North Mountain is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

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 ...

within 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 extending ...

in the

U.S. states In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

Geography

North Mountain spans from 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 Augus ...

in the north to the community of Green Spring in Frederick County, Virginia in the south. The ridge is divided into two sections; the north and south spans. The north span consists of the portion of the ridge from the Potomac to the town of

Hedgesville Hedgesville is a town in Berkeley County, West Virginia, United States, in the state's Eastern Panhandle region. The population was 318 at the 2010 census. The town sits on WV 9, and is roughly 13 miles east of Berkeley Springs. In addition to ...

, West Virginia, which lies to the south within

Skinners Gap Skinners Gap (elevation: ) is a mountain pass in the U.S. state of West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geo ...

in between the mountain's two spans. The northern span is characterized by lower elevations, its highest point is just north of Hedgesville, and numerous gaps at valley floor elevations. The southern span consists of the remaining of ridge line and is noticeably higher in elevation, containing the mountain's highest point of above

sea-level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

at its Roundtop summit near

Arden Arden may refer to: Places ;Australia *Arden, an area in North Melbourne, Victoria near the Arden Street Oval ;Canada * Arden, Ontario ;Denmark * Arden, Denmark, a town **Arden Municipality, a former municipality, including the town of Arden ; ...

in Berkeley County, West Virginia. The southern section also contains many gaps, but all are several hundred feet above the valley floor. Back Creek Valley lies to the mountain ridge's west and the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

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. The Roundtop summit was the location of Cowpuncher, a Presidential Emergency Facility serving Washington, D.C., during the Cold War. The facility consisted of microwave communication relay towers.

Variant names

According to the

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...

, North Mountain has also widely been known as Great Ridge and Little North Mountain, when in comparison to the much larger

Great North Mountain Great North Mountain is a long mountain ridge within the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia. The ridge is located west of the Shenandoah Valley and Massanutten Mountain in Virginia, and east of the A ...

to the south.

Summits, knobs and gaps

Although North Mountain is a continuous mountain ridge, it is made up of a number of summits, knobs and gaps with individual names. These are listed from north to south. * Potato Hill, * Skinners Gap, 640 feet (

Hedgesville, West Virginia Hedgesville is a town in Berkeley County, West Virginia, United States, in the state's Eastern Panhandle region. The population was 318 at the 2010 census. The town sits on WV 9, and is roughly 13 miles east of Berkeley Springs. In addition to ...

) * High Knob, * Parks Gap, 1,100 feet (Dry Run Road) * Boyds Gap, 1,480 feet (Tuscarora Pike) * Roundtop, * Mills Gap, 1,180 feet (Apple Harvest Drive and Gerrardstown Road) * Dutton Gap, 1,290 feet {{Mountains of West Virginia Landforms of Berkeley County, West Virginia Landforms of Frederick County, Virginia Ridges of Virginia Ridges of West Virginia