Armstrong County in western Pennsylvania is easiest to understand by following the Allegheny River. The river bends through the middle of the county, with Kittanning and Ford City occupying the central valley while smaller communities spread into the surrounding hills and tributary valleys. U.S. 422 and PA 28 make Kittanning the most useful road reference, and the terrain maps show why the river corridor remains lower than the ridges around it. High-resolution JPG versions of the county, community, water, and elevation maps used on this page are available together in the download section below.
The settlement pattern becomes clearer when the river and uplands are considered together. Kittanning and West Kittanning form a central pair, Ford City continues south along the Allegheny, and Freeport, Leechburg, and Apollo occupy the lower southwestern and southern river corridors. Farther east, Rural Valley, Dayton, Elderton, and Atwood are more widely separated across rolling uplands cut by small streams. That contrast between a populated river valley and a more dispersed hilly interior is visible across all four supplied maps, although each map emphasizes a different part of the same landscape.
Table of Contents
Kittanning is the key road and county-seat reference point
The general county map makes Kittanning the natural starting point. The Pennsylvania State Archives identifies Kittanning as the county seat, and the map marks the Armstrong County Courthouse near the center of the borough. U.S. 422 crosses the county from the Worthington side and passes through the Kittanning area before continuing east. PA 28 runs close to the Allegheny River and creates a strong north-south reference through the central and southern part of the county. Once those two routes are located, Ford City, Rural Valley, Elderton, Freeport, and the other labeled places become much easier to position.
West of Kittanning, PA 268 and U.S. 422 help define the approach from Worthington, while PA 68 appears near the western and northwestern side. To the east, PA 66 provides a route toward Rural Valley, and PA 85 and PA 839 serve the eastern and northeastern side of the county. PA 210 is visible in the southeast near Elderton, with PA 56 and PA 156 appearing closer to the southern boundary. The network is not laid out as a simple rectangular grid. Roads bend through river valleys and around ridges, which is exactly what the terrain maps suggest they would do.
The surrounding counties give additional context. Clarion County is to the north, Butler County to the west, Allegheny and Westmoreland counties to the southwest and south, and Indiana and Jefferson counties lie to the east and northeast. Armstrong County has a long western edge but a much more irregular northern and eastern outline. This reference map is useful for relative position, named roads, communities, and broad county boundaries, but it should not be treated as a legal property-boundary or survey document.
The leading communities cluster along the Allegheny and lower river valleys
The ranked community map strips away most road detail and highlights six places: Kittanning, Ford City, Leechburg, Freeport, Apollo, and West Kittanning. Kittanning is ranked first and Ford City second, and both sit close to the central Allegheny River corridor. Leechburg and Freeport are farther southwest, Apollo is near the southern boundary, and West Kittanning is immediately west of Kittanning. The distribution shows that the county’s larger highlighted settlements are not evenly scattered across the interior. They are concentrated around the main river valleys, especially in the central and southwestern sections.
The city index printed on the supplied map lists Kittanning at 3,902, Ford City at 2,813, Leechburg at 1,985, Freeport at 1,708, Apollo at 1,488, and West Kittanning at 1,284. These values are best treated as part of the supplied ranking graphic rather than as a substitute for the latest population estimates. When current demographic figures matter, consult a recent U.S. Census Bureau or Pennsylvania source. For map reading, the more important point is the spatial pattern: the leading places lie close to the Allegheny and Kiskiminetas river systems, while many eastern communities are smaller and more widely separated.
Kittanning and West Kittanning are nearly adjacent, and Ford City continues the settlement chain southward along the Allegheny. Freeport sits close to the southwestern corner, while Leechburg and Apollo are associated with the southern river corridor near the Kiskiminetas. By contrast, Rural Valley, Dayton, Elderton, and Atwood appear on the general reference map but are not part of this six-place ranking. Comparing the two maps therefore separates two different questions: which names are geographically useful for orientation, and which selected communities are emphasized by the population ranking.
The Allegheny River forms the county’s main low corridor
The terrain-and-water map makes the Allegheny River the dominant feature. It enters the county from the northwest, bends repeatedly through the central area, passes Kittanning and Ford City, and continues toward the southwest. Numerous short tributaries descend from both sides into the main valley. In the shaded relief beneath the blue waterways, the river corridor is visibly lower than the surrounding hills, so the map does more than identify water names; it also shows how the drainage system is embedded in the county’s rugged topography.
The Kiskiminetas River provides a second important reference along the southern edge. Elsewhere, the drainage network includes Scrubgrass Creek, North Fork Pine Creek, Cowanshannock Creek, Pine Run, Buffalo Creek, Glade Run, South Branch Plum Creek, and Long Run. Small unnamed channels fill the spaces between them. These tributaries carve the uplands into many short ridges and narrow hollows rather than leaving a broad continuous plateau. That pattern is especially visible in the eastern half of the county, where streams repeatedly cut toward larger channels.
Several named lakes and reservoirs add useful landmarks. Rainbow Lake appears east of the central Allegheny corridor, Crooked Creek Reservoir is a prominent water body in the southwest-central area, Keystone Lake is shown to the southeast, and Pearl Lake lies near the southern portion of the county. Crooked Creek Reservoir occupies a broader low area close to the Allegheny system, while Keystone Lake sits in a narrower tributary setting. This map is intended for geographic reference. It does not show flood zones, expected flood depths, water quality, navigable channels, or real-time water conditions.
Elevation ranges from about 228 to 529 meters across deeply cut hills
The elevation map explains the county’s road and drainage pattern particularly well. Its legend gives an actual elevation range of about 228 to 529 meters, with a mean near 371 meters. Greens represent the lower parts of the county, while yellows, tans, and browns indicate higher ground. The Allegheny River creates a long green ribbon through the center, and the adjacent slopes rise quickly into a dense texture of ridges and hollows.
The northern and eastern uplands contain many of the higher brown-toned areas. Short green valleys branch through them wherever tributaries descend toward the Allegheny, Cowanshannock Creek, or other larger channels. Around Kittanning and Ford City, the river floor remains distinctly lower than the surrounding hills. The same relationship continues toward Freeport in the southwest and along the Kiskiminetas corridor in the south. A place can therefore be geographically close to another community while still being separated by a steep ridge or a deeply cut creek valley.
This map is suitable for broad regional comparison, not for survey-grade elevation at a property or construction site. The colored surface has been generalized to show countywide relief, so engineering design, drainage calculations, foundation work, parcel decisions, or exact spot elevations require original elevation data or professional surveying. For education, regional planning context, or a local presentation, however, the contrast between the green river valleys and the higher brown uplands quickly communicates why Armstrong County has so many winding roads and narrow settlement corridors.
Think of the county as a central river axis, a southern river zone, and eastern uplands
A useful way to simplify Armstrong County is to divide it into three broad map-reading zones. The first is the central Allegheny River axis around Kittanning and Ford City. U.S. 422 and PA 28 intersect in this area, the county seat is here, and the river valley provides the strongest north-south geographic reference. The second is the southwestern and southern river zone around Freeport, Leechburg, Apollo, and the Kiskiminetas River. Here, settlements and roads continue to follow low valley corridors rather than spreading evenly across the hills.
The third zone is the eastern and southeastern upland area around Rural Valley, Dayton, Elderton, and Atwood. Those places are more dispersed on the general map and are reached by state routes such as PA 66, PA 85, PA 839, and PA 210. The water map shows Cowanshannock Creek, North Fork Pine Creek, and South Branch Plum Creek slicing through this interior, while the elevation map gives the surrounding uplands more yellow and brown tones than the main Allegheny valley. Treating the interior as an upland network of tributary valleys makes its road pattern much easier to understand.
The northwestern and northern portions add a fourth nuance. Worthington connects toward Kittanning by PA 268 and U.S. 422, while PA 68 appears near the western side and the northern boundary becomes more irregular toward Clarion County. Settlement labels are less dense than around central Kittanning, and the terrain remains strongly dissected by small streams. Taken together, these zones show why Armstrong County is not simply a collection of boroughs on a flat background: its communities and roads respond closely to the river system and relief.
Choose the map that matches the question you are trying to answer
For orientation, the general county map is the best starting point because it keeps the road network, community names, county outline, and neighboring areas together. U.S. 422, PA 28, PA 66, PA 85, and PA 210 provide useful route references without requiring the reader to switch between separate road views. The community map is better when the question is narrower: it removes most secondary detail and makes the concentration of the six highlighted places around the central and lower river valleys much easier to compare.
For physical geography, the terrain-and-water map and elevation map are most useful as a pair. The water map names the Allegheny and Kiskiminetas rivers, tributaries such as Cowanshannock Creek, and reservoirs such as Crooked Creek Reservoir. The elevation map removes most names and focuses on relief, turning the same river corridors into green lows and the uplands into yellow and brown ridges. Switching between the two makes it easier to see why streams follow narrow valleys and why travel routes tend to use those same lower corridors.
For printing or presentations, use the original high-resolution JPG files in the download archive rather than enlarging the smaller web previews. A general map next to the elevation map works well for explaining the relationship between roads and terrain, while the community map paired with the water map can illustrate the concentration of settlements along the main river system. These are general reference maps, not legal-boundary, parcel, flood-risk, navigation, or engineering products, so specialized decisions should always be checked against the appropriate current official source.
Kittanning links the county’s present map with its administrative history
The central role of Kittanning is not only a visual impression from the road map. The Pennsylvania State Archives records Armstrong County as having been created on March 12, 1800, from parts of Allegheny, Lycoming, and Westmoreland counties, with Kittanning as the county seat. On the present map, Kittanning remains a logical geographic center because the courthouse, the Allegheny River, U.S. 422, and PA 28 all occupy the same general area.
The broader history of Kittanning and the Allegheny valley reaches much further back, but for this map-focused page the practical point is that the administrative center is located at a major river-and-road crossing rather than in an isolated upland location. North-south movement follows the Allegheny corridor, east-west movement uses U.S. 422, and nearby Ford City extends the populated river corridor southward. That combination helps explain why Kittanning remains the most useful first landmark when learning the county.
Armstrong County today contains small boroughs, rural communities, reservoirs, and extensive rolling uplands rather than one dominant metropolitan center. The maps are most informative when those elements are viewed together. Kittanning supplies the administrative and transportation anchor, Ford City and the lower river towns illustrate settlement along the valley, and Rural Valley or Elderton represent the more dispersed eastern interior. The river network and elevation surface connect those places into one geographic story instead of leaving them as unrelated names.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the easiest reference point for finding places in Armstrong County?
Kittanning is the best starting point. It is the county seat, sits along the Allegheny River, and lies where U.S. 422 and PA 28 form a major road reference. From Kittanning, Ford City is immediately to the south along the river, Rural Valley is to the east, Worthington is to the west, and the lower river communities of Freeport, Leechburg, and Apollo are farther south and southwest.
Why does the Allegheny River corridor appear so low on the elevation map?
The river occupies a valley cut below the surrounding uplands. On the supplied elevation map, the Allegheny corridor forms a long green band while the nearby hills rise through yellow, tan, and brown. The legend shows a countywide range of roughly 228 to 529 meters, so the colors are most useful for comparing broad relief rather than reading an exact elevation for a specific property.
Can the terrain-and-water map be used to determine flood risk or water depth?
No. It is a general geographic reference showing the locations of rivers, creeks, lakes, reservoirs, and surrounding terrain. It does not map flood zones, expected flood depths, water quality, channel depth, or navigation conditions. Flood and water-management decisions should use current purpose-specific information from FEMA, USGS, Pennsylvania agencies, Armstrong County, or another responsible authority.
Map File Information
The download ZIP contains high-resolution JPG versions of the Armstrong County general reference map, ranked community map, terrain-and-water map, and elevation map. The original-size files are larger than the page previews and are suitable for printed handouts, classroom material, regional reference notes, and presentations.
- Included Files: Use only the versions confirmed in the article and supplied images
- File Type: Use the confirmed download contents
- Intended Use: Printing, education, presentations, and map-based projects
Related Maps
Sources and References
- Armstrong County official website: official county government and local service information.
- Pennsylvania State Archives – County Courthouses: county creation date and county-seat information for Armstrong County.
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles: official geographic boundary and transportation data.
- USGS National Hydrography: national source information for rivers, streams, lakes, and related hydrography.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program: official elevation data and 3DEP documentation.
Green Map creates custom-edited map images using open geographic data sources such as geoBoundaries, Natural Earth, OpenStreetMap, and government open data. These maps are edited visual materials, not raw data files, and are provided for education, documents, presentations, and graphic reference.
