The Appalachian Mountains are a long mountain range running along the eastern side of North America, from eastern Canada down into the southeastern United States.

Where Is the Appalachian Mountains? (Quick Scoop)

Big-picture location

  • The Appalachian Mountains stretch for about 1,500–2,000 miles along the eastern part of North America.
  • They begin in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador and run southwest all the way to central Alabama in the United States.
  • The range lies inland but roughly parallel to the Atlantic coast, forming much of the “backbone” of the eastern U.S.

Countries and states they pass through

  • The Appalachians extend through:
    • Canada: Newfoundland and Labrador (and across the small French territory of Saint Pierre and Miquelon just south of Newfoundland).
* United States: from the Northeast down to the Deep South.
  • U.S. states commonly counted as part of the Appalachian Mountains include:
* Maine
* New Hampshire
* Vermont
* Massachusetts
* Connecticut
* New York
* New Jersey
* Pennsylvania
* Maryland
* West Virginia
* Virginia
* Kentucky
* North Carolina
* Tennessee
* Georgia
* Alabama

Here’s a quick HTML table overview you can drop into a page:

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Region</th>
      <th>Countries / States</th>
      <th>Notes</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Canada</td>
      <td>Newfoundland and Labrador; nearby Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France)</td>
      <td>Northern start of the range.[web:1][web:3][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Northeastern U.S.</td>
      <td>Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York</td>
      <td>Part of the “Northern Appalachians.”[web:1][web:5][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Mid-Atlantic U.S.</td>
      <td>New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia</td>
      <td>Often called the “Central Appalachians.”[web:1][web:5][web:7][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Southern U.S.</td>
      <td>Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama</td>
      <td>“Southern Appalachians,” home to the highest peaks.[web:1][web:5][web:7][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Sections and famous subranges

The Appalachian Mountains are often divided into three major sections:

  1. Northern Appalachians – From Newfoundland and Labrador down through New England into New York; rugged terrain, thick forests, colder climate.
  1. Central Appalachians – From around the Hudson River through Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia; steep ridges and deep valleys, including the Allegheny Mountains.
  1. Southern Appalachians – From Virginia to northern Alabama and Georgia; warmer and wetter, with the tallest and most biodiverse parts of the range.

Well-known subranges include:

  • Blue Ridge Mountains (Pennsylvania to Georgia, including scenic Blue Ridge Parkway and Mount Mitchell, the highest Appalachian peak at 6,684 feet).
  • Great Smoky Mountains (along the Tennessee–North Carolina border, famous for misty ridges and rich biodiversity).
  • Allegheny Mountains (part of the Central Appalachians in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia).

Why they matter today

  • The Appalachians are one of the oldest mountain ranges on Earth, heavily eroded but still forming a major natural barrier and cultural region in the eastern U.S.
  • They host the Appalachian Trail, a long-distance hiking path running from Georgia to Maine, plus countless parks, small towns, and rural communities that frequently appear in online discussions, travel blogs, and forum threads about “Appalachia.”

TL;DR: The Appalachian Mountains run along the eastern side of North America, starting in Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada and continuing through a chain of eastern U.S. states down to central Alabama.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.