Wills Mountain is a quartzite-capped ridge in the Ridge and Valley

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...

 physiographic province

Physiographic province

A physiographic province is a geographic region with a specific geomorphology and often specific subsurface rock type or structural elements.A continent may be subdivided into various physiographic provinces, each having a specific character, relief, and environment which contributes to its...

 of the Appalachian Mountains

Appalachian Mountains

The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...

 in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 and Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, USA, extending from near Bedford, Pennsylvania

Bedford, Pennsylvania

Bedford is a borough in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, west of the State Capital, Harrisburg. It is the county seat of Bedford County. Bedford was established in the mid-18th century. Population counts follow: 1890, 2,242; 1900, 2,167; 1910, 2,385. The population was 3,141 at the 2000...

 to near Cumberland, Maryland

Cumberland, Maryland

Cumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...

. It is the northernmost of several mountain ridges included within the Wills Mountain Anticline.

Geography

Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania part of Wills Mountain is in Bedford County

Bedford County, Pennsylvania

Bedford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 49,762. The county seat is Bedford. It is part of the Altoona, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...

, reaching an elevation of 2782 feet (848 m). Although there are mountains in Pennsylvania's Appalachian Plateau

Appalachian Plateau

The Appalachian Plateau is the western part of the Appalachian mountains, stretching from New York and Alabama. The plateau is a second level United States physiographic region....

 that are higher, Wills Mountain is the highest in its Ridge and Valley

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...

 physiographic province

Physiographic province

A physiographic province is a geographic region with a specific geomorphology and often specific subsurface rock type or structural elements.A continent may be subdivided into various physiographic provinces, each having a specific character, relief, and environment which contributes to its...

. Wills Mountain may have the highest prominence

Topographic prominence

In topography, prominence, also known as autonomous height, relative height, shoulder drop , or prime factor , categorizes the height of the mountain's or hill's summit by the elevation between it and the lowest contour line encircling it and no higher summit...

 in Pennsylvania. The mountain ridge begins abruptly near the Juniata River

Juniata River

The Juniata River is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, approximately long, in central Pennsylvania in the United States. The river is considered scenic along much of its route, having a broad and shallow course passing through several mountain ridges and steeply-lined water gaps...

 just north of 2560 feet (780.3 m) Kinton Knob

Kinton Knob

Kinton Knob is a peak in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Kinton Knob marks the north end of Wills Mountain where it abruptly ends just southwest of the town of Bedford. The mountain has an array of communication towers on its summit. Limited views are available from the top, especially in the winter...

, west of Bedford

Bedford, Pennsylvania

Bedford is a borough in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, west of the State Capital, Harrisburg. It is the county seat of Bedford County. Bedford was established in the mid-18th century. Population counts follow: 1890, 2,242; 1900, 2,167; 1910, 2,385. The population was 3,141 at the 2000...

, and just south of the Pennsylvania Turnpike

Pennsylvania Turnpike

The Pennsylvania Turnpike is a toll highway system operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. The three sections of the turnpike system total . The main section extends from Ohio to New Jersey and is long...

. The valley to the south of Kinton Knob is known as Milligans Cove, an excellent geological example of a breached anticline

Anticline

In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core. The term is not to be confused with antiform, which is a purely descriptive term for any fold that is convex up. Therefore if age relationships In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is...

.

Portions of Wills Mountain, including the summit, are located in Pennsylvania State Game Lands No. 48

Pennsylvania State Game Lands

The Pennsylvania State Game Lands are lands managed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission for hunting, trapping, and fishing. These lands, often not usable for farming or development, are donated to the PGC or purchased by the PGC with hunting license monies.The Pennsylvania Game Commission runs a...

, where access to the mountain is limited, with only jeep trails and a gravel road on the ridge. The summit, like Martin Hill

Martin Hill

Martin Hill is a mountain ridge which connects Tussey Mountain to its east and Evitts Mountain to its west. Martin Hill is located in the Martin Hill Wild Area, which is a part of the Buchanan State Forest, in Bedford County, Pennsylvania...

 to the east, has no towers or transmitters. However, access to the summit is difficult, requiring a hike of more than 1800 ft (548.6 m).

Maryland

The Maryland part of Wills Mountain is located in Allegany County

Allegany County, Maryland

Allegany County is a county located in the northwestern part of the US state of Maryland. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 75,087. Its county seat is Cumberland...

, where the mountain rises steeply from the Cumberland Narrows

Cumberland Narrows

The Cumberland Narrows is a water gap in western Maryland in the United States, just west of Cumberland, Maryland. Wills Creek cuts through the central ridge of the Wills Mountain Anticline at a low elevation here between Wills Mountain to the north and Haystack Mountain to the south...

, a water gap

Water gap

A water gap is an opening or notch which flowing water has carved through a mountain range. Water gaps often offer a practical route for road and rail transport to cross mountain ridges.- Geology :...

 west of Cumberland

Cumberland, Maryland

Cumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...

, half a mile (0.8 km) west of the mouth of Warrior Run. From there, the mountain extends northeasterly into Pennsylvania; the mountain's highest elevation in Maryland is 1877 feet (572.1 m).

Haystack Mountain

Haystack Mountain (Maryland)

Haystack Mountain is a mountain ridge in the Ridge and Valley region of the Appalachian Mountains, located in western Maryland just west of the city of Cumberland...

 is on the south side of the Narrows. Geologically, the two mountains are equivalent, both being central ridges of the Wills Mountain Anticline. The Cumberland Narrows was carved into these quartzite-capped mountain ridges by Wills Creek

Wills Creek (North Branch Potomac River)

Wills Creek is a tributary of the North Branch Potomac River in Pennsylvania and Maryland in the United States.Wills Creek drops off the Allegheny Mountains of southeastern Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and enters the North Branch Potomac River at Cumberland, Maryland.-History:thumb|220px|Fort...

, a Potomac River

Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...

 tributary, over millions of years.

The Cumberland Narrows serves as a western gateway from Cumberland to the Appalachian Plateau

Appalachian Plateau

The Appalachian Plateau is the western part of the Appalachian mountains, stretching from New York and Alabama. The plateau is a second level United States physiographic region....

 and the Ohio River Valley

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

 beyond. The Old National Road, now Alternate U.S. 40

U.S. Route 40 Alternate

U.S. Route 40 Alternate may refer to:*U.S. Route 40 Alternate *U.S. Route 40 Alternate *California State Highway 70, formerly U.S. Route 40 Alternate...

, passes through the Narrows, along with the former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...

's main line between Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

/Washington

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 and Pittsburg

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

, now part of the CSX

CSX Transportation

CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...

 system, and a former line of the Western Maryland Railroad, now used by the steam- and diesel-powered excursion train

Excursion train

An excursion train is a chartered train run for a special event or purpose.Examples of excursion trains:* A train to a major sporting event* A train run for railfans or tourism...

s of the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad

Western Maryland Scenic Railroad

The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad is a heritage railroad based in Cumberland, Maryland. It operates over ex-Western Maryland Railway trackage to Frostburg, Maryland and back using both steam and diesel locomotives....

.

A prominent rocky outcropping at the south end of Wills Mountain in the Cumberland Narrows is known as Lover's Leap

Lover's Leap

Lovers' Leap , is a toponym given to a number of locations of varying height, usually isolated, with the risk of a fatal fall and the possibility of a deliberate jump...

.

Geology

Wills Mountain is capped by the erosion-resistant Silurian

Silurian

The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician Period, about 443.7 ± 1.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Devonian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya . As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the...

 Tuscarora quartrzite

Tuscarora Formation

The Silurian Tuscarora Formation — also known as Tuscarora Sandstone or Tuscarora Quartzite — is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia.-Description:...

. The mountain stands in the center of the Wills Mountain Anticline, a geological structure that extends from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 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...

 into 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...

. In this anticline

Anticline

In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core. The term is not to be confused with antiform, which is a purely descriptive term for any fold that is convex up. Therefore if age relationships In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is...

, the Tuscarora and various other rock strata

STRATA

Strata Marketing Inc. is a Chicago, Illinois-based software company involved in connecting media buyers and sellers. It is owned by Comcast. As of 2010, it processes about $50 billion worth of media buys annually.-History:...

 are bent upward, with the erosion-resistant Tuscarora capping the mountain's ridgetop, and more easily eroded Silurian

Silurian

The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician Period, about 443.7 ± 1.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Devonian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya . As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the...

limestones and shales on the mountain's slopes.

External links

• Website offering some land, including Lover's Leap, on Wills Mountain **link goes nowhere, 03-14-2011**