McKean County
Background
McKean County, encompassing an area of 1,000 square miles, lies almost entirely within the nonglaciated Allegheny Plateau Physiographic Province. 
The landscape of the county is characterized by relatively flat to gently rolling plateaus dissected by deep, u- or v-shaped stream valleys. Prior to European settlement, forests of this region were dominated by Canada hemlock and American beech on moister plateaus and stream valleys, and oak-chestnut forests on drier ridges and outcrops. Extensive logging during the late 1800s and early 1900s caused a shift to the Allegheny hardwood forest type, dominated by black cherry, red maple, sugar maple, and yellow birch, that now covers much of McKean County.
Pictured here is a sphagnum - cinnamon fern dominated swamp located in the Allegheny National Forest, within the proposed Chestnut Ridge Wilderness.
Calendar
The first meeting of the McKean County Natural Heritage Inventory Advisory Committee was held on Wednesday, March 2, 2005 at 7:00 pm in the Commissioners Meeting Room at the County Courthouse, 500 West Main Street, Smethport, PA.
Recommend a Site
Click here to download our site recommendation form. Or submit a site online.
Contact
For questions relating to the McKean County Inventory, please contact:
Beth Brokaw
Ecologist
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
209 Fourth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 586-2312
bbrokaw@paconserve.org