Massanutten Mountain

Last updated
Massanutten Mountain
Massanutten Mountain-Page Valley.jpg
View of Massanutten Mountain from the east, looking west from Hawksbill Peak, with Luray in the foreground and the Great North Mountain in the background. August 2007.
Highest point
Elevation 2,922 ft (891 m)
Coordinates 38°38′34.9″N78°36′43.3″W / 38.643028°N 78.612028°W / 38.643028; -78.612028
Geography
USA Virginia relief location map.svg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Massanutten Mountain
Virginia, U.S.
Parent range Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians
Geology
Mountain type Synclinal Ridge
Climbing
Easiest route Drive
Oblique air photo of Massanutten Mountain, looking southwest. The south fork of the Shenandoah River is visible to the left, as well as a part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Massanutten-air.jpg
Oblique air photo of Massanutten Mountain, looking southwest. The south fork of the Shenandoah River is visible to the left, as well as a part of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Massanutten Mountain is a synclinal ridge in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, located in the U.S. state of Virginia. The original Native American name for the ridge is unknown. [1]

Contents

Image displaying the topographical differences between two roughly parallel ridges along Virginia's western border: one is the backbone of Shenandoah National Park (right), and the other is Massanutten Mountain (middle/left). Both rise above the Shenandoah Valley's rolling lowlands, with Massanutten dividing the valley roughly in half. Contrasting Ridges in Virginia - Labeled.jpg
Image displaying the topographical differences between two roughly parallel ridges along Virginia's western border: one is the backbone of Shenandoah National Park (right), and the other is Massanutten Mountain (middle/left). Both rise above the Shenandoah Valley's rolling lowlands, with Massanutten dividing the valley roughly in half.

Geography

The mountain bisects the Shenandoah Valley just east of Strasburg in Shenandoah County in the north, to its highest peak east of Harrisonburg in Rockingham County in the south.

The mountain is divided into northern and southern sections, divided by the New Market Gap. The northern section consists of 3 roughly parallel ridges, forming 2 valleys. The wider, main valley, is called Fort Valley, while the smaller one is known as Little Fort Valley. The ridges of the northern section converge at New Market Gap. The southern section consists of a series of closely gathered ridges, separated by precipitous creek gorges.

On the eastern side of the mountain range lie the Page Valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains. On the western side lie the North-Central Shenandoah Valley and the Great North Mountain of the Alleghany Mountains.

Recreation

Most of the range is part of the Lee Ranger District of the George Washington National Forest and contains the Elizabeth Furnace and Camp Roosevelt recreational areas. The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club maintains the Massanutten Trail as well as several other hiking trails in the forest. Signal Knob, a former Civil War signal station on the northern peak of the mountain, is a popular destination. [2] The forest service also maintains several ATV trails.

In 1971, the Massanutten Mountain ski lodge and four-season resort village was established near the southern peak. The private resort has nearly doubled in size since Great Eastern Resorts bought it in 1995.

Flora and fauna

Wildlife on Massanutten includes black bear, coyotes, wild turkeys, white-tailed deer, timber rattlesnake, and luna moths. Significant flora includes mayapple, bluets, wild lupine, cardinal flower, and pinxter flower.

Geology

The geology of the Massanutten Mountains is dominated by Silurian Massanutten Sandstone, a lateral equivalent of the Tuscarora Formation in the Appalachian Mountains to the west, overlying the Ordovician Martinsburg Formation. Erosion of the Martinsburg shale in some areas of the mountain caused the sandstone to break and slide to form talus slopes. The Massanutten Sandstone is folded in a synclinorium, and it outcrops at the ridge tops. [3]

Mountains of Massanutten

Notes

  1. Nash, Carole (2020). "Native American Communities of the Shenandoah Valley: Constructing a Complex History" (PDF). Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  2. "SummitPost - Signal Knob". Summit Post. December 31, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  3. Frye, Keith. Roadside Geology of Virginia. Mountain Press Publishing Company; Missoula, 1986.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Appalachian Mountains</span> Mountain range in eastern North America

The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain. The general definition used is one followed by the United States Geological Survey and the Geological Survey of Canada to describe the respective countries' physiographic regions. The U.S. uses the term Appalachian Highlands and Canada uses the term Appalachian Uplands; the Appalachian Mountains are not synonymous with the Appalachian Plateau, which is one of the provinces of the Appalachian Highlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Ridge Mountains</span> Mountain range in the Eastern U.S.

The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. The province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. To the west of the Blue Ridge, between it and the bulk of the Appalachians, lies the Great Appalachian Valley, bordered on the west by the Ridge and Valley province of the Appalachian range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shenandoah Mountain</span> Mountain in Virginia and West Virginia, United States

Shenandoah Mountain is a mountain ridge approximately 73 miles (117 km) long in Virginia and West Virginia. The steep, narrow, sandstone-capped ridge extends from northern Bath County, Virginia to southern Hardy County, West Virginia. Along the way, its crest defines the borders between Highland and Augusta counties, Virginia, and between Pendleton County, West Virginia, and Rockingham County, Virginia. Its high point is 4397’/1340 m Reddish Knob along the Virginia/West Virginia border.

The Potomac Highlands of West Virginia centers on five West Virginian counties in the upper Potomac River watershed in the western portion of the state's Eastern Panhandle, bordering Maryland and Virginia. Because of geographical proximity, similar topography and landscapes, and shared culture and history, the Potomac Highlands region is also considered to include Pocahontas, Randolph, and Tucker counties, even though they are in the Monongahela River or New River watersheds and not the Potomac River watershed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sleepy Creek Mountain</span> Mountain in the U.S. state of West Virginia

Sleepy Creek Mountain is a mountain ridge in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians on the border between Morgan and Berkeley counties in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The long-distance Tuscarora Trail traverses the southern ridge and northern bench of the mountain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Ridge Mountain</span> Mountain in West Virginia, United States

Blue Ridge Mountain, also known as Blue Mountain, is the colloquial name of the westernmost ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The Appalachian Trail traverses the entire length of the mountain along its western slope and crest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great North Mountain</span> Mountain in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia

Great North Mountain is a 50-mile (80 km) long mountain ridge within the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia. The ridge is located west of the Shenandoah Valley and Massanutten Mountain in Virginia, and east of the Allegheny Mountains and Cacapon River in West Virginia.

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail spans 14 U.S. states over its roughly 2,200 miles (3,500 km): Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. The southern end is at Springer Mountain, Georgia, and it follows the ridgeline of the Appalachian Mountains, crossing many of its highest peaks and running almost continuously through wilderness before reaching the northern end at Mount Katahdin, Maine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Valley (Virginia)</span>

Fort Valley is a mountain valley located primarily in Shenandoah County, Virginia. It is often called "valley within a valley" as it lies between the two arms of the northern part of the Blue Ridge mountain range in the Shenandoah Valley in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians geological zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Fork Mountain</span> Mountain in West Virginia, United States

North Fork Mountain is a quartzite-capped mountain ridge in the Ridge and Valley physiographic province of the Allegheny Mountains, also known as the High Alleghenies or Potomac Highlands, of eastern West Virginia. Kile Knob, at 4,588 feet, is the mountain's highest point, and Panther Knob and Pike Knob are nearly as high.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roan Mountain (Roan Highlands)</span> Mountain straddling the North Carolina/Tennessee border

Roan Mountain is a 6,277 ft (1,913 m) mountain straddling the North Carolina/Tennessee border in the Unaka Range of the Southern Appalachian Mountains in the Southeastern United States. The range's highpoint, Roan is clad in a dense stand of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest, and includes the world's largest natural rhododendron garden, and the longest stretch of grassy bald in the Appalachian range. The Roan Highlands also contain the highest quality remaining stretch of Fraser fir forest throughout the tree's entire range. The Cherokee National Forest and Pisgah National Forest converge atop the mountain, with Roan Mountain State Park located near its northern base. The Appalachian Trail traverses most of the Roan's crest. The Roan High Knob Shelter is the highest back-country shelter on the entire 2,174-mile (3,499 km) trail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuscarora Sandstone</span> Bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia, US

The Silurian Tuscarora Formation — also known as Tuscarora Sandstone or Tuscarora Quartzite — is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia, US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugarland Mountain Trail</span> Hiking trail in Sevier County, Tennessee

The Sugarland Mountain Trail is an American hiking trail, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of Sevier County, Tennessee. The trail traverses Sugarland Mountain, a massive ridge running perpendicular to the main crest of the Smokies and effectively dividing the park's north-central section from its northwestern section. Sugarland Mountain is flanked by the deep upper valleys of two of the park's major watersheds— the West Fork of the Little Pigeon River and Little River. The trail passes through several forest types, including deciduous forest at lower elevations, heaths ("hells") along the mountain's backbone formations, and a stand of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest in the upper elevations. Occasional breaks in the foliage allow for views of Mount Le Conte and Sevier County to the east and Blanket Mountain and the ridges above Elkmont to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marks Knob</span> Mountain in the southeastern United States

Marks Knob is a mountain in the central Great Smoky Mountains, in the southeastern United States. It has an elevation of 6,169 feet (1,880 m), with 249 feet (76 m) of clean prominence. Its summit is a popular bushwhacking destination and one of the most difficult-to-reach summits of the Southern Sixers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knob Mountain</span> Mountain in Virginia, US

Knob Mountain is a mountain in Page County, Virginia. It is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Its summit lies within Shenandoah National Park at an elevation of 2,671 ft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massanutten Trail</span> National Recreation Trail in George Washington National Forest

The Massanutten Trail is a 71-mile (114 km) National Recreation Trail located in George Washington National Forest in Central Virginia. Much of the path is steep and rugged terrain, and presents many mountain vistas. The trail traverses the Massanutten Range around its inner valley. Shenandoah National Park is to the east, and Great North Mountain is west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Schloss</span> Mountain in Virginia, USA

Big Schloss is a peak in the Great North Mountain range of the Ridge and Valley Appalachians, with an elevation of 2,964 feet (903 m). The peak is located in George Washington National Forest on the border of Virginia and West Virginia, though according to Topozone, the actual summit is in Virginia. The trail is part of the Lee Ranger District. It features a rocky outcropping of white sandstone with expansive views into Trout Run Valley in West Virginia and Little Schloss Mountain in Virginia.

Signal Knob is the northern peak of Massanutten Mountain in the Ridge and Valley Appalachians with an elevation of 2,106 feet (642 m). It is located in George Washington National Forest in Shenandoah County and Warren County in Virginia.

Humpback Rocks is a massive greenstone outcropping near the peak of Humpback Mountain in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Augusta County and Nelson County, Virginia, United States, with a summit elevation of 3,080 feet (940 m). The rock formation is so named for the visual effect of a "hump" it creates on the western face of the mountain.