The Northern Panhandle or "The Rod" is a culturally and geographically distinct region in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the state's northernmost extension, bounded by the Ohio River on the north and west and the state of Pennsylvania on the east. Its unusual configuration is the result of the Revolutionary-era claims of Virginia's former Yohogania County boundary lying along the Ohio River, conflicting with interpretations of the Colony of Pennsylvania's royal charter. The conflict was settled by compromise in the 1780s. Today, due to the southern boundary being an extension of the Mason–Dixon line and the panhandle's proximity to the Pittsburgh area, the Northern Panhandle resembles more of the Midwestern United States or the Northeastern United States compared to the rest of the state, which is classified as part of the Upland South.