The Roaring Plains West Wilderness is a

U.S. Wilderness Area The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federally managed wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally designated wilderness areas is coordinated by the Na ...

in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It is part of the Monongahela National Forest and includes

Mount Porte Crayon Mount Porte Crayon is a mountain in the Roaring Plains Wilderness of the Monongahela National Forest in the northeastern corner of Randolph County, West Virginia, USA. It rises to an elevation of , the elevational climax of the Allegheny Front. T ...

, the sixth highest point in the state. Known as "Roaring Plains West" to the advocates of a much larger area (15,138 acres) of proposed wilderness preservation, the RPW consists of set aside by the Wild Monongahela Act, which was made law on 30 March 2009. (There are also areas known as "Roaring Plains North" and "Roaring Plains East" not included in the WMA.) Along with neighboring Flatrock Plains, these areas comprise the highest plateau in the eastern United States.

Geography

The Roaring Plains and Flatrock Plains areas include portions of

Randolph Randolph may refer to: Places In the United States * Randolph, Alabama, an unincorporated community * Randolph, Arizona, a populated place * Randolph, California, a village merged into the city of Brea * Randolph, Illinois, an unincorporated commun ...

and

Pendleton Pendleton may refer to: Places ;United Kingdom *Pendleton, Lancashire, England *Pendleton, Greater Manchester, England ;United States *Pendleton, Indiana * Pendleton, Missouri *Pendleton, New York *Pendleton, Oregon *Pendleton, South Carolina *Pe ...

Counties. These high-elevation plateaux, which encompass the highest sphagnum

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

s in West Virginia, consist of vast expanses of rocky, tree-studded plains surrounded by rock outcrops and cliffs offering impressive views of the surrounding mountain ridges. Elevations range from 2,360 to and the area includes the Allegheny Front, the name for 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 this area. The bogs serve to regulate stream flow at the headwaters for both sides of the Front. Recreational trails provide loops within the area as well as connecting to Red Creek Plains,

Dolly Sods Wilderness The Dolly Sods Wilderness – originally simply Dolly Sods – is a U.S. Wilderness Area in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, US, and is part of the Monongahela National Forest (MNF) of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). Dolly Sods ...

and even further north to Canaan Valley. An average of 180 inches (15 ft) of snow falls on the area annually, affording opportunities for

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

and

snowshoeing Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footwe ...

. Snow typically falls from early October into early May. Blizzard conditions can frequent the high ground above 4,000 feet from November into April making travel perilous at times. About 5.5 square miles (14 square km) lie at or above the 4,500 foot contour, making this the largest and highest flat-topped plateau in eastern North America.

Ecology

The dominant vegetation in the RPW consists of a mesic habitat with red spruce, mixed hardwoods and open brush terrain. Extensive and virtually impenetrable mountain laurel and

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

thickets are also present. (The former bloom spectacularly in late June with pink and white blossoms.) The seven known high-elevation wetlands (sphagnum bogs) provide habitat to rare plants and animals such as the snowshoe hare,

bog lemming ''Synaptomys'' is a genus of North American lemmings. These animals live in wet forested and open areas. They are small, cylindrical rodents with large heads and short ears, legs, and tails. They eat green vegetation such as grasses and sedges. ...

bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...

and

fisher Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia *Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elect ...

. The area provides protection to the federally threatened Cheat Mountain salamander. Deer, turkey, black bear and other native animals are abundant.

References

Citations

Other sources

* Core, Earl L. (1939), "The Flora of Roaring Plains, West Virginia", '' Proc. W.Va. Acad. Sci.'', 12:33-35.

External links