Flat Land – No the Allegheny Front

You might think the this area looks remarkably flat, but looks can be deceiving from the Olson Firetower which is on Backbone Mountain at 3,650 feet.

The range in the distance is the Allegheny Front (the Eastern Continental Divide), indeed it tops out at above 4,200 feet elevation with Petersburgh on the east side beyond it only about 1,000-1,500 feet elevation. The west side of Allegheny Front isn't as big of a drop, but the Canaan Valley is still only 3,200-3,500 feet elevation.

In the middle you can see the smoke stacks of the Mount Storm Coal Power Plant, the largest in the northeastern West Virginia which is a major electricity source for the Greater Washington DC area.

 

Taken on Thursday October 26, 2023 at Monongahela National Forest.

Paw Paw, West Virginia

Paw Paw really is a one-horse town. 451 people population, there is a Dollar General, a Post Office, Big and Tiny's Tavern and Mountain Life Italian Pizza Shop. But that's it.