Editing Appalachian Mountains (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Appalachian Mountains of North America.jpg|thumb|Appalachian Mountains broken down by physiographic division, provinces, and sections]]
Perhaps partly because the range runs through large portions of both the United States and Canada, and partly because the range was formed over numerous geologic time periods, one of which is sometimes termed [[Alleghanian orogeny|the Appalachian orogeny]], writing communities struggle to agree on an encyclopedic definition of the mountain range. However, each of the governments has an agency that informs the public about the major [[landform]]s that make up the countries, the [[United States Geological Survey]] (USGS) and the [[Geological Survey of Canada]] (GSC). The landforms are referred to as [[Physiographic region|physiographic regions.]] The regions create precise boundaries from which maps can be drawn. The Appalachian Highlands is the name of one of the eight [[Physiographic regions of the United States|physiographic regions of the contiguous 48 United States.]]<ref name="USGS-Water" />
The Appalachian Uplands is the name of one of seven physiographic regions of Canada.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Atlas of Canada - Physiographic Regions 
|url=https://atlas.gc.ca/phys/en/index.html 
|access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Government of Canada|date=September 12, 2016 
}}</ref>

===Appalachian Highlands of the United States===
[[File:Appalachian Highlands.jpg|thumb|Appalachian Highlands physiographic provinces]]
The second level in the physiographic classification schema for the USGS is "province", the same word as Canada uses to divide its political subdivisions, meaning that the terminology used by the two countries do not match below the region level. The lowest level of classification is "section".<ref name="USGS-Water" />

{{bulleted list |[[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]], including the Uplands and Lowlands sections |[[Blue Ridge Mountains|Blue Ridge]], including the Northern and Southern sections |[[Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians|Valley and Ridge]], including Tennessee, Middle, and [[Hudson Valley]] sections |[[St. Lawrence Valley]], including only the Champlain section{{Efn|Originally the intent was that there would be two sections, the Champlain and the Northern section, however the dividing line was never officially determined}} |[[Appalachian Plateau]]s, including the Mohawk, [[Catskill Mountains|Catskill]], Southern New York, [[Allegheny Mountains|Allegheny Mountain]], Kanawha, [[Cumberland Plateau]], and [[Cumberland Mountains|Cumberland Mountain]] sections |[[New England]], including the [[New England Seaboard|Seaboard Lowland]], [[New England Uplands|New England Upland]], [[White Mountains (New Hampshire)|White Mountains]], [[Green Mountains]], and [[Taconic Mountains]] |[[Adirondack Mountains|Adirondack]]  with no sections}}

===Appalachian Uplands of Canada===
[[File:Appalachian Uplands by SubRegion.jpg|thumb|Appalachian Uplands of [[Canada]]'s 13 divisions]]
[[File:Saint Simon de Rimouski 004.jpg|thumb|The hills of the [[Notre Dame Mountains]] in [[Quebec]], Canada]]
The Appalachian Uplands are one of the seven physiographic divisions in [[Canada]]. Canada's GSC does not use the same classification system as the USGS below the division level. The agency does break the divisions of the Appalachian Uplands into 13 subsections that are in four different political provinces of Canada.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Atlas of Canada - Physiographic Regions |url=https://atlas.gc.ca/phys/en/index.html |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Government of Canada|date=September 12, 2016 }}</ref>
{{bulleted list |Newfoundland contains the [[Newfoundland Highland forests|Newfoundland Highlands]], [[Atlantic Upland]]s, and [[Central Lowlands]] |Nova Scotia contains the Atlantic Uplands, Nova Scotia Uplands, and the Annapolis Lowlands |New Brunswick contains the New Brunswick Highlands, the Chaleur Uplands, and the [[Maritime Plain]] |Quebec contains the [[Notre Dame Mountains]], Eastern Quebec Uplands, Sutton Mountains, and Mégantic Hills }}
While the Appalachian Highlands and Appalachian Uplands are generally continuous across the U.S./Canadian border, the St. Lawrence Valley area is handled differently in the physiographic classification schemas. The part of the St. Lawrence Valley in the United States is one of the second-level classifications, part of the Appalachian Highlands. In Canada, the area is part of the first-level classification, the [[St. Lawrence Lowlands]]. This includes the area around the city of Montreal, [[Anticosti Island]], and the northwest coastline of Newfoundland. 
The dissected plateau area, while not actually made up of geological mountains, is popularly called "mountains", especially in eastern Kentucky and West Virginia, and while the ridges are not high, the terrain is extremely rugged. In Ohio and New York, some of the plateau has been [[Glaciated rock|glaciated]], which has rounded off the sharp ridges and filled the valleys to some extent. The glaciated regions are usually referred to as hill country rather than mountains.
<!--=== to be added:Areas around the Appalachian Mountains not included in the physiographic definition===-->
<!-- The following text is based on the Allegheny/Appalachian orogeny and not based on physiographic regions. The text remains here for further discussion. 
The Appalachians do not include the [[Adirondack Mountains]], a distinct and growing range that is a part of the [[Canadian Shield]] and belongs to the [[Grenville Orogeny]].<ref name="geomorph">{{Cite web |url=http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/geomorphology/GEO_2/GEO_PLATE_T-11.shtml |title=Geomorphology From Space&nbsp;– Appalachian Mountains |publisher=[[NASA]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206045710/http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/geomorphology/GEO_2/GEO_PLATE_T-11.shtml |archive-date=December 6, 2007 |access-date=December 27, 2007}}</ref><ref
 name=peakbag>{{cite peakbagger |rid=1507
|name=Adirondack Mountains |access-date=December 27, 2007}}
</ref><ref
 name=weidensaul>{{cite book |last= Weidensaul |first= Scott
|title= Mountains of the Heart: A Natural History of the Appalachians
|year= 1994
|publisher= Fulcrum Publishing |isbn= 978-1-55591-139-3 |pages= ix |author-link= Scott Weidensaul}}
</ref>-->

===Range characteristics===
{{See also|List of subranges of the Appalachian Mountains}}
[[File:Appalachian Trail- Totts Gap to Mount Minsi (19) (10355303223).jpg|thumb|The Appalachian Trail at [[Mount Minsi]] in [[Northampton County, Pennsylvania]], in the [[Lehigh Valley]]]]
[[File:Appalachian Mountains from International Space Station.jpg|thumb|The Appalachian Mountains seen from the [[International Space Station]]]]
The Appalachian belt includes the plateaus sloping southward to the [[Atlantic Ocean]] in [[New England]], and southeastward to the border of the [[coastal plain]] through the central and southern Atlantic states; and on the northwest, the Allegheny and Cumberland plateaus declining toward the Great Lakes and the interior plains. A remarkable feature of the belt is the longitudinal chain of broad valleys, including the [[Great Appalachian Valley]], which in the southerly sections divides the mountain system into two unequal portions, but in the northernmost lies west of all the ranges possessing typical Appalachian features, and separates them from the Adirondack group. The mountain system has no axis of dominating altitudes, but in every portion, the summits rise to rather uniform heights, and, especially in the central section, the various ridges and intermontane valleys have the same trend as the system itself. None of the summits reaches the region of perpetual snow.<ref name="EB1911" />

In [[Pennsylvania]], there are over sixty summits that rise over {{convert|2500|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}; the summits of [[Mount Davis (Pennsylvania)|Mount Davis]] and [[Blue Knob (Pennsylvania)|Blue Knob]] rise over {{convert|3000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}. In Maryland, Eagle Rock and [[Dans Mountain]] are conspicuous points reaching {{convert|3162|and|2882|ft|m|abbr=on}} respectively. On the same side of the Great Valley, south of the Potomac, are the Pinnacle {{convert|3007|ft}} and Pidgeon Roost {{convert|3400|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name="EB1911" /> In West Virginia, more than 150 peaks rise above {{convert|4000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}, including [[Spruce Mountain (West Virginia)|Spruce Knob]] {{convert|4863|ft|abbr=on}}, the highest point in the [[Allegheny Mountains]]. A number of other points in the state rise above {{convert|4800|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}. [[Cheat Mountain]] ([[Snowshoe Mountain]]) at Thorny Flat {{convert|4848|ft|abbr=on}} and [[Bald Knob]] {{convert|4842|ft|abbr=on}} are among the more notable peaks in West Virginia.

The [[Blue Ridge Mountains]], rising in southern Pennsylvania and there known as [[South Mountain (Maryland and Pennsylvania)|South Mountain]], attain elevations of about {{convert|2000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}} in Pennsylvania. South Mountain achieves its highest point just below the [[Mason-Dixon]] line in [[Maryland]] at [[Quirauk Mountain]] {{convert|2145|ft|abbr=on}} and then diminishes in height southward to the [[Potomac River]]. Once in [[Virginia]], the Blue Ridge again reaches {{convert|2000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}} and higher. In the Virginia Blue Ridge, the following are some of the highest peaks north of the [[Roanoke River]]: Stony Man {{convert|4031|ft|abbr=on}}, [[Hawksbill Mountain]] {{convert|4066|ft|abbr=on}}, [[Apple Orchard Mountain]] {{convert|4225|ft|abbr=on}} and [[Peaks of Otter]] {{convert|4001|and|3875|ft|abbr=on}}. South of the Roanoke River, along the Blue Ridge, are Virginia's highest peaks including [[Whitetop Mountain]] {{convert|5520|ft|abbr=on}} and [[Mount Rogers (Virginia)|Mount Rogers]] {{convert|5729|ft|abbr=on}}, the highest point in the Commonwealth.

Chief summits in the southern section of the Blue Ridge are located along two main crests, the Western or Unaka Front along the [[Tennessee]]-[[North Carolina]] border and the Eastern Front in North Carolina, or one of several "cross ridges" between the two main crests. Major subranges of the Eastern Front include the [[Black Mountains (North Carolina)|Black Mountains]], [[Great Craggy Mountains]], and [[Great Balsam Mountains]], and its chief summits include [[Grandfather Mountain]] {{convert|5964|ft|m|abbr=on}} near the Tennessee-North Carolina border, [[Mount Mitchell]] {{convert|6684|ft|m|abbr=on}} in the Blacks, and [[Black Balsam Knob]] {{convert|6214|ft|m|abbr=on}} and [[Cold Mountain (North Carolina)|Cold Mountain]] {{convert|6030|ft|m|abbr=on}} in the Great Balsams. The Western Blue Ridge Front is subdivided into the [[Unaka Range]], the [[Bald Mountains]], the [[Great Smoky Mountains]], and the [[Unicoi Mountains]], and its major peaks include [[Roan Mountain (Roan Highlands)|Roan Mountain]] {{convert|6285|ft|m|abbr=on}} in the Unakas, Big Bald {{convert|5516|ft|m|abbr=on}} and [[Max Patch]] {{convert|4616|ft|m|abbr=on}} in the Bald Mountains, [[Kuwohi]] {{convert|6643|ft|m|abbr=on}}, [[Mount Le Conte (Tennessee)|Mount Le Conte]] {{convert|6593|ft|m}}, and [[Mount Guyot (Great Smoky Mountains)|Mount Guyot]] {{convert|6621|ft|m|abbr=on}} in the Great Smokies, and [[Big Frog Mountain]] {{convert|4224|ft|m|abbr=on}} near the Tennessee-[[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]-North Carolina border. Prominent summits in the cross ridges include [[Waterrock Knob]] ({{convert|6292|ft|m|abbr=on}}) in the [[Plott Balsams]]. Across northern Georgia, numerous peaks exceed {{convert|4000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}, including [[Brasstown Bald]], the state's highest, at {{convert|4784|and|4696|ft|m|adj=on|abbr=on}} [[Rabun Bald]]. In north-central [[Alabama]], [[Mount Cheaha]] rises prominently to {{convert|1445|ft|m}} over its surroundings, as part of the southernmost spur of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Highest Peaks in each U.S. state and Canadian province in the Appalachian Mountains
!State or Province 
!Country 
!Physiographic Area 
!Highest Peak !! Elev. (feet)
!Elev. (meters)!! Geographic Coordinates
|-
| Alabama || USA|| Appalachian Plateau||[[Cheaha Mountain]] ||align="right" | 2,407 || align="right"|734 || 33.4869° N 85.8091° W
|-
| Georgia || USA|| Blue Ridge || [[Brasstown Bald]] || align="right" | 4,784 ||align="right" | 1,457 || 34.8745° N 83.8063° W
|-
| Kentucky || USA||Appalachian Plateau|| [[Black Mountain (Kentucky)|Black Mountain]] || align="right" | 4,145 || align="right"| 1,263 || 36.9022° N 82.9144° W
|-
| Maine || USA ||New England|| [[Mount Katahdin]] || align="right" | 5,269 ||align="right" | 1,606 || 45.9046° N 68.9216° W
|-
| Maryland ||USA|| Appalachian Plateau|| [[Backbone Mountain]] ||align="right" | 3,360 || align="right" | 1,024 || 39.4049° N 79.2911° W
|-
|Massachusetts
|USA
|New England
|[[Mount Greylock]]
|align="right"|3,489
|align="right"|1,063
|42.3813° N 73.0957° W
|-
| New Brunswick || Canada || Chaleur Uplands|| [[Mount Carleton]] ||align="right" | 2,690  || align="right" | 820 ||    47.2241° N 66.5233 ° W
|-
| Newfoundland ||Canada||Newfoundland|| [[The Cabox]] ||align="right" | 2,664 || align="right" | 812 || 48.4959° N 58.2903° W
|-
| New Hampshire ||USA|| New England || [[Mount Washington]] ||align="right" | 6,288 || align="right" | 1,917 || 44.1614° N 71.1811° W
|-
| New Jersey ||USA|| Valley and Ridge || [[High Point (New Jersey)|High Point]] ||align="right" | 1,804 || align="right" | 550|| 41.3206° N 74.6616° W
|-
| New York|| USA || Adirondacks|| [[Mount Marcy]]|| align="right" |  5,344 || align="right" |  1,629 || 44.1126° N 73.9235° W
|-
| North Carolina ||USA|| Blue Ridge|| [[Mount Mitchell]] ||align="right" | 6,684 || align="right" | 2,037 || 35.7658° N 82.2655° W
|-
| Nova Scotia || Canada|| Nova Scotia Highlands ||  [[White Hill (Nova Scotia)|White Hill]] || align="right" | 1,755 || align="right" |  535 ||  46.7555° N 60.6350° W
|-
| Ohio || USA|| Appalachian Plateau || [[Campbell Hill (Ohio)|Campbell Hill]] ||align="right" | 1,549 || align="right" | 472 || 40.3888° N 83.6381° W
|-
| Pennsylvania || USA|| Appalachian Plateau|| [[Mount Davis (Pennsylvania)|Mount Davis]] ||align="right" | 3,213 ||  align="right"| 979 || 39.7866° N 79.1751° W
|-
| Quebec || Canada || [[Notre Dame Mountains]] || [[Mont Jacques-Cartier]] || align="right" | 4,160 || align="right" | 1,268 || 48.9906° N 65.9425° W
|-
| South Carolina ||USA|| Blue Ridge|| [[Sassafras Mountain]] ||align="right" | 3,553 || align="right" | 1,083 || 35.0632° N 82.3062° W
|-
| Tennessee || USA|| Blue Ridge || [[Kuwohi]] ||align="right" | 6,643 || align="right" | 2,025 || 35.5625° N 83.4989° W
|-
| Vermont || USA || Green Mountains || [[Mount Mansfield]] || align="right" | 4,395 || align="right" | 1,340 ||  44.5439° N 72.8143° W
|-
| Virginia ||USA|| Blue Ridge|| [[Mount Rogers]] ||align="right" | 5,729 || align="right" | 1,746 || 36.6586° N 81.5438° W
|-
| West Virginia ||USA || Appalachian Plateau|| [[Spruce Mountain (West Virginia)|Spruce Knob]] ||align="right" | 4,863 || align="right" | 1,482 || 38.6992° N 79.5327° W
|}

=== Categorization of Appalachian mountains before physiographic regions ===
Sources written prior to the recognition of the concept of physiographic regions divided the Appalachian Mountains into three major sections:<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Appalachian Mountains|volume=2|pages=207–208|first=Arthur Coe|last=Spencer}}</ref>{{efn|Description used by 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica that is now in the public domain}}
[[File:Mt. Washington from Bretton Woods.JPG|thumb|Mt. Washington, NH from Bretton Woods]]
* Northern: The northern section runs from the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian province]] of [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] to the [[Hudson River]]. It includes the [[Long Range Mountains]] and [[Annieopsquotch Mountains]] on the island of Newfoundland, the French Territorial Collectivity of [[Saint-Pierre and Miquelon]]  southwest of Newfoundland, [[Chic-Choc Mountains]] and [[Notre Dame Mountains|Notre Dame Range]] in [[Quebec]] and [[New Brunswick]], scattered elevations and small ranges elsewhere in [[Nova Scotia]] and New Brunswick, the [[Longfellow Mountains]] in [[Maine]], the [[White Mountains (New Hampshire)|White Mountains]] in [[New Hampshire]], the [[Green Mountains]] in [[Vermont]], and [[Berkshires|The Berkshires]] in [[Massachusetts]], and [[Connecticut]], the [[Metacomet Ridge|Metacomet Ridge Mountains]] in Connecticut and south-central Massachusetts, and the [[Adirondack Mountains]] in New York are all part of the Appalachian Mountains as defined by the governments of Canada and the United States.{{pb}}Mountains of the [[Long Range Mountains|Long Range]] in Newfoundland, such as [[the Cabox]] and [[Gros Morne (Newfoundland)|Gros Morne]], reach heights of nearly {{convert|2700|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}. In the Chic-Choc and Notre Dame Mountain ranges in Quebec, the higher summits rise above {{convert|4000|ft|m|abbr=on}} in elevation. Isolated peaks and small ranges in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick vary from {{convert|1000|to|2700|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}. In [[Maine]], several peaks exceed {{convert|4000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}, including [[Mount Katahdin]] at {{convert|5267|ft}}. In [[New Hampshire]], many summits rise above {{convert|5000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}, including [[Mount Washington (New Hampshire)|Mount Washington]] in the [[White Mountains (New Hampshire)|White Mountains]] at {{convert|6288|ft|m|abbr=on}}, [[Mount Adams (New Hampshire)|Adams]] at {{convert|5771|ft|m|abbr=on}}, [[Mount Jefferson (New Hampshire)|Jefferson]] at {{convert|5712|ft|m|abbr=on}}, [[Mount Monroe|Monroe]] at {{convert|5380|ft|m|abbr=on}}, [[Mount Madison|Madison]] at {{convert|5367|ft|m|abbr=on}}, [[Mount Lafayette|Lafayette]] at {{convert|5249|ft|m}}, and [[Mount Lincoln (New Hampshire)|Lincoln]] at {{convert|5089|ft|m|abbr=on}}. In the [[Green Mountains]] the highest point, [[Mount Mansfield|Mt. Mansfield]], is {{convert|4393|ft|m|abbr=on}} in elevation; others include [[Killington Peak]] at {{convert|4226|ft|m|abbr=on}}, [[Camel's Hump]] at {{convert|4083|ft|m|abbr=on}}, [[Mount Abraham (Vermont)|Mt. Abraham]] at {{convert|4006|ft|m|abbr=on}}, and a number of other heights exceeding {{convert|3000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}.<ref name="EB1911" /><ref name="geomorph">{{Cite web |url=http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/geomorphology/GEO_2/GEO_PLATE_T-11.shtml |title=Geomorphology From Space&nbsp;– Appalachian Mountains |publisher=[[NASA]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206045710/http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/geomorphology/GEO_2/GEO_PLATE_T-11.shtml |archive-date=December 6, 2007 |access-date=December 27, 2007}}</ref><ref name="weidensaul">{{cite book |last= Weidensaul |first= Scott
|title= Mountains of the Heart: A Natural History of the Appalachians
|year= 1994
|publisher= Fulcrum Publishing |isbn= 978-1-55591-139-3 |pages= ix |author-link= Scott Weidensaul}}
</ref>

[[File:WV plateau.jpg|thumb|A shaded map of the [[Cumberland Plateau]] and [[Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians]] on the [[Virginia]]–[[West Virginia]] border]]
* Central: The central section runs from the [[Hudson Valley]] in [[New York (state)|New York]] to the [[New River (Kanawha River)|New River]] through the [[Lehigh Valley]] and central [[Pennsylvania]] and western [[Maryland]] to western [[Virginia]] and [[West Virginia]]. The central region comprises the [[Ridge-and-valley Appalachians|Valley Ridges]] between the [[Allegheny Front]] of the [[Allegheny Plateau]] and the [[Great Appalachian Valley]], the [[New York–New Jersey Highlands]], the [[Taconic Mountains]] in New York, and a large portion of the [[Blue Ridge Mountains|Blue Ridge]]. In addition to the true folded mountains, known as the [[Ridge-and-valley Appalachians|ridge and valley province]], the area of [[dissected plateau]] to the north and west of the mountains is usually grouped with the Appalachians. This includes the [[Catskill Mountains]] of Lower New York, the [[Pocono Mountains|Poconos]] in [[Pennsylvania]], and the [[Allegheny Plateau]] of New York's [[Southern Tier]] region, western Pennsylvania, eastern [[Ohio]] and northern [[West Virginia]].

[[File:Greene-county-bald-mtns-tn1.jpg|thumb|[[Bald Mountains]] in [[Tennessee]]]]
* Southern: The southern section runs from the [[New River (Kanawha River tributary)|New River]] and consists of the prolongation of the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]], which is divided into the Western Blue Ridge (or Unaka) Front and the Eastern Blue Ridge Front, the [[Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians]], and the [[Cumberland Plateau]]. This same plateau is known as the [[Cumberland Plateau]] in southern West Virginia, eastern [[Kentucky]], far [[Southwest Virginia]], eastern [[Tennessee]], and northern [[Alabama]].