Great North Mountain is a 50 miles (80.5 km) long mountain range

Mountain range

A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...

 within the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians

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 from southeastern New York through northwestern New...

 in the U.S. states of Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 and West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

. The range is located west of the Shenandoah Valley

Shenandoah Valley

The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...

  and Massanutten Mountain

Massanutten Mountain

Massanutten Mountain is a synclinal ridge in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, located in the U.S. state of Virginia.-Geography:The mountain bisects the Shenandoah Valley just east of Strasburg in Shenandoah County in the north, to its highest peak east of Harrisonburg in Rockingham County in the...

 in Virginia, and east of the Allegheny Mountains

Allegheny Mountains

The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...

 and Cacapon River

Cacapon River

The Cacapon River , located in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle region, is an river known for its fishing, boating, wildlife, and scenery...

 in West Virginia.

Geography

Great North Mountain runs northeast-southwest from its southern terminus at Cove Run Creek in Hardy County, West Virginia

Hardy County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,669 people, 5,204 households, and 3,564 families residing in the county. The population density was 22 people per square mile . There were 7,115 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile...

 to its northern terminus at U.S. Route 50

U.S. Route 50

U.S. Route 50 is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching just over from Ocean City, Maryland on the Atlantic Ocean to West Sacramento, California. Until 1972, when it was replaced by Interstate Highways west of the Sacramento area, it extended to San Francisco, near...

 in Frederick County, Virginia

Frederick County, Virginia

Frederick County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is included in the Winchester, Virginia-West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was formed in 1743 by the splitting of Orange County. For ten years it was the home of George Washington. As of 2010, the population was...

. A 14 miles (22.5 km) stretch of the ridge forms the border between Virginia and West Virginia, starting 2.25 miles (3.6 km) from its southern terminus.

The mountain reaches its greatest elevation, 3293 feet (1,003.7 m), at the peak of Mill Mountain

Mill Mountain

Mill Mountain is a large flat-topped mountain forming the eastern end of Festive Plateau in the Cook Mountains. This mountain was probably sighted by the Discovery expedition under Captain Robert F. Scott, who gave the name "Mount Mill," after British Antarctic historian Hugh Robert Mill, to a...

, on the border between Hardy County

Hardy County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,669 people, 5,204 households, and 3,564 families residing in the county. The population density was 22 people per square mile . There were 7,115 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile...

, West Virginia, and Shenandoah County

Shenandoah County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 35,075 people, 14,296 households, and 10,064 families residing in the county. The population density was 68 people per square mile . There were 16,709 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile...

, Virginia, in the George Washington National Forest. The mountain is crossed by West Virginia and Virginia routes 55 between Wardensville, West Virginia

Wardensville, West Virginia

Wardensville is a town in Hardy County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 246 at the 2000 census. Originally named Trout Run, Wardensville was chartered in Virginia in 1832 and incorporated in West Virginia in 1879. It is named for the town's first merchant. It is home to Trout...

, and Strasburg, Virginia

Strasburg, Virginia

Strasburg is a town in Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States, which was founded in 1761 by Peter Stover. It is the largest town, population-wise, in the county and is known for its pottery, antiques, and Civil War history...

.

Variant names

According to the Geographic Names Information System

Geographic Names Information System

The Geographic Names Information System is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout the United States of America and its territories. It is a type of gazetteer...

, 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

North Mountain (Virginia-West Virginia)

North Mountain is a mountain ridge within the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia.-Geography:North Mountain spans from the Potomac River in the north to the community of Green Spring in Frederick County, Virginia in the south. The ridge is divided into...

 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

Big Schloss

Big Schloss is a peak in the Great North Mountain range of the Ridge and Valley Appalachians, with an elevation of . The peak is located in George Washington National Forest on the border of Virginia and West Virginia, though according to Topozone, the actual summit is in Virginia. The trail is...

, a peak in the area.

The small town of Orkney Springs, Virginia

Orkney Springs, Virginia

Orkney Springs is an unincorporated community in western Shenandoah County, Virginia. The use of the name 'Orkney' is unknown, but believed to be tied to either the Orkney Islands off the coast of Scotland or the Earl of Orkney. The 'Springs' comes from the numerous underground mineral springs in...

, near the mountain, is the home of Shrine Mont, the Cathedral Shrine of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia

Episcopal Diocese of Virginia

The Diocese of Virginia is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America encompassing 38 counties in the northern and central parts of the state of Virginia. The diocese was organized in 1785 and is one of the Episcopal Church's nine original dioceses. However, the diocese has...

. This includes the Shrine Mont Hotel (the Virginia House), the Shrine itself, and the labyrinth.