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Cabin Mountain, Canaan Valley, West Virginia

The Potomac Highlands of West Virginia

The Potomac Highlands of West Virginia is truly one of the most scenic areas within the central Appalachian Mountains. Features seven natural wonders: Unforgettable places such as Dolly Sods, Blackwater Falls, the New River, the Gauley River, Spruce Knob, the Monongahela National Forest, the George Washington National Forest to have wondrous experiences and to create lifelong memories. The historic and scenic places such as Greenland Gap, Ice Mountain, Lost River State Park, North Fork Mountain, Seneca Rocks, Seneca Caverns, and Smoke Hole Caverns. Most of the places in the Potomac Highlands have incredible conservation stories that are still unfolding as people and organizations work together to protect, restore, and preserve this unique landscape and its wildlife for generations to come.

Of these places, I am inseparable, and they are inseparable from me.

The genius loci — the spirit of place. The Potomac Highlands, in the central Appalachian Mountains, is where I entered this world. These are the lands that held me as I grew, fostered by wonder and curiosity as I freely wandered throughout my youth. Humanity and the thrilling chase of enterprise have wreaked devastating and toxic havoc on these lands and the organisms that are inextricably part of them. And it is these lands that restore me even to this day.

The genii locoru refer to the spirits of these places, the varied and unique landscapes; representing each Place and its characteristics, atmosphere, and the Wonder that each one stirs within the human soul: the Spirits of Places.

We collectively referred to these unique bioregions as the Potomac Highlands. And wherever I go — even thousands of miles away, and however long I linger apart from them, these places their genius loci propel my heart: Beat-by-beat, and always beckons me Home.

- John Canan

It is my hope that prints from this collection or digitally licensed media, will connect you to these grand landscapes, their nooks, and crannies, as wonderfully as they do me. I would love to hear your story of your experience here. Feel free to reach out, set up a chat over the phone or through email.

All sales of the work featured in this gallery support current and future conservation and/or restoration, both directly through financial contributions and also by subsidizing the storytelling work that we provide to these organizations so that they continue to have high-quality media to use in their conservation storytelling, travel articles, and to use to engage their audiences and make a real impact.

See the Friends of Blackwater Curated Image Collection

See our Nature Conservancy of West Virginia Curated Image Collection