Notes from the Highlands

Pennsylvania’s Highlands wander through 13 counties: Adams, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Frankin, Lebanon, Lancaster, Lehigh, Mongomery, Northampton and York, stretching from the Delaware River at the city of Easton, to Franklin and Adams counties on the Maryland border. Streams flowing from Highlands ridges supply water to Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton in the north, and Reading, Pottstown, York, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley in the south.

Natural areas such as Haycock Mountain, Spring Mountain, Unami Hills, Ridge Vally Creek, Oley Hills, South Mountain and Hosensack Swamp are home to many Threatened and endangered species and native brook trout. The PA Highlands region also has many Important Bird Areas (IBA’s) such as Quakertown Swamp, Tohickon and Tinicum creeks and the Hopewell Big Woods–southeastern PA’s largest remaining contiguous forest.

Historic sites from the iron ore industry are concentrated in the PA Highlands. Sally Anne Furnace, Mine Hill and Hopewell furnace attract many visitors to the area. The region’s scenic and productive farmland, such as Northampton County’s Stouts Valley and Adams County’s Fruitbelt, give a sense of rural community character.

Key Facts

• 1,382,000 million acres
• 13 counties
• 180 Municipalities
• 11 Conservation Areas identified in the PA Highlands Conservation Atlas
• Northampton Highlands, Northampton/Bucks
• South Mountain, Lehigh/Northampton
• Oley Hills, Berks
• Unami Hills, Montgomery/Bucks
• Hopewell Big Woods, Berks/Chester
• Welsh Mountain, Lancaster/Chester
• Furnace Hills, Lancaster/Lebanon
• Sand Hills, Dauphin
• Conewago Mountains, York County
• Whiskey Springs Uplands, Cumberland/York
• South Mountain Faces, Adams
• 37 Highlands Coalition Critical Treasures
• Map
• List/descriptions
• One of only five designated Mega-Greenways in the Commonwealth Threatened, endangered or species of concern include least bittern, peregrine falcon, bog turtle, rigid sedge, bog bluegrass, bald eagle, long eared owl, upland sandpiper, Allegheny woodrat, timber rattlesnake