Massanutten Trail
The Massanutten Trail is a National Recreation Trail located in George Washington National Forest in Central Virginia. Much of the path is steep and rugged terrain, and presents many mountain vistas. The trail traverses the Massanutten Range around its inner valley. Shenandoah National Park is to the east, and Great North Mountain is west. History The trail has its origins in the American Revolutionary War. Originally known as Morgan's Road, a portion of the trail at Veach Gap was built as a potential avenue for retreat in case the Continental Army had been defeated at the battle of Yorktown. George Washington had Daniel Morgan construct the road over the eastern ridge into the valley. In the 19th century, the area was used for mining and the production of charcoal. Elizabeth Furnace was a blast furnace utilized to create pig iron. Signal Knob, a peak on the northern end of the trail, was used by the Signal Corps of both armies in the Civil War. In 1933, Camp Roosevelt ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Massanutten Mountain
Massanutten Mountain is a synclinal ridge in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, located in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is near the West Virginia state line. Geography The mountain bisects the Shenandoah Valley just east of Strasburg in Shenandoah County in the north, to its highest peak east of Harrisonburg in Rockingham County in the south. The mountain is divided into northern and southern sections, divided by the New Market Gap. The northern section consists of 3 roughly parallel ridges, forming 2 valleys. The wider, main valley, is called Fort Valley, while the smaller one is known as Little Fort Valley. The ridges of the northern section converge at New Market Gap. The southern section consists of a series of closely gathered ridges, separated by precipitous creek gorges. On the eastern side of the mountain range lie the Page Valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains. On the western side lie the North-Central Shenandoah Valley and the Great North Mountain of the Al ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Signal Corps In The American Civil War
The Signal Corps in the American Civil War comprised two organizations: the U.S. Army Signal Corps, which began with the appointment of Major Albert J. Myer as its first signal officer just before the war and remains an entity to this day, and the Confederate States Army Signal Corps, a much smaller group of officers and men, using similar organizations and techniques as their Union opponents. Both accomplished tactical and strategic communications for the warring armies, including electromagnetic telegraphy and aerial telegraphy ( "wig-wag" signaling). Although both services had an implicit mission of battlefield observation, intelligence gathering, and artillery fire direction from their elevated signal stations, the Confederate Signal Corps also included an explicit espionage function. The Union Signal Corps, although effective on the battlefield, suffered from political disputes in Washington, D.C., particularly in its rivalry with the civilian-led U.S. Military Telegraph C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A History of Walking'', 101-24. NYU Press, 2004. Accessed March 1, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qg056.7. Religious pilgrimages have existed much longer but they involve walking long distances for a spiritual purpose associated with specific religions. "Hiking" is the preferred term in Canada and the United States; the term "walking" is used in these regions for shorter, particularly urban walks. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, the word "walking" describes all forms of walking, whether it is a walk in the park or backpacking in the Alps. The word hiking is also often used in the UK, along with rambling , hillwalking, and fell walking (a term mostly used for hillwalking in northern England). The term bushwalking is end ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bobcat
The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2002, due to its wide distribution and large population. Although it has been hunted extensively both for sport and fur, populations have proven stable, though declining in some areas. It has distinctive black bars on its forelegs and a black-tipped, stubby (or "bobbed") tail, from which it derives its name. It reaches a total length (including the tail) of up to . It is an adaptable predator inhabiting wooded areas, semidesert, urban edge, forest edge, and swampland environments. It remains in some of its original range, but populations are vulnerable to extirpation by coyotes and domestic animals. Though the bobcat prefers rabbits and hares, it hunts insects, chickens, geese and other birds, small rodents, and deer. Pre ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wild Turkey
The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an Upland game bird, upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), 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 Wattle (anatomy), wattles on the throat and neck. The head has fleshy growths called Caruncle (bird anatomy) , 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. Th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ruffed Grouse
The ruffed grouse (''Bonasa umbellus'') is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is the most widely distributed game bird in North America. It is non-migratory. It is the only species in the genus ''Bonasa''. The ruffed grouse is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a "partridge", an unrelated phasianid, and occasionally confused with the grey partridge, a bird of open areas rather than woodlands. The ruffed grouse is the state game bird of Pennsylvania, United States. Taxonomy ''Bonasa umbellus'' was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1766 12th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. He classified it as ''Tetrao umbellus'', placing it in a subfamily with Eurasian grouse. The genus ''Bonasa'' was applied by British naturalist John Francis Stephens in 1819. Ruffed grouse is the preferred common name because it applies only to this species. Misleading vernacular names abound, however, and it is often called partridge ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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Rattlesnake
Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genera ''Crotalus'' and ''Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small animals such as birds and rodents. Rattlesnakes receive their name from the rattle located at the end of their tails, which makes a loud rattling noise when vibrated that deters predators or serves as a warning to passers-by. Rattlesnakes are the leading contributor to snakebite injuries in North America, but rarely bite unless provoked or threatened; if treated promptly, the bites are seldom fatal. The 36 known species of rattlesnakes have between 65 and 70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from British Columbia through Ontario in southern Canada, to central Argentina. The largest rattlesnake, the eastern diamondback, can measure up to in length. Rattlesnakes are preyed upon by hawks, weasels, king snakes, and a variety ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gray Fox
The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener, the diminutive island fox (''Urocyon littoralis'') of the California Channel Islands, are the only living members of the genus ''Urocyon'', which is considered to be genetically basal to all other living canids. Its species name ''cinereoargenteus'' means " ashen silver". It was once the most common fox in the eastern United States, and though still found there, human advancement and deforestation allowed the red fox to become the predominant fox-like canid. Despite this post-colonial competition, the gray fox has been able to thrive in urban and suburban environments, one of the best examples being southern Florida. The Pacific States and Great Lakes region still have the gray fox as their prevalent fox. Etymology The genus ''Urocyon'' comes from the Latin 'uro' meaning tail, an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Red Fox
The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus parts of North Africa. It is listed as least concern by the IUCN. Its range has increased alongside human expansion, having been Foxes in Australia, introduced to Australia, where it is considered harmful to native mammals and bird populations. Due to its presence in Australia, it is included on the list of the List of the world's 100 worst invasive species, "world's 100 worst invasive species". The red fox originated from smaller-sized ancestors from Eurasia during the Middle Villafranchian period, and colonised North America shortly after the Wisconsin glaciation. Among the true foxes, the red fox represents a more progressive form in the direction of Carnivore, carnivory. Apart from its large size, the red fox is disting ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gray Squirrel
Gray squirrel or grey squirrel may refer to several species of squirrel indigenous to North America: *The eastern gray squirrel (''Sciurus carolinensis''), from the eastern United States and southeastern Canada; introduced into the United Kingdom, Ireland, western North America, Italy, and South Africa *The western gray squirrel (''Sciurus griseus''), from the western United States *The Arizona gray squirrel (''Sciurus arizonensis''), from the southwestern United States and adjacent Mexico *The Mexican gray squirrel The Mexican gray squirrel (or red-bellied squirrel) (''Sciurus aureogaster'') is a tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus'' native to Guatemala and eastern and southern Mexico. It has been introduced to the Florida Keys. The alternate name shou ... (''Sciurus aureogaster''), from southern Mexico and Guatemala; introduced into the Florida Keys {{Animal common name Sciurus ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced to New Zealand, all the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean (Cuba, Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ..., Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico), and some countries in Europe, such as the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Romania and Serbia. In the Americas, it is the most widely distributed wild ungulate. In North America, the species is widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains as well as in southwestern Arizona and most of Mexico, except Baja California peninsula, Lower California. It is mostly displaced by the black ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |