The Youghiogheny rises in northern West Virginia, in Preston County southeast of the town of Aurora and near Backbone Mountain.
The headwaters are approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of the headwaters of the North Branch of the Potomac River and pass through Silver Lake before flowing north-northeast into Garrett County, Maryland, then flowing north past Oakland and roughly parallel to the West Virginia border, separated by approximately 3 miles (5 km).
The river enters southwestern Pennsylvania on the border between Fayette and Somerset counties.
It flows northwest through a gap in Chestnut Ridge and then past Connellsville.
It joins the Monongahela River from the southeast at McKeesport, southeast of Pittsburgh.

Just upstream from Confluence, Pennsylvania, approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) north of the Pennsylvania border, the river is impounded by the 184-foot-high (56 m) Youghiogheny Dam to form the Youghiogheny River Lake, a reservoir that stretches upstream into northern Maryland.
The dam was completed in 1944 primarily for flood control.
U.S. Route 40 crosses the Youghiogheny River Lake between Jockey Hollow on the Fayette County side and Somerfield on the Somerset County side.
The Youghiogheny rises in northern West Virginia, in Preston County southeast of the town of Aurora and near Backbone Mountain. The headwaters are approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of the headwaters of the North Branch of the Potomac River and pass through Silver Lake before flowing north-northeast into Garrett County, Maryland, then flowing north past Oakland and roughly parallel to the West Virginia border, separated by approximately 3 miles (5 km). The river enters southwestern Pennsylvania on the border between Fayette and Somerset counties. It flows northwest through a gap in Chestnut Ridge and then past Connellsville. It joins the Monongahela River from the southeast at McKeesport, southeast of Pittsburgh.
Just upstream from Confluence, Pennsylvania, approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) north of the Pennsylvania border, the river is impounded by the 184-foot-high (56 m) Youghiogheny Dam to form the Youghiogheny River Lake, a reservoir that stretches upstream into northern Maryland. The dam was completed in 1944 primarily for flood control. U.S. Route 40 crosses the Youghiogheny River Lake between Jockey Hollow on the Fayette County side and Somerfield on the Somerset County side.
Youghiogheny River