Upper Tract | |
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 Corn fields with Upper Tract in the back | |
  Upper Tract Location within the state of West Virginia  Upper Tract Upper Tract (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 38°47′14″N79°16′57″W / 38.78722°N 79.28250°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | West Virginia |
| County | Pendleton |
| Elevation | 1,558 ft (475 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 1555861 [1] |
Upper Tract is an unincorporated community in Pendleton County, West Virginia, United States. [1]
The community lies along U.S. Highway 220 at the confluence of Reeds Creek and the South Branch Potomac River. It has a post office with a ZIP Code of 26866.
The community took its name from a nearby 18th-century pioneer settlement. [2] Two local structures — the Cunningham-Hevener House and the Pendleton County Poor Farm — are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [3]
Upper Tract is notable as one of the driest places in the United States east of the Mississippi River, owing to an isolated rain shadow from Spruce Knob to the west. [4] Between 1899 and 1930 Upper Tract averaged only 28.82 inches or 732.0 millimetres of precipitation, and in the extreme drought year of 1930 it received a remarkably low 9.50 inches or 241.3 millimetres for the entire year – the lowest annual precipitation ever recorded in the US east of the Mississippi, [5] and indeed less than fell during that year in such dry cities as Tucson and San Diego.
The Potomac River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States that flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is 405 miles (652 km) long, with a drainage area of 14,700 square miles (38,000 km2), and is the fourth-largest river along the East Coast of the United States and the 21st-largest in the United States. Over 5 million people live within its watershed.
Pendleton County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,143, making it the second-least populous county in West Virginia. Its county seat is Franklin. The county was created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1788 from parts of Augusta, Hardy, and Rockingham counties and was named for Edmund Pendleton (1721–1803), a distinguished Virginia statesman and jurist. Pendleton County was strongly pro-Confederate during the American Civil War; however, there were pockets of Unionists who supported the state government in Wheeling.
Hardy County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,299. Its county seat is Moorefield. The county was created from Hampshire County in 1786 and named for Samuel Hardy, a distinguished Virginian.
Highland County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,232. Its county seat is Monterey. Known as "Virginia's Switzerland" or "Virginia's Little Switzerland", Highland County is the least populous jurisdiction in Virginia, including counties and independent cities. Highland lays claim to being one of the least populous counties and one of the highest average elevations east of the Mississippi River.
Franklin is a town in and the county seat of Pendleton County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 486 at the 2020 census. Franklin was established in 1794 and named for Francis Evick, an early settler.
A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side.
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.
The National Register of Historic Places in the United States is a register including buildings, sites, structures, districts, and objects. The Register automatically includes all National Historic Landmarks as well as all historic areas administered by the U.S. National Park Service. Since its introduction in 1966, more than 90,000 separate listings have been added to the register.
Bear Rocks are a widely recognized symbol of West Virginia wilderness and among the most frequently photographed places in the state. They are a well-known landmark on the eastern edge of the plateau that includes the Dolly Sods Wilderness. They sit in a high-elevation heathland punctuated with wind-carved sandstone outcrops and is home to more than a dozen rare plant and animal species. Situated on the crest of the Allegheny Front, Bear Rocks afford vistas over the South Branch Potomac River. Visibility can extend eastward to the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.
Circleville is an unincorporated community located in Pendleton County, West Virginia, United States. Circleville was originally named Zyrkleville after John Zyrkle, who ran a dry goods store in the town. The old Circleville School is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Brandywine is a census-designated place (CDP) located on U.S. Highway 33 in Pendleton County, West Virginia, United States. The town lies along the South Fork South Branch Potomac River at its confluence with Hawes Run. At the 2019 United States census, its population was 147.
Seneca Rocks is an unincorporated community located in Pendleton County, West Virginia, United States. The community of Seneca Rocks — formerly known as Mouth of Seneca — lies at the junction of US 33, WV 28 and WV 55 near the confluence of Seneca Creek and the North Fork South Branch Potomac River. The community also lies near Seneca Rocks, the crag from which it takes its name. Both lie within the Spruce Knob–Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area of the Monongahela National Forest.
Palo Alto is an unincorporated community in Highland County, Virginia, United States. Palo Alto is located 11.4 miles (18.3 km) east-northeast of Monterey, Virginia on the South Fork South Branch Potomac River. The confluence of Spring Run with the South Fork South Branch Potomac River occurs near the community and Highland County's border with Pendleton County, West Virginia is located less than 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) north of Palo Alto.
The Environment of West Virginia encompasses terrain and ecosystems ranging from plateaus to mountains. Most of West Virginia lies within the Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests ecoregion, while the higher elevations along the eastern border and in the panhandle lie within the Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests.
Seneca Creek is a 19.6-mile-long (31.5 km) tributary of the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River located entirely within Pendleton County, West Virginia, USA.
Germany Valley is a scenic upland valley high in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia originally settled by German farmers in the mid-18th century. It is today a part of the Spruce Knob–Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area of the Monongahela National Forest, although much ownership of the Valley remains in private hands.
Smoke Hole Canyon — traditionally called The Smoke Holes and later simply Smoke Hole — is a rugged 20 miles (32 km) long gorge carved by the South Branch Potomac River in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, United States. The area is rather isolated and remote with parts accessible only by boat or on foot.
Wappocomo is a late 18th-century Georgian mansion and farm overlooking the South Branch Potomac River north of Romney, Hampshire County, West Virginia, USA. It is located along Cumberland Road and the South Branch Valley Railroad.
Valley View is a mid-19th-century Greek Revival residence and farm overlooking the South Branch Potomac River northwest of Romney, West Virginia. The house is atop a promontory where Depot Valley joins the South Branch Potomac River valley.
Big Run is a river of 13 miles in length, located one-and-a-half miles west of Spruce Knob in Monongahela National Forest, in Pendleton County, West Virginia. It is a tributary of the North Fork South Branch Potomac River.
Media related to Upper Tract, West Virginia at Wikimedia Commons
Municipalities and communities of Pendleton County, West Virginia, United States | ||
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| Town |  | |
| CDP | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
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