The Cumberland Valley is a northern constituent valley of the

Great Appalachian Valley The Great Appalachian Valley, also called The Great Valley or Great Valley Region, is one of the major landform features of eastern North America. It is a gigantic trough—a chain of valley lowlands—and the central feature of the Appalachian ...

, within the

Atlantic Seaboard The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the co ...

watershed in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

. The

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian ...

crosses through the valley.

Geography

The valley is bound to the west and north by the

Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division and are also a belt within the Appalachian Mountains extendin ...

(

Bear Pond Mountains The Bear Pond Mountains are a sub-range in the Appalachian Mountains, that straddle Pennsylvania and Maryland in the United States. These mountains are a part of the Ridge and Valley Appalachians and reach their highest point at Cross Mountain ( ...

/ Blue Mountain), to the east and south by

South Mountain South Mountain or South Mountains may refer to: Canada * South Mountain, a village in North Dundas, Ontario * South Mountain (Nova Scotia), a mountain range * South Mountain (band), a Canadian country music group United States Landforms * Sou ...

, to the northeast by the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

, and to the south by the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia, Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Datas ...

. The portion of the valley residing in Maryland is sometimes referred to as the

Hagerstown Valley Hagerstown Valley is located in Maryland in the United States. It is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, which continues northward as Cumberland Valley in Pennsylvania, and southward as Shenandoah Valley in West Virginia and Virginia. Hagerstown ...

. The

Cumberland Valley Railroad The Cumberland Valley Railroad was an early railroad in Pennsylvania, United States, originally chartered in 1831 to connect with Pennsylvania's Main Line of Public Works. Freight and passenger service in the Cumberland Valley in south central Pe ...

, the

Cumberland Valley AVA The Cumberland Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Washington County in west-central Maryland and Franklin and Cumberland counties in south-central Pennsylvania. Only of the included in the wine appellation are planted t ...

wine region, and the

Cumberland Valley School District The Cumberland Valley School District is a large, rural and suburban public school district located in Central Pennsylvania. It covers Hampden Township, Monroe Township, Middlesex Township and Silver Spring Township in Cumberland County, Penn ...

are named for the region.Cvschools.org: Cumberland Valley School District
/ref>

Settlements

Cities in the Cumberland Valley include

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in P ...

,Cumberland Valley Railroad, March 2002 – Harrisburg Pennsylvania to Winchester Virginia
Retrieved 2011-01-28. and

Hagerstown, Maryland Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census was 43,527, and the population of the Hagerstow ...

. Pennsylvania boroughs include Camp Hill, Mechanicsburg,

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

Shippensburg Shippensburg is a borough in Cumberland and Franklin counties in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Settled in 1730, Shippensburg lies in the Cumberland Valley, southwest of Harrisburg, and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan St ...

Chambersburg Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, and north of Maryland and the Mas ...

, Waynesboro, and Greencastle.

References

External links

Cumberland Valley blogHistory of the Cumberland Valley, Pennsylvania
Valleys of Pennsylvania Valleys of Maryland Landforms of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania Landforms of Franklin County, Pennsylvania Landforms of Washington County, Maryland Regions of Maryland Regions of Pennsylvania {{WashingtonCountyMD-geo-stub

Geography

Settlements

See also

References

External links