|
Hickory Flats
Hickory Flats is an area in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of western Virginia that has been recognized by the Wilderness Society as a special place worthy of protection from logging and road construction. It is in a remote location at the headwaters of two streams with a wetland that contains rare plants and provides an unusual habitat for wildlife. The area is part of the ''Mountain Lake Wilderness Cluster''. Location and access Hickory Flats is located in the Appalachian Mountains of Southwestern Virginia about 20 miles north of Pembroke, Virginia and 6 miles south of Waiteville, West Virginia. Peters Mountain forms the boundary to the northwest, and Big Stony Creek Rd (VA 635) on the southwest. There are gated forest roads and abandoned Jeep trails passing through the area. Good access is gained from State Route 613 (North Fork Mountain Road) that intersects State Route 635 (Big Stony Creek Road). Thick rhododendrons and bogs limit access to the we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giles County, Virginia
Giles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia on the West Virginia state line. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,787. Its county seat is Pearisburg. Giles County is included in the Blacksburg- Christiansburg, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Giles County is the location of Mountain Lake, one of only two natural fresh water lakes in Virginia. The lake drains into Little Stony Creek, which passes over a waterfall known as The Cascades before reaching the New River. History Giles County was established in 1806 from Montgomery, Monroe, Wythe, and Tazewell counties. The county is named for William Branch Giles who was born in Amelia County in 1762. Giles became a lawyer and from there was elected to the United States House of Representatives where he served from 1790 to 1815. He also served in the Virginia General Assembly from 1816 to 1822. In 1827, he was elected Governor. In all, he served his nation and state around a total of forty years. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Black Bear
The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), also called simply a black bear or sometimes a baribal, is a medium-sized bear endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. American black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but will leave forests in search of food, and are sometimes attracted to human communities due to the immediate availability of food. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the American black bear as a least-concern species, due to its widespread distribution and a large population estimated to be twice that of all other bear species combined. Along with the brown bear (''Ursus arctos''), it is one of only two modern bear species not considered by the IUCN to be globally threatened with extinction. Taxonomy and evolution Despite living in North America, American black bears are not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sedimentary Rock
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles to settle in place. The particles that form a sedimentary rock are called sediment, and may be composed of geological detritus (minerals) or biological detritus (organic matter). The geological detritus originated from weathering and erosion of existing rocks, or from the solidification of molten lava blobs erupted by volcanoes. The geological detritus is transported to the place of deposition by water, wind, ice or mass movement, which are called agents of denudation. Biological detritus was formed by bodies and parts (mainly shells) of dead aquatic organisms, as well as their fecal mass, suspended in water and slowly piling up on the floor of water bodies (marine snow). Sedimentation may also occur as dissolved minerals precipitate from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians
The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division and are also a belt within the Appalachian Mountains extending from southeastern New York in the north through northwestern New Jersey, westward into Pennsylvania through the Lehigh Valley, and southward into Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. They form a broad arc between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Plateau physiographic province (the Allegheny and Cumberland plateaus). They are characterized by long, even ridges, with long, continuous valleys in between. The river valleys were areas of indigenous settlements for thousands of years. In the historic period, the Cherokee people had towns along many of the rivers in western South Carolina and North Carolina, as well as on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains in present-day Tenness ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lymantria Dispar Dispar
''Lymantria dispar dispar'' or LDD moth, commonly known as the gypsy moth, European gypsy moth, North American gypsy moth, or spongy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae that is of Eurasian origin. It has a range that extends over Europe, Africa, and North America. Carl Linnaeus first described the species ''Lymantria dispar'' in 1758. The subject of classification has changed throughout the years, resulting in confusion surrounding the species' taxonomy. This caused many references to describe this one species in different ways. The family has jumped between Lymantriidae, Noctuidae and Erebidae. ''Lymantria dispar dispar'' has been designated a subspecies of ''Lymantria dispar''. It is classified as a pest, and its larvae consume the leaves of over 500 species of trees, shrubs and plants. The gypsy moth is one of the most destructive pests of hardwood trees in the Eastern United States. It is listed as one of the 100 most destructive invasive species worldwide. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Etheostoma Osburni
''Etheostoma osburni'', the candy darter or finescale saddled darter, is a species of fish in the family Percidae, a member of the group known as darters. This species is endemic to the eastern United States where it is known only from the Kanawha River system in the states of Virginia and West Virginia. Description ''Etheostoma osburni'' can reach a length of , though most only reach about . This species has a lifespan of up to three years. It spawns in April and May.NatureServe. 2017''Etheostoma osburni''.NatureServe Explorer V.7.1 Accessed 8 August 2017. It is an invertivore, feeding on aquatic insect larvae and water mites. Habitat and distribution ''Etheostoma osburni'' lives in a system of rivers, streams, and creeks in the central Appalachian Mountains. It can be found in rapid riffles in rocky riverbed habitat. It occurs in cold, cool, and warm waters, as long as the substrate is rocky and the water is clear. It tolerates fast currents. Conservation ''Etheostoma osburni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Wild And Scenic Rivers System
The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-flowing condition for the enjoyment of present and future generations. The Act is notable for safeguarding the special character of these rivers, while also recognizing the potential for their appropriate use and development. It encourages river management that crosses political boundaries and promotes public participation in developing goals for river protection. The Act, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the height of the United States environmental era, states:"It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States that certain selected rivers of the Nation which, with their immediate environments, possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural or other similar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Potts Creek
Potts Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 24, 2011 tributary of the Jackson River in western Virginia. Via the Jackson River, it is part of the James River watershed, flowing to Chesapeake Bay. The creek rises in Monroe County, West Virginia, south of Waiteville, and flows northeast through Craig County and Alleghany County in Virginia, joining the Jackson River at Covington. Name The waterway was originally named Carpenter's Creek, as shown on a map of the area (view it here: :File:Kitfry-1-.jpg) drawn by Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson in 1751 and printed in 1755, and so referred to in the text of Thomas Jefferson's "Notes on the State of Virginia" that he prepared in the 1780s. Carpenter's Creek is also shown as such on John Ballendine's map of the James River published c.1772 and Thomas Hutchins' map of the western regions of Virginia published in 1778. The creek later acquired the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Growth Forest
An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological features, and might be classified as a climax community. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations defines primary forests as naturally regenerated forests of native tree species where there are no clearly visible indications of human activity and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed. More than one-third (34 percent) of the world's forests are primary forests. Old-growth features include diverse tree-related structures that provide diverse wildlife habitat that increases the biodiversity of the forested ecosystem. Virgin or first-growth forests are old-growth forests that have never been logged. The concept of diverse tree structure includes multi-layered canopies and canopy gaps, greatly varying tree height ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Wild Turkey
The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally derived from a southern Mexican subspecies of wild turkey (not the related ocellated turkey). Description Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green legs. The body feathers are generally blackish and dark, sometimes grey brown overall with a coppery sheen that becomes more complex in adult males. Adult males, called toms or gobblers, have a large, featherless, reddish head, red throat, and red wattles on the throat and neck. The head has fleshy growths called caruncles. Juvenile males are called jakes; the difference between an adult male and a juvenile is that the jake has a very short beard and his tail fan has longer feathers in the middle. The adult male's tail fan feathers will be all the same length. When males a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Gray Squirrel
The eastern gray squirrel (''Sciurus carolinensis''), also known, particularly outside of North America, as simply the grey squirrel, is a tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus''. It is native to eastern North America, where it is the most prodigious and ecologically essential natural forest regenerator. Widely introduced to certain places around the world, the eastern gray squirrel in Europe, in particular, is regarded as an invasive species. In Europe, ''Sciurus carolinensis'' is included since 2016 in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (the Union list). This implies that this species cannot be imported, bred, transported, commercialized, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union. Distribution ''Sciurus carolinensis'' is native to the eastern and midwestern United States, and to the southerly portions of the central provinces of Canada. The native range of the eastern gray squirrel overlaps with that of the fox squirre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pileated Woodpeckers
The pileated woodpecker (''Dryocopus pileatus'') is a large, mostly black woodpecker native to North America. An insectivore, it inhabits deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific Coast. It is the largest confirmed extant woodpecker species in North America, with the possible exception of the ivory-billed woodpecker, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed be reclassified as extinct. It is also the third largest species of woodpecker in the world, after the great slaty woodpecker and the black woodpecker. "Pileated" refers to the bird's prominent red crest, from the Latin meaning "capped". Taxonomy The English naturalist Mark Catesby described and illustrated the pileated woodpecker in his book ''The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands'' which was published between 1729 and 1732. Catesby used the English name "The larger red-crested Wood-pecker" and the Latin ''Picus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians")
