This Special Issue of the Southeastern Naturalist is devoted to an unusual place. Like other places on Earth, the form of Canaan Valley (herein called “the Valley”), located in Tucker County in northeastern WV, reflects past interactions among its rocks, topography, climate, and water. In the Valley's case, these elements have shaped the development of an unusual complex of terrestrial and aquatic habitats, many of which support rare species of plants and animals. The rich natural resources have also attracted people to the Valley, so there is an extensive history of resource use and abuse, protection and restoration, and scientific research. Over the last several decades, research projects to catalog and study many aspects of the abiotic environment and living residents have been carried out here. In this Introduction, we sketch how this book came to be and hint at how its papers provide a comprehensive, detailed description of this special place.