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Whitetop Mountain (conservation Area)
Whitetop Mountain (conservation area) is a wildland 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. The Wilderness Society has designated the area as a "Mountain Treasure".Virginia's Mountain Treasures, report issued by The Wilderness Society, May, 1999 The second highest mountain in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, Whitetop Mountain and nearby Buzzard Knob are a commanding presence with a vertical elevation of 3500 feet and good views over the South Holston River at Damascus. The area is part of the ''Mount Rogers Cluster''. Location and access The area is located in the Appalachian Mountains of Southwestern Virginia about 2.4 miles southeast of Konnarock, Virginia between Va 603 on the north, and US 58 on the south and east, and Va 605. It is next to the Lewis Fork Wilderness to the east. The Appalachian Trai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Washington And Jefferson National Forests
The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests is an administrative entity combining two U.S. National Forests into one of the largest areas of public land in the Eastern United States. The forests cover of land in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Approximately of the forest are remote and undeveloped and have been designated as wilderness areas, which prohibits future development. History George Washington National Forest was established on May 16, 1918, as the Shenandoah National Forest. The forest was renamed after the first President on June 28, 1932. Natural Bridge National Forest was added on July 22, 1933. Jefferson National Forest was formed on April 21, 1936, by combining portions of the Unaka and George Washington National Forests with other land. In 1995, the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests were administratively combined. The border between the two forests roughly follows the James River. The combine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salamander
Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten extant salamander families are grouped together under the order Urodela. Salamander diversity is highest in eastern North America, especially in the Appalachian Mountains; most species are found in the Holarctic realm, with some species present in the Neotropical realm. Salamanders rarely have more than four toes on their front legs and five on their rear legs, but some species have fewer digits and others lack hind limbs. Their permeable skin usually makes them reliant on habitats in or near water or other cool, damp places. Some salamander species are fully aquatic throughout their lives, some take to the water intermittently, and others are entirely terrestrial as adults. This group of amphibians is capable of regenerating lost lim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roadless Area Conservation
Roadless area conservation is a conservation policy limiting road construction and the resulting environmental impact on designated areas of public land. In the United States, roadless area conservation has centered on U.S. Forest Service areas known as inventoried roadless areas. The most significant effort to support the conservation of these efforts was the Forest Service 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule (Roadless Rule). Concept Access roads provide convenient access for industry as well as for a variety of recreational activities, such as sightseeing, fishing, hunting, and off-roading. However, these activities can cause erosion, pollution, species loss, and loss of aesthetic appeal. In addition, the building of roads can lead to further development of "splinter roads" that take off from them, and the encroachment of human settlement and development in sensitive areas. In the United States, about 30%, of National Forest lands in 38 states and Puerto Rico are roadless a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inventoried Roadless Area
Inventoried Roadless Areas are a group of United States Forest Service lands that have been identified by government reviews as lands without existing roads that could be suitable for roadless area conservation as wilderness or other non-standard protections. The Inventoried Roadless areas include approximately of land in 40 states and Puerto Rico. Most of these lands are in the western portion of the lower 48 states and Alaska.Maps of inventoried roadless areasUS Forest Service Maps Idaho alone contains over of inventoried roadless areas. The inventoried roadless areas range from large areas with wilderness characteristics to small tracts of land that are immediately adjacent to wilderness areas, parks and other protected lands. Roadless Area Review and Evaluations (RARE) The first review of Forest Service roadless lands was started in 1967 after the creation of the Wilderness Act by Congress in 1964. This effort was called the “Roadless Area Review and Evaluation” or “ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wind Gap
A wind gap (or air gap) is a gap through which a waterway once flowed that is now dry as a result of stream capture. A water gap is a similar feature, but one in which a waterway still flows. Water gaps and wind gaps often provide routes which, due to their gently inclined profile, are suitable for trails, roads, and railroads through mountainous terrain. Examples of wind gaps in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia include Swift Run Gap, Rockfish Gap, and Buford's Gap. The last was the original crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Bedford for the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, later the Norfolk and Western Railway, a precursor of today's Norfolk Southern Railway system. Another wind gap with substantial importance in U.S. history is the Cumberland Gap near the junction of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. Gallery Rockfish Gap November 2009.jpg, Wind gap Rockfish Gap, Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia Desfiladero C Encantada.jpg, Wind gap opened by an ancient stream on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diamictite (metatillite) (Konnarock Formation, Neoproterozoic, ~750 Ma; Rt
Diamictite (; from Ancient Greek (): 'through' and (): 'mixed') is a type of lithified sedimentary rock that consists of nonsorted to poorly sorted terrigenous sediment containing particles that range in size from clay to boulders, suspended in a matrix of mudstone or sandstone. The term was coined by Richard Foster Flint and others as a purely descriptive term, devoid of any reference to a particular origin.Flint, R.F., J.E. Sanders, and J. Rodgers (1960) ''Diamictite, a substitute term for symmictite'' Geological Society of America Bulletin. 71(12):1809–1810. Some geologists restrict the usage to nonsorted or poorly sorted conglomerate or breccia that consists of sparse, terrigenous gravel suspended in either a mud or sand matrix. Tucker, M.E. (2003) ''Sedimentary Rocks in the Field'' John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., New York, New York. 244 pp. Unlithified diamictite is referred to as diamicton. The term diamictite is often applied to nonsorted or poorly sorted, lithified glac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buzzard Rock
Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Eastern buzzard (''Buteo japonicus'') * Ferruginous hawk (''Buteo regalis'') * Forest buzzard (''Buteo trizonatus'') * Galápagos hawk (''Buteo galapagoensis'') * Grey hawk (''Buteo plagiatus'') * Grey-lined hawk (''Buteo nitidus'') * Hawaiian hawk (''Buteo solitarius'') * Jackal buzzard (''Buteo rufofuscus'') * Long-legged buzzard (''Buteo rufinus'') * Madagascar buzzard (''Buteo brachypterus'') * Mountain buzzard (''Buteo oreophilus'') * Puna hawk (''Buteo poecilochrous'') * Red-backed hawk (''Buteo polyosoma'') * Red-necked buzzard (''Buteo auguralis'') * Red-shouldered hawk (''Buteo lineatus'') * Red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') * Ridgway's hawk (''Buteo ridgwayi'') * Roadside hawk (''Buteo magnirostris'') * Rough-legged buzzard (''Buteo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weller's Salamander
Weller's salamander (''Plethodon welleri'') is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. This species in endemic to the southeastern mountain range of the United States. It is mainly found in North Carolina near Grandfather Mountain. The salamanders have a unique metallic spotting which distinguishes them from other ''Plethodon'' species and other salamanders in the area. They mainly inhabit cool forests with rocky areas. Worth Hamilton Weller, an American herpetologist, discovered the new species during his sophomore/junior high school summer vacation in 1931. This species is currently threatened by population fragmentation, habitat degradation and loss. Description Weller's salamander has 16 coastal or costal grooves with light dorsal markings. The markings are usually dark gold in color with a metallic sheen. These are smaller salamanders, like most plethodontids, and have a slender body. They have 17 trunk vertebrae, which makes them the shortest of the eastern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shovelnose Salamander
The shovelnose salamander (''Desmognathus marmoratus'') is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the United States. Taxonomy The golden shovel-nosed salamander (''D. aureatus'') and black shovel-nosed salamander (''D. melanius'') were both described in 1956, then synonymized with ''D. marmoratus'', but later revived as distinct species in 2009. However, their distinctiveness was quantified using mtDNA; due to heavy mtDNA introgression between ''Desmognathus'' species being a major problem with delineating their taxonomy, both species are not recognized by other taxonomic authorities. However, they are provisionally recognized by Darrel Frost unless proper counter-evidence is released. Description The shovelnose salamander is a robust species, broad with a relatively short tail. It receives its name from the shape of its snout which is more square ended than as seen in other salamanders in its genus. The colour is a dusky brown, grey or black w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pygmy Salamander
The pygmy salamander (''Desmognathus wrighti'') is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the United States in the southern Appalachians in North Carolina and Tennessee. ''Desmognathus wrighti'' is a member of the family Plethodontidae and is commonly known as the pygmy salamander. As the name suggest the pygmy salamander is the smallest of the nineteen species in the genus ''Desmognathus''. ''D. wrighti'' undergoes direct development and does not have a free-living larval stage. Only two other taxa in ''Desmognathus'', ''D. aeneus'' and ''D. organi'', exhibit direct development along with the pygmy salamander.Hining, K. J. and R. C. Bruce. 2005. Population structure and life history attributes of syntopic populations of the salamanders ''Desmognathus aeneus'' and ''Desmognathus wrighti'' (Amphibia: Plethodontidae). ''Southeastern Naturalist'', 4(4): 679-688 In the genus ''Desmognathus'', body size, habitat preferences, and patterns used by males ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sibbaldiopsis
''Sibbaldiopsis'' is a genus in the plant family Rosaceae. This genus only contains a single species: ''Sibbaldiopsis tridentata'', formerly '' Potentilla tridentata''. Commonly, its names include three-toothed cinquefoil, shrubby fivefingers, and wineleaf. Systemic phylogenetic work has placed ''S. tridentata'' within ''Sibbaldia'' as ''Sibbaldia retusa''. History ''Sibbaldiopsis tridentata'' was first described by William Aiton, but later corrected by Per Axel Rydberg. The species had been called ''Potentilla tridentata'', but because of genetic analysis, it was discovered that the plant was closer to the boreal species ''Sibbaldia procumbens'', and was placed in its own genus. The genus name ''Sibbaldiopsis'' comes from ''Sibbaldia'' and the suffix , meaning "resembling". ''Sibbaldiopsis tridentata'' has sometimes been cited as ''Potentilla retusa'', as it is much older, despite having yellow flowers. In addition, poor specimens of ''Sibbaldiopsis tridentata'' resemble ''Si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
