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Backbone Mountain is a
ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...
of the
Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...
of the central Appalachian Mountain Range. It is situated in the U.S. states of West Virginia and Maryland and forms a portion of the
Eastern Continental Divide 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 span ...
. In the state of Maryland, Backbone Mountain reaches an elevation of , making it Maryland's highest point.


Description and geography

Backbone Mountain stretches approximately southwest to northeast, from the Black Fork near Hambleton in Tucker County, West Virginia to the
Savage River Reservoir The Savage River Reservoir is a storage reservoir in northwest Maryland. It was completed in 1952 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and is owned and maintained by the Upper Potomac River Commission. The reservoir was formed by the Savage River ...
in
Garrett County Garrett County () is the westernmost county of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,806, making it the third-least populous county in Maryland. Its county seat is Oakland. The county was named for John W ...
, Maryland. The
Eastern Continental Divide 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 span ...
follows part of the mountain in Maryland. The headwaters of Youghiogheny River, in the watershed of the Mississippi River, lie just northwest of the mountain, whereas the headwaters of the North Branch of the
Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...
lie just south of the mountain, along the West Virginia- Maryland border. In West Virginia, the Eastern Continental Divide diverts to the east, with both sides of the mountain draining into the Black Fork. The ridge is crossed twice by
U.S. Route 219 U.S. Route 219 (US 219) is a spur of US 19. It runs for from West Seneca, New York, at an interchange with Interstate 90 (I-90) to Rich Creek, Virginia, intersecting at US 460. US 219 is found (from north to south) in New York, Pennsylvania, ...
, once north of Parsons and again near
Silver Lake Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''hā‚‚erĒµ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical cond ...
. It is also crossed by U.S. Route 50 east of Red House, Maryland, which is marked by a Maryland State Highway Administration sign.


Notable features


Hoye-Crest

Located just inside of Maryland along Backbone Mountain is Hoye-Crest. At an elevation of , it is the highest point in the state of Maryland. The location, named for Captain Charles Hoye, founder of the
Garrett County Garrett County () is the westernmost county of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,806, making it the third-least populous county in Maryland. Its county seat is Oakland. The county was named for John W ...
Historical Society, has a marker and offers a view of the
North Branch Potomac River The North Branch Potomac River flows from Fairfax Stone in West Virginia to its confluence with the South Branch Potomac River near Green Spring, West Virginia, where it turns into the Potomac River proper. Course From the Fairfax Stone, the ...
valley to the east. The location is accessible via a path leading from
U.S. Route 219 U.S. Route 219 (US 219) is a spur of US 19. It runs for from West Seneca, New York, at an interchange with Interstate 90 (I-90) to Rich Creek, Virginia, intersecting at US 460. US 219 is found (from north to south) in New York, Pennsylvania, ...
to the west.


Olson Observation Tower

The southern end of Backbone Mountain was the location of West Virginia's first
fire tower A fire lookout tower, fire tower or lookout tower, provides housing and protection for a person known as a "fire lookout" whose duty it is to search for wildfires in the wilderness. It is a small building, usually on the summit of a mountain or ...
. The first tower was built in 1922 by the state and subsequently transferred to
Monongahela National Forest The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally managed land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Regi ...
. In 1963, the original tower was replaced with the one currently on-site and named after Ernest B. Olson in recognition of 28 years of service in MNF fire control and conservation programs. While the cab of the tower is not open to the public, the 133 steps leading to it are. From the tower it is possible to view the surrounding area, including
Cheat River The Cheat River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of the Monongahela River in eastern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the Uni ...
watershed, Parsons,
Blackwater Canyon Blackwater Canyon is a rugged, heavily wooded, long gorge carved by the Blackwater River in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. For many years, it has been the object of controversy as environmental activists have contended wit ...
,
Canaan Mountain Canaan (; Phoenician: š¤Šš¤š¤š¤ ā€“ ; he, כְּנַעַן ā€“ , in pausa ā€“ ; grc-bib, Ī§Ī±Ī½Ī±Ī±Ī½ ā€“ ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...
and the
Otter Creek Wilderness The Otter Creek Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness area located in the Cheat-Potomac Ranger District of Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia, USA. The Wilderness sits in a bowl-shaped valley formed by Otter Creek, between McGowan Mountain and ...
.


Crabtree Woods

Crabtree Woods Crabtree may refer to: People * Crabtree (surname) Places * Crabtree, California * Crabtree, North Carolina, an unincorporated community in Haywood County, United States * Crabtree, Oregon * Crabtree, Pennsylvania * Crabtree, Plymouth, a subu ...
, on the northwest slopes of Backbone Mountain, is in the
Potomac-Garrett State Forest Potomac State Forest is an 11,535-acre state forest in the state of Maryland near Oakland. The forest offers a wide range of outdoor recreation opportunities, such as cross-country skiing, camping, fishing, hiking, and hunting. See alsoMaryland F ...
. It constitutes Maryland's largest surviving remnant of old-growth forest: over of mixed Appalachian hardwoods (
sugar maple ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the prima ...
,
red oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera '' ...
,
basswood ''Tilia americana'' is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Oklahoma, southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to ...
and cucumber tree).McCarthy, B.C. and D.R. Bailey (1996)
"Composition, structure, and disturbance of Crabtree Woods: an old-growth forest of western Maryland"
''Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club'' 123(4), pp. 350ā€“365.


See also

*
Outline of Maryland The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the U.S. state of Maryland: Maryland ā€“ U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District o ...
*
Index of Maryland-related articles The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the U.S. state of Maryland. 0ā€“9 * .md.us ā€“ Internet second-level domain for the state of Maryland A *Adjacent states and federal district: ** ** ** ** ** *Agriculture in ...
*
Blackwater Canyon Blackwater Canyon is a rugged, heavily wooded, long gorge carved by the Blackwater River in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. For many years, it has been the object of controversy as environmental activists have contended wit ...
* List of U.S. states by elevation *
Monongahela National Forest The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally managed land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Regi ...


References


External links

* * {{Monongahela National Forest Ridges of Maryland Ridges of West Virginia Landforms of Garrett County, Maryland Landforms of Preston County, West Virginia Landforms of Tucker County, West Virginia Monongahela National Forest