite, inclined at different angles, can be seen today at the base of the knob. Other metamorphic rock, including mica schist, can be found on Pilot Mountain. Some of the rock is so old that it is difficult to determine its origin. A great book to read more: "Exploring the Geology of the Carolinas" by Kevin G. Stewart and Mary-Russell Roberson
Pilot Mountain and Pilot Mountain State Park is located in Surry County, North Carolina - next door to Mayberry (!)
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