Drifting Pennsylvania Map

About Drifting, Pennsylvania

Drifting is a locality in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a small community with a population of 318. The population density is 185.4 people per km². Drifting is located at 41.0242°N, 78.1083°W. It observes the Eastern Time (America/New_York) timezone. ZIP code: 16834.

Drifting emerges from the high, rugged terrain of the Allegheny Plateau as a quiet collection of dwellings defined by the persistent, cold-water pulse of Crawford Run. It lies 20.6 miles northwest of State College, PA (from State College, PA: bearing 321°T), and is situated 18.0 miles north-northwest of Park Forest Village. The landscape surrounding Drifting is characterized by dense, hardwood-heavy woodlands that transition toward the expansive Moshannon State Forest, where the canopy creates a deep, verdant solitude. To the west, the distant silhouettes of the Allegheny Mountains anchor the horizon, while the terrain closer to the center of the locality falls into the narrow, shadowed depressions of Dry Hollow. When the late afternoon sun hits the ridges, the light takes on a bruised, amber quality, illuminating the way the ground slopes sharply toward the creek beds, carving a topography that demands a slow, deliberate pace from anyone traversing its paths.

History in Drifting remains tied to the hard, extractive labor that once defined this portion of the Pennsylvania interior, leaving behind a legacy of industry that has largely receded into the undergrowth. Where timber and coal once dictated the rhythms of the day, a quieter economy now prevails, centered on local stewardship and the preservation of the surrounding wilderness. Saint Severin Park provides a focal point for the locality, maintaining a cleared space amidst the encroaching forest where the air feels thin and sharp with the scent of pine. Residents often look toward the deeper recreation found at Black Moshannon Lake or the rugged elevation of the Old Huckleberry Trail, finding that the character of Drifting is less about the noise of progress and more about the way the seasons color the isolated, persistent life of the plateau.

About This Drifting Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Drifting, Pennsylvania. Coordinates: 41.024224, -78.108342. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service. Real-time local and world news feeds keep the page current.

Detailed location data for Drifting includes the ZIP code (16834), telephone area code (215, 223, 267, 272, 412, 445, 484, 570, 582, 610, 717, 724, 814, 835, 878), county seat of Clearfield County (Clearfield), and school district assignment (West Branch Area School District).

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.