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 Allegheny Mountains and Cacapon River in West Virginia.

Geography
Great North Mountain is oriented along a northeast-southwest axis from its southern terminus along the North Fork Shenandoah River in Rockingham County, Virginia to its northern terminus at U.S. Route 522 in Frederick County, Virginia. In the south, the initial  of the ridge is known  Church Mountain. For much of its length, the mountain forms the border between Virginia and West Virginia, in two separate stretches; starting  north of its southern terminus at the border of Hardy County, West Virginia, Rockingham County, Virginia and Shenandoah County, Virginia, for  with a  break where the border shifts east to Paddy Mountain around Wilson Cove, followed by an additional  stretch to the north.

The ridge reaches its greatest elevation, , at the peak of Mill Mountain, on the border between Hardy County, West Virginia, and Shenandoah County, Virginia, in the George Washington National Forest. The mountain is crossed by U.S. Route 48 and West Virginia and Virginia routes 55 between Wardensville, West Virginia, and Strasburg, Virginia.

Variant names
According to the Geographic Names Information System, Great North Mountain has been known by the following names:

 Big North Mountain
 Greater North Mountain
 Greater North Mountains
 North Mountain
 North Mountains

The Board on Geographic Names handed down two official decisions concerning the mountain's name in the years 1941 and 1967. In 1941, the board decided upon the name Big North Mountain and in 1967, it chose Great North Mountain. Both of these name changes were made in order to differentiate the mountain from North Mountain to the north.

Local Sites of Interest
Part of Great North Mountain is within the George Washington National Forest, which offers many hiking and hunting trails, such as the Seven Springs trail, and those leading to an overlook on Big Schloss, a peak in the area.

Beside the small town of Orkney Springs, Virginia, at the foot of the mountain, is Shrine Mont, a retreat and conference center owned by the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.  The retreat includes the Cathedral Shrine of the Transfiguration and The Virginia House (formerly known as the Orkney Springs Hotel).

Notes and references

External links
 

Category:Landforms of Frederick County, Virginia
Category:Ridges of Hampshire County, West Virginia
Category:Ridges of Hardy County, West Virginia
Category:Landforms of Shenandoah County, Virginia
Category:Ridges of Virginia
Category:Ridges of West Virginia