Editing Bedford County, Pennsylvania (section)

==Geology==
[[File:Blue Knob Massif from Sproul.jpg|thumb|Blue Knob, the most northern 3,000 footer in the Allegheny Mountain Range]]
{{main|Geology of Bedford County, Pennsylvania}}
<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:Bedford_County_PA_Geologic_Map_2.jpg|thumb|right|Geologic Map of Bedford County, Pennsylvania, modified from "Geologic Map of Pennsylvania" DCNR Map 7. Explanation: C - Cambrian, O - Ordovician, S - Silurian, D - Devonian, M - Mississippian, P - Pennsylvanian.]] -->

Bedford County is situated along the western border of the Ridge and Valley [[Physiographic regions of the United States|physiographic province]], which is characterized by [[Fold (geology)|folded]] and [[Fault (geology)|faulted]] [[sedimentary rock]]s of early to middle [[Paleozoic]] age. The northwestern border of the county is approximately at the [[Allegheny Front]], a geological boundary between the [[Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians|Ridge and Valley]] Province and the [[Allegheny Plateau]] (characterized by relatively flat-lying [[sedimentary rock]]s of late [[Paleozoic]] age).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/maps/map13.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20060725181418/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/maps/map13.pdf |archive-date=July 25, 2006 |url-status=dead |title=Geology |website=www.dcnr.state.pa.us |access-date=November 20, 2018}}</ref>

The [[Stratigraphy|stratigraphic record]] of sedimentary rocks within the county spans from the Cambrian [[Warrior Formation]] to the Pennsylvanian [[Conemaugh Group]] (in the [[Broad Top]] area). No [[Igneous rock|igneous]] or [[Metamorphic Rock|metamorphic]] rocks of any kind exist within the county.

The primary mountains within the county (From west to east: [[Wills Mountain|Wills]], [[Evitts Mountain|Evitts]], [[Dunning Mountain|Dunning]], and [[Tussey Mountain|Tussey]] mountains) extend from the southern border with [[Maryland]] to the northeast into [[Blair County, Pennsylvania|Blair County]], and are held up by the [[Silurian]] [[Tuscarora Formation]], made of [[quartz]] sandstone and [[Conglomerate (geology)|conglomerate]].  [[Chestnut Ridge, Bedford County|Chestnut Ridge]] is a broad [[anticline]] held up by the [[Devonian]] [[Ridgeley sandstone|Ridgeley Member]] of the [[Old Port Formation]], also made of [[sandstone]] and conglomerate.  [[Broad Top]], located north of Breezewood, is a plateau of relatively flat-lying rocks that are stratigraphically higher, and thus younger ([[Mississippian age|Mississippian]] and [[Pennsylvanian (geology)|Pennsylvanian]]), than most of the other rocks within the county ([[Cambrian]] through [[Devonian]]). Broad Top extends into [[Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania|Huntingdon County]] to the north and [[Fulton County, Pennsylvania|Fulton County]] to the east.

The Raystown Branch of the [[Juniata River]] is the main drainage in the northern two-thirds of the county. The river flows to the east through the mountains within the county through several water gaps caused by a group of faults trending east–west through the central part of the county. The river then turns north and flows into [[Raystown Lake]] in [[Huntingdon County]]. The southern third of the county is drained by several tributaries of the [[Potomac River]]. Both the Potomac and Juniata rivers are part of the [[Chesapeake Bay]] Watershed.

Several limestone quarries exist in Bedford County, most of which are owned and operated by New Enterprise Stone and Lime Company. Quarry locations include Ashcom, New Paris, Kilcoin, and Sproul.<ref>[http://www.nesl.com/Default.aspx?tabid=280&portalid=2000&Pageid=Blair-Bedford Quarry locations]{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Two coal fields exist within Bedford County. One is the Broad Top Field in the northeastern corner of the county, and the other is the Georges Creek Field along the southwestern border.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/maps/map11.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20060725181412/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/maps/map11.pdf |archive-date=July 25, 2006 |url-status=dead |title=Geology |website=www.dcnr.state.pa.us |access-date=November 20, 2018}}</ref> Both fields contain bituminous coal. There are abandoned mines in both areas and [[acid mine drainage]] is an environmental problem in the Broad Top area, where several fishless streams exist as a result of the discharge from the abandoned mines.<ref>[http://bedford.sapdc.org/bedford/lib/bedford/AcidMineDrainage.pdf Acid Mine Drainage]{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

[[Natural gas]] fields and storage areas exist in southeastern Bedford County, primarily within folded [[Devonian]] rocks south of [[Breezewood, Pennsylvania|Breezewood]]. Another deep gas field exists in the vicinity of [[Blue Knob]] on the border with [[Blair County, Pennsylvania|Blair County]] to the north.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/maps/map10.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20060725181405/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/maps/map10.pdf |archive-date=July 25, 2006 |url-status=dead |title=Geology |website=www.dcnr.state.pa.us |access-date=November 20, 2018}}</ref>