The Blue Mountain Tunnel carries the turnpike's east–west mainline ( Interstate 76) through the ridge in northern Franklin County.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike system passes through Blue Mountain at two points: The Susquehanna River, which feeds the Chesapeake Bay, passes through the ridge just north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's capital.īlue Mountain Tunnel on Interstate 76, May 2006.The Schuylkill River, which feeds the Delaware at Philadelphia, passes through the ridge just north of Hamburg.The Lehigh River, which feeds the Delaware at Easton, passes through the Lehigh Gap at the ridge near Palmerton.The Delaware River, which forms Pennsylvania's eastern border with New Jersey, passes through the ridge just southeast of Stroudsburg.īlue Mountain marks the boundary between the Great Appalachian Valley and the main Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians.įour of Pennsylvania's major rivers cut through Blue Mountain in water gaps: The ridge of Blue Mountain continues northeast into New Jersey as Kittatinny Mountain. Mount Minsi, elevation 1,461 feet (445 m), forms the promontory overlooking the Delaware River. The northeastern end of the mountain is at the Delaware Water Gap on the New Jersey border. The mountain ridge continues to the southwest toward Maryland as Broad Mountain. The southwestern end of the mountain is at Big Gap, west of Shippensburg. The mountain's width varies from 1 to 3 miles (1.6 to 4.8 km). Most of the ridgecrest, however, only reaches between 1,400 and 1,700 feet (430 and 520 m) in elevation. The ridge of Blue Mountain runs for 150 miles (240 km) through Pennsylvania, reaching an elevation of 2,270 feet (690 m) above sea level just north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, near the borough of Newburg. To the south of Blue Mountain lies the 'Capital Region' of Harrisburg and nearby communities, the rich farming country of the Lebanon Valley and the Pennsylvania Dutch Country of York and Lancaster counties, the lower half of the Lehigh Valley, and the lower Delaware Valley the latter two extend north through water gaps beyond the ridgeline.īlue Mountain in Moore Township in the Lehigh Valley, February 2014 To the south of the Susquehanna River gap in the south-central part of the state is the Cumberland Valley, part of the Great Appalachian Valley to its northwest side are the southern reaches of the Susquehanna Valley with picturesque streams channeling travel corridors deep into and over the central and western mountains and valleys-the heartland interior counties of Pennsylvania along the Main Branch Susquehanna, the valleys also lead into the Coal Region of northeast Pennsylvania, the Wyoming Valley, and the distant Poconos. The barrier ridge forms a distinct boundary between a number of Pennsylvania's geographical and cultural regions.

Most transport corridors and road beds piercing the barrier necessarily pass through either large water gaps (west to east: the Susquehanna, Schuylkill, Lehigh and Delaware River valleys) or wind gaps, low gaps in the ridge caused by ancient watercourses. Views of Blue Mountain dominate the southern tier of most eastern and central Pennsylvanian counties, providing an ever-visible backdrop cutting across the northern or western horizon. Forming the southern and eastern edge of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians physiographic province in Pennsylvania, Blue Mountain extends 150 miles (240 km) from the Delaware Water Gap on the New Jersey border in the east to Big Gap in Franklin County in south-central Pennsylvania at its southwestern end. Tuscarora Formation and Shawangunk Formation sedimentaryīlue Mountain, Blue Mountain Ridge, or the Blue Mountains of Pennsylvania, is a ridge of the Appalachian Mountains in eastern Pennsylvania. Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians and Great Appalachian Valley

Blue mountain