| Savage Mountain | |
| Ridge | |
![]() |
|
| Name origin: eponym: John Savage | |
| Country | |
|---|---|
| States | |
| Counties | Allegany MD, Garrett MD, Somerset PA |
| Part of | Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians |
| Location | |
| - coordinates | 40°15′N 77°18′W / 40.25°N 77.3°W |
| Highest point | |
| - location | High Point |
| - elevation | 3,058 ft (932.1 m) |
| Length | 30 mi (48 km) |
| Geology | Carboniferous:[1] "Mauch Chunk Red Shales and Limestones" |
| Orogeny | Alleghenian
orogeny (the western edge of the Allegheny Formation "shows along the eastern slope of Savage Mountain".) |
![]() Savage
Mountain is located in the Ridge & Valley west
of the Cumberland Valley (7).
|
|
Savage Mountain is an anticline extending from Somerset County, Pennsylvania southwest into Western Maryland.[2] It is the western side of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, and the eastern portion of the ridge forms the border of Garrett and Allegany Counties of Maryland. The anti-cline includes two component ridges in Maryland, Little Savage Mountain and Big Savage Mountain.
Portions of Savage Mountain form the Eastern Continental Divide, separating watersheds draining to the Ohio River and those draining to the Potomac. To the northwest of Savage Mountain, waters drain to the Casselman River. The North Branch Potomac River watershed encompasses the southwestern and eastern portions of the ridge.
Contents |
After Nemacolin's Path and the first survey of the Potomac (1736-1737) had passed through the area, the Braddock Road over the ridge opened in 1757. By 1767, the Mason-Dixon Line survey had placed milestones across the ridge[3][4] and the National Road was completed through the area by 1818.
In 1911, construction began on the Borden and Big Savage Tunnels for the Connellsville subdivision of the Western Maryland Railway. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps built a connection road that is now the 6.4 mile Monroe Run Trail.[5]
The Savage River Reservoir was constructed just southwest of the ridge in 1952 to provide a water supply for the Washington, D.C. area.[6]
On August 13, 1976, the freeway that would become Interstate 68 opened through the ridge.[7] Due to severe fog conditions common along this stretch of highway, Maryland's first "fog warning system" was installed after a May 2003 crash that killed two and injured about 100 people. [8][9]
In 2001, the fire history and dendroecology of Savage Mountain oak stands were investigated.[10] About 2,600 trees were later planed in the Savage Mountain Demonstration Plot #2 in 2007.[11]
In 2006, U.S. WindForce proposed a 40-megawatt (54,000 hp)wind farm on Savage Mountain at a strip-mining site.[12] A study for the Savage Mountain Transmission Main Project began in 2008.[13 ]
| Point | Location | Elevation |
|---|---|---|
| CSX Transportation railroad | 39°48′30″N 78°57′27″W / 39.80833°N 78.9575°W | 2,430 feet (741 m) |
| Big Savage Mountain | 39°47′40″N 78°49′47″W / 39.79444°N 78.82972°W | 2,566 feet (782 m) |
| Big Savage Tunnel | 39°44′27″N 78°53′37″W / 39.74083°N 78.89361°W | 2,400 feet (732 m) (above tunnel) |
| Little Savage Mountain | 39°43′49″N 78°55′11″W / 39.73028°N 78.91972°W | 2,820 feet (860 m) |
| Maryland/Pennsylvania state line (Mason-Dixon Line) | 39°43′21″N 78°54′51″W / 39.7225°N 78.91417°W | 2,840 feet (866 m) |
| U.S. Route 40 Alternate | 39°40′56″N 78°58′01″W / 39.68222°N 78.96694°W | 2,847 feet (868 m) |
| Interstate 68/U.S. Route 40 | 39°40′23″N 78°57′46″W / 39.67306°N 78.96278°W | 2,830 feet (863 m) |
| Elbow Mountain | 39°34′06″N 79°05′10″W / 39.56833°N 79.08611°W | 2,740 feet (835 m) |
![]() |
Laurel Mountain | Allegheny Mountain (Pennsylvania) | Wills Mountain | ![]() |
| Negro Mountain | Dans Mountain | |||
| Backbone Mountain |
|
|