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The heartland of Scott County is made up of forested hills and pastured
hollows that are drained by multitude tributaries of two scenic rivers.
The interior is bounded by Powell Mountain to the north and Clinch Mountain
to the south. The Clinch and Holston River basins offer dramatic contrast
to abutting mountains while upland pastures soften the wild beauty of
the landscape.
Dominant sectors of the Scott County economy include manufacturing, service industries, trade, agriculture, and transfer income (retirement pensions, disability income, and welfare benefits). In 1995, the largest employers in the county were the school board, Mascotech Industrial (automotive stampings), Joy Technologies (mining equipment), Ridgecrest Manor (nursing home), and KVT Food Stores (grocery distributors).
Two important points of interest draw crowds to Scott County: the Carter Family Fold is the home of the legendary Carter-Cash family which hosts country music performances every weekend; the Homeplace Museum is a mountain farmstead (circa 1840-1850) with buildings reassembled from original log structures. Outdoor zealots can hike, bike, swim, hunt, fish, picnic and canoe at Natural Tunnel State Park or at several locations in Jefferson National Forest: Falls of the Little Stony, Hanging Rock, Bark Camp Lake, and Devil's Fork. Death rates from several common causes are higher in Scott County than in Virginia - e.g., heart disease (+7%), cancer (+8%), stroke (+8%), chronic lower respiratory diseases (+3%), unintentional injury (+44%), pneumonia and influenza (+11%), diabetes mellitus (+25%), and suicide (+131%). Death rates from other common causes are lower in Scott County than in Virginia : septicemia (-58%), nephritis and nephrosis (-33%), chronic liver disease (-3%), and Alzheimer's disease (-1%). The population of Scott County is less prosperous than the population
of Virginia. Scott County's poverty rate is 75% higher than the Virginia
poverty rate and the per capita income of Scott Countians is only 63%
of the per capita income of Virginians. Relatively fewer people are
enrolled in the labor force in Scott County than in Virginia and far
fewer people in Scott County have completed high school than in Virginia
as a whole. The relative poverty and poor health status of the population
indicates a need for increased and sustained access to primary care
in Scott County.
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Scott County
The Clinch and Holston Rivers provide habitat
for 19 species of rare fish and the world's most remarkable collection
of embattled freshwater mussels. Of the 40 mussel species remaining,
29 are globally rare. The Clinch Valley also harbors more than 400 other
rare animal and plant species. Few areas of the United States can boast
such ecological richness. 
There are six small towns in Scott County
- Clinchport (pop. 77), Duffield (pop. 62), Dungannon (pop. 317), Gate
City (pop. 2,159), which serves as the county seat, Nickelsville (pop.
448), and Weber City (pop. 1,333).