Mount Nittany

Nittany Mountain, commonly known as Mount Nittany, is a prominent geographic feature in Centre County, Pennsylvania. The mount is not a mountain but is part of a ridge that separates Nittany Valley from Penns Valley, with the enclosed Sugar Valley between them. On USGS topographic maps, Nittany Mount is generally too small to be considered a mountain and is shown as the lower ridge line that runs below Big Mountain on the west and Big Kettle Mountain on the east side, coming together to form a single ridge line at the southern terminus. This nomenclature is not always consistently applied to the same geologic formation, and there is a shorter Nittany Mountain ridge shown above the Sugar Valley as well. Penn State University lies at the foot of Mount Nittany; the athletic teams and the mascot of the school, the Nittany Lion, are named for the mountain, as are Mount Nittany Elementary and Mount Nittany Middle School.