Mount Nittany
| Mount Nittany | |
|---|---|
Southern terminus of Mount Nittany ridge, looking east from the Bryce Jordan Center near State College
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 2,077 ft (633 m) |
| Coordinates | 40°49′40″N 77°46′23″W / 40.8277°N 77.7731°WCoordinates: 40°49′40″N 77°46′23″W / 40.8277°N 77.7731°W |
| Geography | |
| Location | Centre County, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Parent range | Appalachian Mountains |
| Topo map | USGS State College Quadrangle |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | White Trail |
Mount Nittany is the common name for Nittany Mountain, a prominent geographic feature in Centre County, Pennsylvania, USA. The mountain is part of a ridge that separates Nittany Valley from Penns Valley, with the enclosed Sugar Valley between them. On USGS topographic maps, Nittany Mountain is generally 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 in honor of the mountain.
The word Nittany is derived from the Algonquian word Nit-A-Nee meaning "single mountain". According to the Penn State folklore, Nit-A-Nee is also the name of an Indian maiden whose actions caused Mount Nittany to be formed. The original inhabitants of the area used Nit-A-Nee to describe the mountain, and it likely became commonly known as Nittany by the first Europeans to settle the area in the 18th century. The word Nittany was already in use by the time Pennsylvania State University was founded. Some sources cite the word Nit-A-Nee as meaning "barrier against the wind", which is not as likely.
In 1945, the landowners of Mount Nittany were preparing to sell the mountain, allegedly to use timber rights. The alumni of the Lion's Paw Senior Society who heard of this bought an option to buy the mountain. It took the Lion's Paw alumni until May 1946 to raise the money needed to buy the mountain. In 1981, Lion's Paw established the Mount Nittany Conservancy, an organization intended to raise money from the general public in addition to the money raised by Lion's Paw members. Since its establishment, the Mount Nittany Conservancy has purchased hundreds of additional acres on Mount Nittany.
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