Editing Elizabethton, Tennessee (section)

=== Holston Mountain communication towers ===
[[File:blueHole.jpg|right|thumb|180px|The main waterfall at Blue Hole Falls northeast of Elizabethton on Holston Mountain]]Elizabethton lies within a river valley basin mostly surrounded by mountain ridges and significant hills, such as [[Holston Mountain]], the southern end of which lies just to the northeast. Panhandle Road is located off State Highway 91 in Carter County and ascends Holston Mountain for {{convert|3|mi|0}} from the eastern side and ends {{convert|4|mi|0}} along the ridge southwest of Holston High Point. During periods of heavy snow and ice, the [[National Forest Service]] closes Panhandle Road.

Located near the [[Cherokee National Forest]] boundary and to the left of Panhandle Road is a parking area and foot trail that leads down the slope to the Blue Hole Falls (approximately {{convert|45|ft|m}} high). The last {{convert|3|mi|0}} of Panhandle Road are filled with washouts, steep drop-offs, and no turnarounds. Vehicle travel on this last section is at the driver's risk.

[[File:Holston High Point.jpg|left|thumb|180px|Holston High Point as seen from Holston High Knob]]
Early broadcasters in the 1950s and 1960s quickly realized Holston Mountain would be a prime radio-television transmission location because it is the highest visible point that faces most of the major cities in [[East Tennessee|Northeast Tennessee]]. As a result, the Holston Mountain ridge is the transmitter site for three television stations in the [[Tri-Cities, Tennessee]] Television [[Designated Market Area]]. The broadcasting antenna for [[WCYB-TV]], Channel 5, [[Bristol, Virginia]], is on Rye Patch Knob, with the top of the antenna {{convert|341|ft}} above ground, {{convert|2431|ft}} above the surrounding valley floor, and {{convert|4533|ft}} above sea level. The single tower the antenna sits on is the highest and tallest man-made structure on the mountain. The television towers for [[WJHL|WJHL-TV]], Channel 11, [[Johnson City, Tennessee|Johnson City]], and [[WKPT-TV]], Channel 19, [[Kingsport, Tennessee|Kingsport]], are standing side by side in a common broadcasting antenna farm on the southwest slope of Holston High Point, {{convert|1|mi}} southwest of Rye Patch Knob. The antenna for [[WJHL-TV]] stands {{convert|200|ft}} above ground, {{convert|2319|ft}} above the surrounding valley floor, and {{convert|4370|ft}} above sea level. The antenna for [[WKPT-TV]] next door stands {{convert|193|ft}} above ground, also {{convert|2319|ft}} above the valley floor, and {{convert|4366|ft}} above sea level. The stations' digital antennas are also on their respective towers.

Holston Mountain is also the transmitting site for three FM Class C radio stations: [[WTFM|WTFM-FM 98.5]], Kingsport, Tennessee; [[WXBQ|WXBQ-FM 96.9]], Bristol, Virginia, and [[WETS|WETS-FM]] 89.5, Johnson City, Tennessee. All three antennas and the backup antennas are located at the antenna farm on the southwest slope of Holston High Point. Also located on the ridge are the antenna for one FM Class C1 radio station, [[WHCB|WHCB-FM 91.5]], Bristol, Tennessee, located at Rye Patch Knob; one FM Class C2 antenna for radio station [[WCQR|WCQR-FM 88.3]], Kingsport, Tennessee, and one FM Class D antenna for radio station [[W214AP|W214AP-FM 90.7]], Johnson City, Tennessee, both transmitting from the antenna farm on the southwest slope of Holston High Point. Various U.S. federal, Tennessee state, Sullivan, Washington and Carter County governmental agencies, along with utility [[microwave relay]] stations, also transmit base-to-mobile communications from the Holston High Point antenna farm and Rye Patch Knob.

The [[FAA|Federal Aviation Administration]] maintains a navigational beacon at the Holston Mountain summit.

[[East Tennessee PBS]] (or "ETPtv"), while not having a television repeater station serving the immediate area, broadcasts programming on two different over-the-air digital channels that can be received and viewed at higher hilltop elevations in Elizabethton. In early 2009, ETPtv became one of the first stations in East Tennessee to broadcast a digital high definition signal 24 hours a day.