View source for Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians

{{Short description|Physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division}}
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[[File:Valley and ridge with other provinces of appalachian highlands.jpg|thumb|Valley and Ridge province as part of the [[Appalachian Highlands]] division, based on the [[United States Geological Survey|U.S. Geological Survey]] physiographic classification]]
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The '''Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians''', also called the '''Ridge and Valley Province''' or the '''Valley and Ridge Appalachians''', are a [[Physiographic regions of the world|physiographic province]] of the larger [[Appalachian Mountains|Appalachian Highlands]] division. The physiographic province is divided into three sections: the Hudson Valley, the Central, and the Tennessee.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Physiographic divisions of the conterminous U. S. |url=https://water.usgs.gov/GIS/metadata/usgswrd/XML/physio.xml |access-date=2023-09-06 |website=water.usgs.gov}}</ref> 

The river valleys were areas of indigenous settlements for thousands of years. In the historic period, the [[Cherokee people]] had towns along many of the rivers in western South Carolina and North Carolina, as well as on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains in present-day Tennessee. Similarly, the [[Catawba people]] occupied areas along the upper [[Catawba River]] in [[Western North Carolina]], to the east of [[Cherokee County, North Carolina|Cherokee County]].

The ridge and valley system presents an important obstacle to east–west [[transport|land travel]] even with today's technology. It was a nearly insurmountable barrier to European-American migrants who walked or rode horses [[western migration|traveling west]] to settle the [[Ohio Country]], and later the [[Northwest Territory]] and [[Oregon Country]]. In the era when animal power dominated transportation, there was no safe way to cross east–west in the middle of the range; crossing was only possible nearer its extremes except for a few [[military road|rough passages]] opened mid-range during the colonial era, including [[Cumberland Gap]], [[Braddock's Road]], and [[Forbes Road]]. 

These were later improved as America's first National Roads, including [[Wilderness Road]], [[Cumberland Road]], [[Lincoln Highway]], designated as [[U.S. Route 40]] and [[U.S. Route 30]] in later years. Early settlers of [[Ohio Country]] tended to enter it via the [[Ohio River]]; river systems were the most important transportation corridors. It was difficult in the late 19th and 20th centuries to construct railroads and modern highways through this area.

==Geography==
[[File:Valley and Ridge Province of the Appalachian Highlands.jpg|thumb|Valley and Ridge province of the Appalachian Highlands and its three physiographic sections: the [[Hudson River|Hudson]], the Central, and the [[Tennessee River|Tennessee]] Rivers]]
The eastern head of the Ridge and Valley region is marked by the [[Great Appalachian Valley]], which lies just west of the [[Blue Ridge Mountains|Blue Ridge]]. The western side of the Ridge and Valley region is marked by steep escarpments such as the [[Allegheny Front]], the [[Cumberland Mountains]], and [[Walden Ridge]]. The Valley and Ridge is located on the west side of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
[[File:Bedford-co-air.jpg|thumb|An aerial view of [[Bedford County, Pennsylvania]], showing (from center to right): [[Wills Mountain|Wills]], [[Evitts Mountain|Evitts]], and [[Tussey Mountain]]s in December 2006]]
The Province extends from southeastern [[New York (state)|New York]] in the north through northwestern [[New Jersey]], westward into [[Pennsylvania]] through the [[Lehigh Valley]], and southward into [[Maryland]], [[West Virginia]], [[Virginia]], [[Kentucky]], [[Tennessee]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], and [[Alabama]]. They form a broad arc between the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]] and the [[Appalachian Plateau]] physiographic province, which includes the [[Allegheny Plateau|Allegheny]] and [[Cumberland Plateau|Cumberland]] plateaus. They are characterized by long, even [[ridge]]s, with long, continuous [[valley]]s in between. 

{{anchor|Significant ridges (from north to south)}}<!-- insurance in case section retitled
has internal and external links to section. --->

==Significant ridges (from north to south)==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name!!State
|-
| [[Shawangunk Ridge]]||New York
|-
| [[Kittatinny Mountain]]||New Jersey
|-
| [[Bald Eagle Mountain]]||Pennsylvania
|-
| [[Blue Mountain (Pennsylvania)|Blue Mountain]]||Pennsylvania
|-
| [[South Mountain (Eastern Pennsylvania)|South Mountain]]||Pennsylvania
|-
| [[Jacks Mountain]]||Pennsylvania
|-
| [[Moosic Mountains]]||Pennsylvania
|-
| [[Nittany Mountain]]||Pennsylvania
|-
| [[Tuscarora Mountain]]||Pennsylvania
|-
| [[Tussey Mountain]]||Pennsylvania
|-
| [[Wills Mountain]]||Pennsylvania and Maryland
|-
| [[Dans Mountain]]||Maryland
|-
| [[Sideling Hill]]||West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania
|-
| [[Cacapon Mountain]]||West Virginia
|-
| [[Knobly Mountain]]||West Virginia
|-
| [[Mill Creek Mountain]]||West Virginia
|-
| [[New Creek Mountain]]||West Virginia
|-
| [[North Fork Mountain]]||West Virginia
|-
| [[Patterson Creek Mountain]]||West Virginia
|-
| [[Sleepy Creek Mountain]]||West Virginia
|-
| [[South Branch Mountain]]||West Virginia
|-
| [[Spruce Mountain (West Virginia)|Spruce Mountain]]||West Virginia
|-
| [[Allegheny Mountain (West Virginia-Virginia)|Allegheny Mountain]]||Virginia and West Virginia
|-
| [[Great North Mountain]]||Virginia and West Virginia
|-
| [[North Mountain (Virginia-West Virginia)|North Mountain]]||Virginia and West Virginia
|-
| [[Shenandoah Mountain]]||Virginia and West Virginia
|-
| [[Massanutten Mountain]]||Virginia
|-
| [[McAfee Knob]]||Virginia
|-
| [[Pine Mountain (Appalachian Mountains)|Pine Mountain]]||Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee
|-
| [[Clinch Mountain]]||Tennessee and Virginia
|-
| [[Powell Mountain (Virginia)|Powell Mountain]]||Tennessee and Virginia
|-
| [[Bays Mountain]]||Tennessee
|-
| [[House Mountain (Knox County, Tennessee)|House Mountain]]|| Tennessee
|-
| [[Sharp's Ridge]]||Tennessee
|-
| [[Taylor Ridge (Georgia)]]||Georgia
|-
| [[Johns Mountain]]||Georgia
|-
| [[Lavender Mountain]]||Georgia
|-
| [[White Oak Mountain]]||Tennessee and Georgia
|-
| [[Missionary Ridge]]||Tennessee and Georgia
|-
| [[Stringer's Ridge]]||Tennessee
|-
| [[Cheaha Mountain]]||Alabama
|-
| [[Red Mountain (Birmingham)|Red Mountain]]||Alabama
|}


[[File:Bristol tenn ridgelines2.jpg|thumb|Ridges and valleys near [[Norton, Virginia]] in [[Wise County, Virginia]]]]
[[File:WV plateau.jpg|thumb|A map of the [[Cumberland Plateau]] and Ridge and Valley Appalachians on the border between [[Virginia]] and [[West Virginia]]]]
[[File:Massanutten-air.jpg|thumb|An aerial view [[Massanutten Mountain]], including the south fork of the [[Shenandoah River]] (on left) and part of the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]] in [[Virginia]]]]

==Geology==
The Valley and Ridge Province was formed during the [[Alleghanian orogeny]], a mountain-building event that occurred between 325 and 260 million years ago.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hatcher|first=R.D.|title=Tracking lower-to-mid-to-upper crustal deformation processes through time and space through three Paleozoic orogenies in the Southern Appalachians using dated metamorphic assemblages and faults|url=http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2008AM/finalprogram/abstract_150729.htm|work=Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs|publisher=Geological Society of America|access-date=2012-01-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806090332/https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2008AM/finalprogram/abstract_150729.htm|archive-date=2018-08-06|url-status=dead}}</ref>  The rocks in the region were subjected to immense pressure and heat, causing them to deform and fold. The softer parts of these rock units (chiefly shale and limestone) were eroded to form the valleys and the harder parts of the folds (quartzites) formed the mountain tops and ridges.<ref>Stanley, 421-2</ref> The ridges represent the edges of the erosion-resistant strata, and the valleys portray the absence of the more [[erosion|erodible]] strata. Smaller streams have developed their valleys following the lines of the more easily eroded strata.<ref>Stanley, 421-2</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Valley and Ridge Province (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/valleyandridgeprovince.htm |access-date=2023-09-06 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref>
<!--"The formations are the remnants of an ancient fold-and-thrust belt, west of the mountain core that formed in the [[Alleghenian orogeny]]. Here, strata have been folded westward, and forced over massive [[thrust faults]]; there is little [[metamorphic rock|metamorphism]], and no igneous intrusion." (This appears redundant and the metamorphic statement is likely wrong -->

[[File:Blue Mountain Ridge (Pennsylvania).jpg|thumb|[[Blue Mountain (Pennsylvania)|Blue Mountain]] in the [[Lehigh Valley]] region of [[Pennsylvania]]]]
[[File: Ridgecountry.jpg|thumb|[[Pennsylvania]]'s ridge country seen from [[Clarks Knob]] in [[Franklin County, Pennsylvania]]]]A few major rivers, including the [[Delaware River]], the [[Susquehanna River]], the [[New River (Kanawha River)|New River]], and the [[Potomac River]], are older than the present mountains, having cut [[water gap]]s that are perpendicular to hard strata ridges. The evidence points to a wearing down of the entire region to a low level with little relief, so that major rivers were flowing in unconsolidated sediments unaffected by the underlying rock structure. The region was then uplifted slowly enough so that the rivers could maintain their course, cutting through the ridges as they developed.

Valleys in the region are either [[syncline|synclinal]] or [[anticline|anticlinal]].

These mountains are at their development in central Pennsylvania, a phenomenon termed the Pennsylvania climax.

==See also==
* [[Allegheny Front]]
* [[Eastern Continental Divide]]
* [[Geology of the Appalachians]]
* [[Tennessee Valley Divide]]
* ''[[Tennessee Frontiers: Three Regions in Transition]]'' by John R. Finger

==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
* WPA, ''Kentucky: A Guide to the Bluegrass State '' (1939); classic guide from the Federal Writers Project; covers main themes and describes every town and feature, with capsule histories [https://archive.org/details/kentuckyguidetob00federich/page/n8/mode/1up online]

* Stanley, Steven M. ''Earth System History''. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1999. {{ISBN|0-7167-2882-6}}

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{{Mountains of Tennessee}}
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{{Mountains of West Virginia}}
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[[Category:Eastern United States]]
[[Category:Geography of Appalachia]]
[[Category:Geography of the Lehigh Valley]]
[[Category:Physiographic provinces]]
[[Category:Physiographic regions of the United States]]
[[Category:Regions of Alabama]]
[[Category:Regions of Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Regions of Kentucky]]
[[Category:Regions of New York (state)]]
[[Category:Regions of Ohio]]
[[Category:Regions of Maryland]]
[[Category:Regions of New Jersey]]
[[Category:Regions of Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Regions of Tennessee]]
[[Category:Regions of Virginia]]
[[Category:Regions of West Virginia]]
[[Category:Ridges of Alabama]]
[[Category:Ridges of Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Ridges of Kentucky]]
[[Category:Ridges of Maryland]]
[[Category:Ridges of New Jersey]]
[[Category:Ridges of New York (state)]]
[[Category:Ridges of Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Ridges of Tennessee]]
[[Category:Ridges of the United States]]
[[Category:Ridges of Virginia]]
[[Category:Ridges of West Virginia]]
[[Category:Subranges of the Appalachian Mountains]]
[[Category:Valleys of the United States]]