Pennsylvania's Deserts
Certain regions of southcentral Pennsylvania contain unique shale barrens habitats, which are home to many unusual plants and animals. A shale barren is a rather steep south-facing slope where the bedrock is composed of shale, usually shale composed during the Devonian period of earth's history. The rocky, dark, shale soils that have developed at these sites can reach temperatures of 140-degrees F. when the sun is shining full strength. These habitats are also rather dry, and many organisms have difficulty living under such conditions.
On the other hand, some species have become adapted specifically for this environment, and in Pennsylvania that includes shale-barrens evening primrose, cat's-paw ragwort and even prickly pear cactus. It is also the favorite habitat of the fence lizard and several rare moth species.
Sideling Hill Creek Valley in Bedford and Fulton counties includes several shale barren sites and because these are rare habitats and also harbor species considered rare or endangered, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has endeavored to protect these environments by creating a Natural Area and by educating the watershed's citizens about these resources.
Pictured here is the shale barren on WPC Natural Area property and a view downstream along Sideling Hill Creek into Maryland beyond.
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