West Virginia is a mere part of the Appalachian chain. Sideling Hill is part of the Allegheny Mountains of the Appalachian Mountain Range. (Also considered part of the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians). It traverses West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania and rises to its highest elevation of 2,301 feet.
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The Sideling Hill road cut is a 340-foot deep road cut where Interstate 68 cuts through Sideling Hill, about 6 miles west of Hancock in Washington County, Maryland.
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It would be difficult to say how many times we have passed this cut but on all of those times I have always been in awe of the rocks and the history behind it all. This trip brought to fruition that quest.
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A tunnel through Sideling Hill is currently in its third phase of life. In the 1880s, a tunnel was partially bored through the mountain near Breezewood, Pennsylvania by the South Pennsylvania Railroad. The railroad project ceased, and the tunnel was left abandoned. When the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission began constructing the Pennsylvania Turnpike on the right-of-way of the old South Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1930s, the tunnel was completed.
My Sister-in-law and I wanted to stop and explore the Exhibit Center on our return trip home. We learned a lot which is always a GOOD thing. The Geology of the Sideling Hill Road Cut Road Cut. So while my Sweetie was on the more southern part of the Appalachians his sister and I explored in another area…~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
...so we were together in a sense…
OK now everyone goes Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww isn’t love grand!
7 comments:
Both the last two post have been very informative and both contained lovely pictures.. what a stunning part of the world you have there.
I have seen similar cuts and how the land or rock is compressed down. It is amazing.
Your photos and your narrative and links makes an excellent post.
Very interesting story and great shots too. Enjoyed.
Thanks you all for the kind and generous words.
O.W.T. I feel quite sure, as many of your posts have shown the stunning areas in your part of the world. I only was in London 2 days for sure not enuff to say I got a grasp of it. But one day I shall return.
Abraham, if I might call you that…Yes I agree rocks, compressions of rocks are truly amazing. Even the rocks in a mountain stream, the ones where the TROUT dwell, tell their stories for sure. Fact is, in totally seriousness when my friends go places, I ask for a small rock that they find interesting. When I travel I also do the same. THEN I add these treasures to my various raised garden beds. My thinking on that is that in millions of years some archeologists will come upon rock that have no place here. It will be theirs to ponder how, who, what, when where and WHY!
IMAC thank you… thank you all! Tomorrows post will not be as informative…but then you will have that!
There is really no rhyme or reason, theme or not to what I post. It all just happens, but that works for me.
As for the links, must be the educator in me… ;)
Interesting information on the Sideling Hill Cut and on The New River. You definitely were on the money when you joked about telling the deer to stay out of your way when you went through our area as we are not far from either Breezewood or The Cut.
I wish we had real mountains here and not the hills they call mountains. Great photos of the road cut.
I've always thought it would be interesting to stop and look at that exhibit, but every time I pass there I've been in a hurry to get somewhere else. Thanks for the photos!
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