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Return To Gallery Index |
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About The Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is located in western Virginia (7 counties) and West Virginia (2 counties) and bounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Allegheny Mountains to the west. The valley is about 160 miles long and 30 miles wide. It is part of the Great Valley of the Appalachians, and divided into two parts by Massanutten Mountain.
The valley is drained by the Shenandoah River, which flows in two forks (the North and South Forks) on both sides of the Massanutten Mountain, uniting near Front Royal, Va., and flowing northeast to enter the Potomac River at Harpers Ferry, West Va. The Shenandoah River is one of the rare North American rivers that flows to the north.
Named for the river which stretches much of its length, the name Shenandoah was derived from the Native American legend, Daughter of the Stars.
The Blue Ridge Mountains are well known for their bluish color when seen from a distance. Trees put the "blue" in Blue Ridge, from the hydrocarbons released into the atmosphere, thereby contributing to the characteristic haze on the mountains and their distinctive color.
Within the Blue Ridge province, there are two national parks: the Shenandoah and the Great Smoky Mountains. The Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469-mile long scenic highway connects the two parks and is located along the ridge crestlines along the Appalachian Trail.
Before the first white settlers penetrated the mountain wall to discover the valley, the Native Americans who lived, camped, and criss-crossed the valley for thousands of years were Eastern Woodland Indians. They usually lived in small groups instead of large settlements and often moved with the change of seasons.
The Shenandoah valley was first explored and settled in the early 1700s and was an important corridor in the westward pioneer movement, and it became a rich agricultural area due to its limestone that produced fertile soils. By 1760, most of the Indians had left the Shenandoah Valley to the new settlers.
 Leave No Trace - a national program which promotes the protection of our nation's wildlands. Leave No Trace is simple. At its heart it is a set of seven principles which can be applied in any natural setting to minimize human impacts on the environment. |
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