'North Mountain' is a
mountain ridge within the
Ridge-and-valley Appalachians in the
U.S. states of
Virginia and
West Virginia. North Mountain reaches its highest point of 1,673 feet (510 m) above
sea-level at its Roundtop summit near
Arden in
Berkeley County, West Virginia.
Back Creek lies within the valley 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. North Mountain spans from the
Potomac River to the community of
Green Spring in
Frederick County, Virginia. The town of
Hedgesville, West Virginia lies within a gap in the mountain's smaller northern span.
According to the
Geographic Names Information System, North Mountain has also widely been known as 'Great Ridge' and 'Little North Mountain', when in comparison to the much larger
Great North Mountain to the south.
Summits and knobs
Although North Mountain is a continuous mountain ridge, it is made up of a number of summits and knobs with individual names. These are listed from north to south.
★ Potato Hill, 787 feet (240 m)
★ High Knob, 938 feet (286 m)
★ Roundtop, 1,673 feet (510 m)
External links