South Branch Mountain is a mountain

Mountain

Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

 ridge

Ridge

A ridge is a geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size. There are several main types of ridges:...

 that runs southwest to northeast through Hampshire

Hampshire County, West Virginia

Hampshire County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 23,964. Its county seat is Romney, West Virginia's oldest town . Hampshire County was created by the Virginia General Assembly on December 13, 1753, from parts of Frederick and Augusta counties ...

 and Hardy

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...

 counties in the Eastern Panhandle

Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia

The Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia is a narrow stretch of territory in the northeast of the state, bordering Maryland and Virginia, United States. The Eastern Panhandle Board of Realtors and other local civic organizations consider only the three Easternmost counties, Jefferson, Berkeley and...

 of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of 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...

, rising to its greatest elevation of 3,028 feet (923 m) above sea-level in the Nathaniel Mountain Wildlife Management Area

Nathaniel Mountain Wildlife Management Area

Nathaniel Mountain Wildlife Management Area is located on south of Romney in Hampshire County, West Virginia. The wildlife management area's principle access road is off of Grassy Lick Road . Nathaniel Mountain is one of West Virginia's largest and most important wildlife management areas...

. South Branch Mountain is among the largest and most prominent of the mountains in 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...

 of the Eastern Panhandle region. It forms the eastern edge of the South Branch Potomac River Valley from Springfield

Springfield, West Virginia

Springfield is an unincorporated census-designated place in northwestern Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, Springfield had a population of 477. Springfield is located north of Romney along West Virginia Route 28 at its junction with Green Spring Road and...

 to Moorefield

Moorefield, West Virginia

Moorefield is a town in Hardy County, West Virginia, USA. Moorefield is the county seat of Hardy County. It was originally chartered in 1777 and named for Conrad Moore, who owned the land upon which the town was laid out...

. The mountain was originally named Jersey Mountain by colonial settlers in the eighteenth century after Jersey

Jersey

Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...

.

The Northwestern Turnpike

Northwestern Turnpike

The Northwestern Turnpike is a historic road in West Virginia , important for being historically one of the major roads crossing the Appalachians, financed by the Virginia Board of Public Works in the 1830s. In modern times, west of Winchester, Virginia, U.S...

 (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...

) climbs South Branch Mountain between Shanks

Shanks, West Virginia

Shanks is an unincorporated community in Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. According to the 2000 census, the Shanks community has a population of 806....

 and Romney

Romney, West Virginia

Romney is a city in and the county seat of Hampshire County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,940 at the 2000 census, while the area covered by the city's ZIP code had a population of 5,873. It is a city with a very historic background dating back to the 18th century...

 in an area known as Sunrise Summit. The forested wetlands that were once located here on the mountain's top were destroyed by the expansive commercial and residential developments in the Sunrise Summit area along US 50. Further south near Moorefield, the construction of Corridor H has caused increased disruption to South Branch Mountain's forests, habitats, and topography

Topography

Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...

.