<Li> Central: The central section goes from the Hudson Valley to the New River (Great Kanawha) running through Virginia and West Virginia . It comprises (excluding various minor groups) the Valley Ridges between the Allegheny Front of the Allegheny Plateau and the Great Appalachian Valley, the New York--New Jersey Highlands, the Taconic Mountains in New York, and a large portion of the Blue Ridge . </Li> <Li> Southern: The southern section runs from the New River onwards . It consists of the prolongation of the Blue Ridge, which is divided into the Western Blue Ridge (or Unaka) Front and the Eastern Blue Ridge Front, the Ridge - and - Valley Appalachians, and the Cumberland Plateau . </Li> <P> The Adirondack Mountains in New York are sometimes considered part of the Appalachian chain but, geologically speaking, are a southern extension of the Laurentian Mountains of Canada . </P> <P> In addition to the true folded mountains, known as the ridge and valley province, the area of dissected plateau to the north and west of the mountains is usually grouped with the Appalachians . This includes the Catskill Mountains of southeastern New York, the Poconos in Pennsylvania, and the Allegheny Plateau of southwestern New York, western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and northern West Virginia . This same plateau is known as the Cumberland Plateau in southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, western Virginia, eastern Tennessee, and northern Alabama . </P>

Where is the appalachian mountains located on the map