Geography
North Mountain spans 23.5 miles (37.8 km) from the Potomac River in the north to the community of Green Spring in Frederick County, Virginia in the south. The ridge is divided into two sections; the north and south spans. The north span consists of the portion of the ridge from the Potomac to the town of Hedgesville, West Virginia, which lies 3.5 miles (5.6 km) to the south within Skinners Gap in between the mountain's two spans. The northern span is characterized by lower elevations, its highest point is 920 feet (280 m) just north of Hedgesville, and numerous gaps at valley floor elevations. The southern span consists of the remaining 20 miles (32 km) of ridge line and is noticeably higher in elevation, containing the mountain's highest point of 1,673 feet (510 m) above sea-level at its Roundtop summit near Arden in Berkeley County, West Virginia. The southern section also contains many gaps, but all are several hundred feet above the valley floor. Back Creek Valley lies to the mountain ridge's west and the Shenandoah Valley to its east. Back Creek owes its name to North Mountain, as early settlers in the eighteenth century referred to the stream as to the "back" of the ridge when approaching it from the east.
The Roundtop summit was the location of Cowpuncher, a Presidential Emergency Facility serving Washington, D.C., during the Cold War. The facility consisted of microwave communication relay towers.
The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a hydrographic divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico watershed. The divide nearly spans the United States from south of Lake Ontario through the Florida peninsula, and consists of raised terrain including the Appalachian Mountains to the north, the southern Piedmont Plateau and lowland ridges in the Atlantic Coastal Plain to the south. Water including rainfall and snowfall, lakes, streams and rivers on the eastern/southern side of the divide drains to the Atlantic Ocean; water on the western/northern side of the divide drains to the Gulf of Mexico. The ECD is one of six continental hydrographic divides of North America which define several drainage basins, each of which drains to a particular body of water.
The Allegheny Front is the major southeast- or east-facing escarpment in the Allegheny Mountains in southern Pennsylvania, western Maryland, eastern West Virginia, and western Virginia, USA. The Allegheny Front forms the boundary between the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians to its east and the Appalachian Plateau to its west. The Front is closely associated with the Appalachian Mountains' Eastern Continental Divide, which in this area divides the waters of the Ohio/Mississippi river system, flowing to the Gulf of Mexico, from rivers flowing into Chesapeake Bay and from there into the Atlantic Ocean.
Catoctin Mountain, along with the geologically associated Bull Run Mountains, forms the easternmost mountain ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are in turn a part of the Appalachian Mountains range. The ridge runs northeast–southwest for about 50 miles (80 km) departing from South Mountain near Emmitsburg, Maryland, and running south past Leesburg, Virginia, where it disappears into the Piedmont in a series of low-lying hills near New Baltimore, Virginia. The ridge forms the eastern rampart of the Loudoun and Middletown valleys.
The South Branch Potomac River has its headwaters in northwestern Highland County, Virginia near Hightown along the eastern edge of the Allegheny Front. After a river distance of 139 miles (224 km), the mouth of the South Branch lies east of Green Spring in Hampshire County, West Virginia where it meets the North Branch Potomac River to form the Potomac.
Back Creek is a 59.5-mile-long (95.8 km) tributary of the Potomac River that flows north from Frederick County, Virginia, to Berkeley County in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. Back Creek originates along Frederick County's border with Hampshire County, West Virginia, at Farmer's Gap in the Great North Mountain. Its name reflects its location to the west of North Mountain. The perspective of colonists from the east in the 18th century led them to call it "Back Creek", because it lay to the back of North Mountain.
Mill Creek Mountain is a continuous mountain ridge that runs northeast through Hampshire and Hardy counties in the Eastern Panhandle region of the U.S. state of West Virginia. Rising to its greatest elevation of 2,650 feet (808 m) at High Knob, Mill Creek is a folded mountain ridge, belonging to the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians. Mill Creek Mountain forms the western edge of the South Branch Potomac River Valley and is named for Mill Creek that carves through it at Mechanicsburg Gap allowing the Northwestern Turnpike to pass through as well. Along with Sawmill Ridge, Mill Creek Mountain forms the Trough along the South Branch.
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.
Frozen Head State Park and Natural Area is a state park in Morgan County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park, situated in the Crab Orchard Mountains between the city of Wartburg and the community of Petros, contains some of the highest mountains in Tennessee west of the Blue Ridge.
Short Hill Mountain is a mountain ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northwest Loudoun County, Virginia.
South Mountain is the northern extension of the Blue Ridge Mountain range in Maryland and Pennsylvania. From the Potomac River near Knoxville, Maryland in the south to Dillsburg, Pennsylvania in York County, Pennsylvania in the north, the 70-mile-long (110 km) range separates the Hagerstown and Cumberland valleys from the Piedmont regions of the two states. The Appalachian National Scenic Trail follows the crest of the mountain through Maryland and a portion of Pennsylvania.
Powell Mountain is a mountain ridge of the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians of the Appalachian Mountains. It is a long and narrow ridge, running northeast to southwest, from about Norton, Virginia to near Tazewell, Tennessee. It separates the Clinch River basin and the Powell River basin of Powell Valley. It was named for an 18th-century explorer.
North Fork Mountain is a quartzite-capped mountain ridge in the Ridge and Valley physiographic province of the Allegheny Mountains 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.
Wills Mountain is a quartzite-capped ridge in the Ridge and Valley physiographic province of the Appalachian Mountains in Pennsylvania and Maryland, United States, extending from near Bedford, Pennsylvania, to near Cumberland, Maryland. It is the northernmost of several mountain ridges included within the Wills Mountain Anticline.
Back Allegheny Mountain is a long mountain ridge in eastern West Virginia. It is part of the Shavers Fork Mountain Complex in the Allegheny Range of the Appalachians.
The Roundtop Trail is an American hiking trail in Sevier County and Blount County sections of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The trail traverses the crest of Roundtop, a 3,077-foot (938 m) mountain that straddles the park's northern boundary. This trail, which passes through a thick forest of pine and oak and provides vistas of the valleys to the north and the mountains to the south, is one of the least-used trails in the park.
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.
Marks Knob is a mountain in the 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— located near the center of the Eastern Smokies amidst a dense stand of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest— is a popular bushwhacking destination and one of the most difficult-to-reach summits of the Southern Sixers.
Spruce Mountain, in eastern West Virginia is the highest ridge of the Allegheny Mountains. The whale-backed ridge extends for only about 16 miles (26 km) from northeast to southwest, but several of its peaks exceed 4,500 feet (1,400 m) in elevation. The summit, Spruce Knob, is the highest Allegheny Mountain point both in the state and the entire range, which spans four states.
Pisgah Mountain or Pisgah Ridge is a ridgeline running 12.5 miles (20.1 km) from Tamaqua to Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. It is oriented north-northeast to south-southwest, and its north-side valley is followed by U.S. Route 209 from river gap to river gap. The ridge is a succession of peaks exceeding 1,440 feet (438.9 m) rising 300 to 540 feet above the boroughs of Lansford, Coaldale, and Tamaqua in the Panther Creek valley. The highest point on Pisgah Mountain is at 1,611 feet (491 m) in the borough of Summit Hill, which sits atop the ridge. Near Summit Hill was the "Sharpe Mountain" (peak) where in 1791 Phillip Ginter is documented as having discovered anthracite, leading to the formation of the Lehigh Coal Mine Company. In 1818 the Lehigh Coal Company took over the mines, and the mining camp gradually became a settlement and grew into Summit Hill.
