The Middletown Valley, also historically known as Catoctin Valley, is a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

in western Frederick County in the state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Geography

John Coblentz Farm and Middletown Valley MD1

It is bound to the west by South Mountain, to the east by

Catoctin Mountain Catoctin Mountain, along with the geologically associated Bull Run Mountains, forms the easternmost mountain ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are in turn a part of the Appalachian Mountains range. The ridge runs northeast–southwest for ...

, to the south by the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

and to the north by the convergence of South Mountain and Catoctin Mountain, south of

Quirauk Mountain Quirauk Mountain is the highest point on South Mountain. The peak is located in northeastern Washington County, Maryland. It lies just southwest of Fort Ritchie Military Reservation in the village of Cascade and about 1/2 mile southeast of ...

. Geographically, it can be considered an extension of the

Loudoun Valley The Loudoun Valley is a small, but historically significant valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains located in Loudoun County in Northern Virginia in the United States. Geography The lush and fertile valley lies between Catoctin Mountain and the Bu ...

which lies below the Potomac in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. The valley derives its name from Middletown, the largest town in the Valley. The use of the ''Catoctin Valley'' terminology was prevalent up through the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

but afterwards was abandoned due to confusion between it and the northern portion of the Loudoun Valley also referred to as

Catoctin Valley The Catoctin Valley is a small valley, geographically and culturally associated with the larger Loudoun Valley in Loudoun County, Virginia. Geography The Catoctin Valley encompasses the northern part of the Loudoun Valley east of the Short Hi ...

References

{{Reflist Valleys of Maryland Landforms of Frederick County, Maryland