Everything about Allegheny Mountains totally explained
The
Allegheny Mountain Range (also spelled
Alleghany and
Allegany) — informally, the
Alleghenies — is part of the vast
Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern
United States and
Canada. It has a northeast-southwest orientation and runs for over 500 miles (800 km) from north-central
Pennsylvania, through western
Maryland and eastern
West Virginia, to southwestern
Virginia.
Name
The name derives from the
Allegheny River. The meaning of the word, which comes from the
Lenape (Delaware) Indians, isn't definitively known, but is usually translated as "fine river". A Lenape legend tells of an ancient tribe called the "Allegewi" who lived on the river and were defeated by the Lenape.
Allegheny is the
French spelling, such as the
Allegheny River, which was once part of New France, and
Allegany is the
English spelling, as in
Allegany County, Maryland, a former British Colony.
The word "Allegheny" was once commonly used to refer to the whole of the Appalachian Mountains.
John Norton used it (spelled variously) around 1810 to refer to the mountains in
Tennessee and
Georgia.
John Muir, in his book
A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf (written in 1867), used the word "Alleghanies" for the southern Appalachians. Other people used the word "Appalachians". There was no general agreement until the late 19th century. In the 1860s,
Arnold Henry Guyot published the first systematic geologic study of the whole mountain range. His map labeled the range as the "Alleghanies", but his book was titled
On the Appalachian Mountain System. The term "Appalachian" became commonly used for the whole range, first by geologists and eventually, everyone.
Geography
» See also: List of Mountains of the Alleghenies
Extent
From northeast to southwest, the Allegheny Mountains run about 500 miles (800 km). From west to east, at their widest, they're about 100 miles (160 km).
Although there are no official boundries to the Allegheny Mountain region, it may be generally defined to the east by the
Great Valley (locally called the
Cumberland Valley in Pennsylvania and the
Shenandoah Valley in Virginia); to the north by the
Susquehanna River valley; and to the south by the
New River valley. To the west, the Alleghenies grade down into the dissected
Allegheny Plateau (of which they're sometimes considered to be a part). The westernmost ridges are considered to be the
Laurel and Chestnut Ridges in Pennsylvania and
Laurel and
Rich Mountains in West Virginia.
The mountains to the south of the Alleghenies -- the Appalachians in westernmost Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and eastern Tennessee -- are the
Cumberlands. The Alleghenies and the Cumberlands both constitute part of the
Ridge and Valley Province of the Appalachians.
The Allegheny Front and the “Allegheny Highlands”
The eastern edge of the Alleghenies is marked by the
Allegheny Front, which is also sometimes considered the eastern terminus of the
Allegheny Plateau. This represents a portion of the
Eastern Continental Divide in this area. The highest ridges are just west of the Front, which has an east/west elevational change of up to 3,000 feet. Absolute elevations of the Allegheny Highlands reach nearly 5,000 feet, with the highest elevations in the southern part of the range. The highest point in the Allegheny Mountains is
Spruce Knob (4,863 ft/1,482 m), on
Spruce Mountain in
West Virginia. Other notable Allegheny highpoints include
Thorny Flat on
Cheat Mountain (4,848 ft/1478 m),
Bald Knob on
Back Allegheny Mountain (4,842 ft/1476 m), and
Mount Porte Crayon (4,770 ft/1,454 m), all in West Virginia;
Dans Mountain (2,898 ft/883m) in Maryland,
Backbone Mountain (3360 ft/1024 m), the highest point in Maryland;
Mount Davis (3,213 ft/979 m), the highest point in Pennsylvania, and the second highest,
Blue Knob (3,146 ft/959 m).
The Alleghenies are drained by a number of gorges, principally the
North Branch of the
Potomac River and the
New River.
Development
There are very few sizable cities in the Alleghenies. The four largest are (in order of population):
Altoona,
State College,
Johnstown (all in Pennsylvania) and
Cumberland (in Maryland).
Protected areas
Much of the
Monongahela (West Virginia),
George Washington (West Virginia, Virginia) and
Jefferson (Virginia)
National Forests lie within the Allegheny Mountains. These mountains also include a number of federally-designated
wilderness areas, such as the
Dolly Sods Wilderness,
Laurel Fork Wilderness, and
Cranberry Wilderness in West Virginia.
Geology
The bedrock of the Alleghenies is mostly
sandstone and metamorphosed sandstone,
quartzite, which is extremely resistant to weathering. Prominent beds of resistant
conglomerate can be found in some areas, such as the Dolly Sods. When it weathers, it leaves behind a pure white quartzite gravel. The rock layers of the Alleghenies were formed during the
Alleghenian orogeny.
Because of intense freeze-thaw cycles in the higher Alleghenies, there's little native bedrock exposed in most areas. The ground surface usually rests on a massive jumble of sandstone rocks, with air space between them, that are gradually moving down-slope. The crest of the Allegheny Front is an exception, where high bluffs are often exposed, revealing an exceptional view.
Flora and fauna
The Alleghenies of West Virginia are noted for their forests of
red spruce,
balsam fir, and
mountain ash, trees typically found much farther north.
History
Photo gallery
Image:Spruce Knob (5).JPG|The Alleghenies in eastern West Virginia (View from Spruce Knob)
Image:View From Spruce Knob (4).JPG|The Alleghenies in eastern West Virginia (View from Spruce Knob)
Image: NorthForkMountain.wmg.jpg|North Fork Mountain, West Virginia, looking south
Image:The dome.jpg|Blue Knob, Pennsylvania, the northernmost 3,000 footer in the Allegheny Range.
Image:Shenandoah Mountain - High Knob.jpg|Shenandoah Mountain, at the easternmost limit of the Alleghenies.
Image:LaurelMountain.jpg|Laurel Mountain, West Virginia, at the westernmost limit of the Alleghenies.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Allegheny Mountains'.
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