Laurel Hill (Pennsylvania)
Encyclopedia
Laurel Hill, also known as Laurel Ridge or Laurel Mountain, is a 70 miles (112.7 km) long mountain in Pennsylvania's 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...

. This ridge is flanked by Negro Mountain
Negro Mountain
Negro Mountain is a long ridge of the Allegheny Mountains extending from Deep Creek Lake in Maryland, north to the Casselman River in Pennsylvania, USA. The summit, Mount Davis, is the highest point in Pennsylvania...

 to its east and Chestnut Ridge to its west. The mountain is home to six State Parks; Laurel Ridge State Park
Laurel Ridge State Park
Laurel Ridge State Park is a Pennsylvania state park that passes through Cambria, Fayette, Somerset, and Westmoreland counties, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is home to the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail that runs through the park from the Youghiogheny River at Ohiopyle to the...

, Laurel Mountain State Park
Laurel Mountain State Park
Laurel Mountain State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Ligonier Township, Westmoreland County and Jenner Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania in the United States. This state park is a ski resort that closed for business in 2005. The ski assests of the park were purchased by Seven Springs...

, Linn Run State Park
Linn Run State Park
Linn Run State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Cook and Ligonier Townships, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park borders Forbes State Forest. Two smaller streams, Grove Run and Rock Run, join in Linn Run State Park to form Linn Run which has a waterfall, Adams...

, Kooser State Park
Kooser State Park
Kooser State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Jefferson Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The park, which borders Forbes State Forest, was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, who also built the Kooser Lake by damming Kooser Run. Kooser State...

, Laurel Hill State Park
Laurel Hill State Park
Laurel Hill State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Jefferson and Middlecreek Townships, Somerset County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Laurel Hill Lake is a man-made lake with a dam that was constructed during the Great Depression by the young men of CCC camps SP-8-PA and SP-15-PA...

, and the Ohiopyle State Park
Ohiopyle State Park
Ohiopyle State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Dunbar, Henry Clay and Stewart Townships, Fayette County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The focal point of the park is the more than of the Youghiogheny River Gorge that passes through the park. The river provides some of the best...

. The mountain also holds the 70 miles (112.7 km) long Laurel Highlands Hiking trail that runs along its length.

Two State Forests are also located on this mountain ridge that comprise over 22000 acres (89 km²), they are the Gallitzin State Forest
Gallitzin State Forest
Gallitzin State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #6. The main offices are located in Ebensburg in Cambria County, Pennsylvania in the United States....

 and the Forbes State Forest
Forbes State Forest
Forbes State Forest is a Pennsylvania state forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #4. The main offices are located in Laughlintown in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Mount Davis, the highest peak in Pennsylvania, is located in the forest.The forest was named...

. State Game Lands 42 and 111 are also located on the mountain which also comprise a little over 22000 acres (89 km²).

Laurel Hill has an average elevation of 2700 ft (823 m) along its length, while there are individual "knobs" that do rise above 2900 ft (883.9 m) . The highest point is above the Seven Springs Ski Resort at 2994 ft (912.6 m). Laurel Hill is flanked on its north end by the Conemaugh Gorge and on its south end by the Youghiogheny Gorge, both water gaps being approximately 1700 ft (518.2 m) in depth. The ridge continues north of the Conemaugh Gorge for several miles as Rager Mountain, which reaches about 2,560'. South of the Youghiogheny Gorge, a short ridge, generally still labeled Laurel Hill, at the edge of Ohiopyle State Park, reaches about 2,920'.

The towns of Johnstown
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...

 and Latrobe
Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Latrobe is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in the United States, approximately southeast of Pittsburgh.The city population was 7,634 as of the 2000 census . It is located near the Pennsylvania's scenic Chestnut Ridge. Latrobe was incorporated as a borough in 1854, and as a city in 1999...

 are located on its northern end, while Confluence
Confluence, Pennsylvania
Confluence is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 834 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Confluence is located at ....

 and Farmington
Farmington, Pennsylvania
Farmington is an unincorporated community in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States along the National Road. It is situated about 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, and is the closest settlement to Fort Necessity...

 are located towards its southern end. Two major roadways cross the Laurel Hill, 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...

 and U.S. Route 30 crosses further north. A number of smaller State roads crosses at other points on the mountain.

Geology

Laurel Hill is made up of Mississippian and Pennsylvanian
Pennsylvanian
The Pennsylvanian is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the younger of two subperiods of the Carboniferous Period. It lasted from roughly . As with most other geochronologic units, the rock beds that define the Pennsylvanian are well identified, but the exact date of the start and end are uncertain...

 clastic sedimentary rocks, consisting mostly of conglomerate
Conglomerate (geology)
A conglomerate is a rock consisting of individual clasts within a finer-grained matrix that have become cemented together. Conglomerates are sedimentary rocks consisting of rounded fragments and are thus differentiated from breccias, which consist of angular clasts...

, sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

, and shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...

. Formations include the Burgoon, Mauch Chunk
Mauch Chunk Formation
The Mississippian Mauch Chunk Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. It is named for the borough of Mauch Chunk, now known as Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania.-Description:...

, Pottsville
Pottsville Formation
The Pennsylvanian Pottsville Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, western Maryland, West Virginia, and Ohio. The formation is also recognized in Alabama. It is a major ridge-former In the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians of the eastern United States...

, and Allegheny
Allegheny Formation
The Pennsylvanian Allegheny Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in western and central Pennsylvania, western Maryland and West Virginia, and southeastern Ohio...

. The mountain is anticlinal
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...

 in structure
Structural geology
Structural geology is the study of the three-dimensional distribution of rock units with respect to their deformational histories. The primary goal of structural geology is to use measurements of present-day rock geometries to uncover information about the history of deformation in the rocks, and...

.

Along the length of this ridge there are several prominent knobs that rise from the ridgeline. They are as follows south to north; Sugarloaf Knob
Sugarloaf Knob
Sugarloaf Knob is a well-known summit within Ohiopyle State Park on the south end of the Laurel Ridge. This mountain has a unique profile and can easily be recognized at different lookouts in the park and surrounding area. The Youghiogheny River cuts beneath the "knob" and Laurel Hill creating a ...

 2667 ft (812.9 m), Painter Rock Hill 2920 ft (890 m), Birch Rock Hill 2934 ft (894.3 m), Highpoint 2994 ft (912.6 m), Bald Knob 2930 ft (893.1 m), Ulery Hill 2820 ft (859.5 m) , Pea Vine Hill 2900 ft (883.9 m), Pikes Peak 2840 ft (865.6 m) and Sugar Camp Hill 2908 ft (886.4 m).

Climate

The Laurel Hill region shares the humid continental climate of the Middle Atlantic Region of the United States. The mountain ridge itself however has an influence on the local weather patterns, known as orography
Orography
Orography is the study of the formation and relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain...

. This influence on local patterns can cause air temperatures to be several degrees cooler than the surrounding towns and valleys. A difference of 5-10 degrees cooler can be noted depending on weather variables. The orography along with moisture from the Great Lakes can cause heavy snowfall during winter months.

The mountain ridge is oriented at right angles to approaching weather systems, forcing the prevailing westerly airflows upward. As rising air cools, moisture in the air mass condenses, once reaching the saturation point, precipitation results. Laurel Hill may also act as a barrier to systems and slow the movement of storms having an impact on the local area, forming a "micro-climate". Although this mountain is not high enough to create its own weather, its structure is enough to gently nudge weather from hot to warm, cool to cold and from rain to snow.

Flora and fauna

Laurel Hill has a diversity of habitats and with that comes a variety of birds and mammals. The Raven
Raven
Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...

 and Wild Turkey are frequently seen on this mountain. The Hermit Thrush
Hermit Thrush
The Hermit Thrush is a medium-sized North American thrush. It is not very closely related to the other North American migrant species of Catharus, but rather to the Mexican Russet Nightingale-thrush.-Description:...

, Canada Warbler
Canada Warbler
The Canada Warbler is a small 13 cm long songbird of the New World warbler family.These birds have yellow underparts, blue-grey upperparts and pink legs; they also have yellow eye-rings and thin, pointed bills. Adult males have black foreheads and black necklaces...

, Brown Creeper
Brown Creeper
-Description:Adults are brown on the upperparts with light spotting, resembling a piece of tree bark, with white underparts. They have a long thin bill with a slight downward curve and a long tail. The male creeper has a slightly larger bill than the female...

, and Winter Wren
Winter Wren
The Winter Wren is a very small North American bird and a member of the mainly New World wren family Troglodytidae. It was once lumped with Troglodytes pacificus of western North America and Troglodytes troglodytes of Eurasia under the name Winter Wren.It breeds in coniferous forests from British...

 all nest near the bog at Spruce Flats. During the summer months, Black-Throated and Blue Warblers, Solitary and Red-Eyed Vireos are seen. Raptors on the mountain include the Broad Winged, Red Tailed and Red Shouldered Hawks, along with Barred Owls.

Commonly seen mammals on the mountain include; White-tailed deer
White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...

, chipmunks, Red and Gray squirrels. More elusive animals include the Woodchuck, Raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...

, and Opossum. Black Bear
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...

 have also been seen on this mountain but are shy and reclusive and not likely to be come across.

Snakes also make their home on Laurel Hill including the Timber Rattler
Timber rattler
Timber rattler may refer to:* Crotalus horridus, a.k.a. the timber rattlesnake, a venomous pitviper species found in the eastern United States....

and Copperhead snakes. Caution should be exercised during the summer months when hiking around rocks and scree areas.
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