Massanutten Mountain is a mountain range within Blue Ridge range of the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia in the United States.

Geography

The range bisects the Shenandoah Valley just west of Strasburg in Shenandoah County in the north, to its highest peak west of Harrisonburg in Rockingham County in the south.

The mountain is divided into northern and southern sections, divided by the New Market Gap. The northern section consists of 3 roughly parallel ridges, forming 2 valleys. The wider, main valley, is called Fort Valley, while the smaller one is known as Little Fort Valley. The ridges of the northern section converges at New Market Gap. The southern section consists of a series of closely gathered ridges, separated by precipitous creek gorges.

On the eastern side of the mountain range lies the Page Valley and Blue Ridge Mountains. On the western side lies the North-Central Shenandoah Valley and the Great North Mountain of the Alleghany Mountains.

Recreation

Most of the range is part of the Lee Ranger District of the George Washington National Forest and contains the Elizabeth Furnace and Camp Roosevelt recreational areas. The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club maintains the Massanutten Trail as well as several other hiking trials in the forest. The forest service also maintains several ATV trails.

In 1971, the Massanutten Mountain ski lodge and four season resort village was established near the southern peak. The private resort has nearly doubled in size since Great Eastern Resorts bought it in 1995.

Flora and Fauna

Wildlife on Massanutten includes black bear, wild turkeys, white-tailed deer, eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, and luna moths. Significant flora includes mayapple, bluets, wild lupine, cardinal flower, and pinxter flower.

Geology

The geology of the Massanutten Mountains is dominated by Silurian Massanutten Sandstone supported by Ordovician Martinsburg shale, a lateral equivalent of the Tuscarora Formation in the Appalachian Mountains to the west. Erosion of the underlying Martinsburg shale in some areas of the mountain caused the sandstone to break and slide to form talus slopes. Generally the Massanutten Sandstone is folded into a syncline, and it outcrops at the ridge tops.

Mountains of Massanutten

• Massanutten Peak
• Green Mountain
• Three Top Mountain
• Powell Mountain
• Little Crease Mountain
• Short Mountain
• Mertins Rock
• Bowman Mountain
• Kerns Mountain
• Catback Mountain
• Waterfall Mountain
• First Mountain
• Second Mountain
• Third Mountain
• Fourth Mountain

Notes