The average altitude of the valley is about 700 feet. On ridgetops and mountaintops, the altitude is about 1,950 feet. The lowest point in the county is about 500 feet. Handley Library, in downtown Winchester, is at 714 feet. Winchester and Frederick County are located in the Valley and Ridge Province where limestone occurs producing large volumes of water, principally from fracture zones and solution channels.
Springs are also a valuable source of water.
Some produce 4,000 gallons a minute. About 105,750 acres is farmland. Sand and limestone are quarried in the county. The sedimentary rocks of the area belong to the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian Periods. These rocks are the parent materials of most soils in Frederick County.