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The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They once reached elevations similar to those of the Alps and the Rocky Mountains before experiencing natural erosion. The Appalachian chain is a barrier to east–west travel, as it forms a series of alternating ridgelines and valleys oriented in opposition to most highways and railroads running east–west. Definitions vary on the precise boundaries of the Appalachians. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) defines the ''Appalachian Highlands'' physiographic division as consisting of 13 provinces: the Atlantic Coast Uplands, Eastern Newfoundland Atlantic, Maritime Acadian Highlands, Maritime Plain, Notre Dame and Mégantic Mountains, Western Newfoundland Mountains, Piedmont, Blue Ridge, Valley and Ridge, St. Lawrence Valley, Appalachian Plateaus, and
New England province The New England province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division of eastern North America. The province consists of the Seaboard Lowland, New England Upland, White Mountain, Green Mountain, and Taconic sections. Geology ...
. The Appalachians do not include the Adirondack Mountains, a distinct and growing range that is a part of the Canadian Shield and belongs to the Grenville Orogeny.


Overview

The mountain range is mostly in the United States, though it extends into southeastern
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
, forming a zone from wide, running from the island of Newfoundland southwestward to Central Alabama in the United States. The range covers parts of the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, an overseas territory of
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. The system is divided into a series of ranges with the individual mountains averaging around . The highest of the group is
Mount Mitchell Mount Mitchell, known in Cherokee as Attakulla, is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and the highest peak in mainland eastern North America. It is located near Burnsville in Yancey County, North Carolina in the Black Mountain su ...
in North Carolina at , which is the highest point in the United States east of the Mississippi River. The term ''Appalachian'' refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range. Most broadly, it refers to the entire mountain range with its surrounding hills and the dissected plateau region. The term is often used more restrictively to refer to regions in the central and southern Appalachian Mountains, usually including areas in the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland,
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...
, and North Carolina, and sometimes extending as far south as northern Alabama, Georgia, and western South Carolina, and as far north as Pennsylvania, southern and east central
Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
, Lower New York and the Southern Tier region of New York. The Ouachita Mountains in Arkansas and Oklahoma were originally part of the Appalachians as well but became disconnected through geologic history.


Origin of the name

While exploring inland along the northern coast of
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
in 1528, the members of the Narváez expedition, including Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, found a Native American village near present-day Tallahassee, Florida whose name they transcribed as ''Apalchen'' or ''Apalachen'' . The name was soon altered by the Spanish to Apalachee and used as a name for the tribe and region spreading well inland to the north.
Pánfilo de Narváez Pánfilo de Narváez (; 147?–1528) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' and soldier in the Americas. Born in Spain, he first embarked to Jamaica in 1510 as a soldier. He came to participate in the conquest of Cuba and led an expedition to Camag� ...
's expedition first entered Apalachee territory on June 15, 1528, and applied the name. Now spelled "Appalachian," it is the fourth-oldest surviving European place-name in the US. After the 1540 expedition of Hernando de Soto, Spanish cartographers began to apply the name of the tribe to the mountains themselves. The first cartographic appearance of ''Apalchen'' is on Diego Gutiérrez's map of 1562; the first use for the mountain range is the map of Jacques le Moyne de Morgues in 1565. The name was not commonly used for the whole mountain range until the late 19th century. A competing and often more popular name was the "Allegheny Mountains", "Alleghenies", and even "Alleghania". In the early 19th century, Washington Irving proposed renaming the United States either Appalachia or Alleghania. In U.S. dialects in the southern regions of the Appalachians, the word is pronounced , with the third syllable sounding like "latch". In northern parts of the mountain range, it is pronounced or ; the third syllable is like "lay", and the fourth "chins" or "shins". There is often great debate between the residents of the regions as to which pronunciation is the more correct one. Elsewhere, a commonly accepted pronunciation for the adjective ''Appalachian'' is , with the last two syllables "-ian" pronounced as in the word "Romanian".


Geography


Regions

The Appalachian Mountains include three major sections: * Northern: The northern section runs from the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador to the Hudson River. It includes the Long Range Mountains and
Annieopsquotch Mountains The Annieopsquotch Mountains ( ) are located in the southwestern interior of the Canadian island of Newfoundland, east of Bay St. George. Rising to a peak of above sea level, this range of hills runs in a north-eastward direction between Victor ...
on the island of Newfoundland, the French Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon southwest of Newfoundland,
Chic-Choc Mountains The Chic-Choc Mountains, also spelled Shick Shocks, is a mountain range in the central region of the Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec, Canada. It is a part of the Notre Dame Mountains, which is a continuation of the Appalachian Mountains. History Th ...
and Notre Dame Range in Quebec and New Brunswick, scattered elevations and small ranges elsewhere in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the
Longfellow Mountains The Longfellow Mountains are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains System, located within the North Maine Woods region of northwestern Maine. They extend across the state from northern New Hampshire northeastward to the Canadian provinces of Ne ...
in Maine, the White Mountains in
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, the Green Mountains in Vermont, and The Berkshires in
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
and
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...
. The Metacomet Ridge Mountains in Connecticut and south-central Massachusetts, although contained within the Appalachian province, is a younger system and not geologically associated with the Appalachians. The
Monteregian Hills The Monteregian Hills (french: Collines Montérégiennes) is a linear chain of isolated hills in Montreal and Montérégie, between the Laurentians and the Appalachians. Etymology The first definition of the Monteregian Hills came about in 19 ...
, which cross the Green Mountains in Quebec, are also unassociated with the Appalachians. The Adirondack Mountains in New York are sometimes included with maps of the Appalachian chain but are in fact a southern extension of the Laurentian Mountains of Canada. * Central: The central section runs from the Hudson Valley in New York to the New River through the Lehigh Valley and central Pennsylvania and western Maryland to western Virginia and
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...
. The central region comprises the Valley Ridges between the Allegheny Front of the Allegheny Plateau and the Great Appalachian Valley, the New York–New Jersey Highlands, the Taconic Mountains in New York, and a large portion of the Blue Ridge. In addition to the true folded mountains, known as the ridge and valley province, the area of dissected plateau to the north and west of the mountains is usually grouped with the Appalachians. This includes the Catskill Mountains of Lower New York, the Poconos in Pennsylvania, and the Allegheny Plateau of New York's Southern Tier region, western Pennsylvania, eastern
Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
and northern
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...
. * Southern: The southern section runs from the New River and consists of the prolongation of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which is divided into the Western Blue Ridge (or Unaka) Front and the Eastern Blue Ridge Front, the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, and the Cumberland Plateau. This same plateau is known as the Cumberland Plateau in southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, western Virginia, eastern Tennessee, and northern Alabama. The dissected plateau area, while not actually made up of geological mountains, is popularly called "mountains," especially in eastern Kentucky and West Virginia, and while the ridges are not high, the terrain is extremely rugged. In Ohio and New York, some of the plateau has been glaciated, which has rounded off the sharp ridges and filled the valleys to some extent. The glaciated regions are usually referred to as hill country rather than mountains. The Appalachian region is generally considered the geographical divide between the eastern seaboard of the United States and the Midwest region of the country. The Eastern Continental Divide follows the Appalachian Mountains from Pennsylvania to Georgia. The Appalachian Trail is a hiking trail that runs all the way from Mount Katahdin in Maine to
Springer Mountain Springer Mountain is a mountain located in the Chattahoochee National Forest on the border of Fannin and Gilmer counties. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Georgia, the mountain has an elevation of about . Springer Mountain serves ...
in Georgia, passing over or past a large part of the Appalachian system. The International Appalachian Trail is an extension of this hiking trail into the Canadian portion of the Appalachian range in New Brunswick and Quebec.


Chief summits

The Appalachian belt includes, with the ranges enumerated above, the plateaus sloping southward to the Atlantic Ocean in New England, and south-eastward to the border of the coastal plain through the central and southern Atlantic states; and on the north-west, the Allegheny and Cumberland plateaus declining toward the Great Lakes and the interior plains. A remarkable feature of the belt is the longitudinal chain of broad valleys, including the Great Appalachian Valley, which in the southerly sections divides the mountain system into two unequal portions, but in the northernmost lies west of all the ranges possessing typical Appalachian features, and separates them from the Adirondack group. The mountain system has no axis of dominating altitudes, but in every portion, the summits rise to rather uniform heights, and, especially in the central section, the various ridges and intermontane valleys have the same trend as the system itself. None of the summits reaches the region of perpetual snow. Mountains of the Long Range in Newfoundland reach heights of nearly . In the Chic-Choc and Notre Dame mountain ranges in Quebec, the higher summits rise above in elevation. Isolated peaks and small ranges in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick vary from . In Maine, several peaks exceed , including Mount Katahdin at . In
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, many summits rise above , including
Mount Washington Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934 ...
in the White Mountains at , Adams at , Jefferson at , Monroe at ,
Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
at , Lafayette at , and Lincoln at . In the Green Mountains the highest point, Mt. Mansfield, is in elevation; others include
Killington Peak Killington Peak is the second highest summit in the Green Mountains and in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is located east of Rutland in south-central Vermont. Killington Peak is a stop on the Long Trail, which here shares its route with the App ...
at , Camel's Hump at , Mt. Abraham at , and a number of other heights exceeding . In Pennsylvania, there are over sixty summits that rise over ; the summits of Mount Davis and Blue Knob rise over . In Maryland, Eagle Rock and Dans Mountain are conspicuous points reaching and respectively. On the same side of the Great Valley, south of the Potomac, are the Pinnacle and Pidgeon Roost . In West Virginia, more than 150 peaks rise above , including Spruce Knob , the highest point in the Allegheny Mountains. A number of other points in the state rise above . Cheat Mountain ( Snowshoe Mountain) at Thorny Flat and
Bald Knob Bald Knob is the highest summit of Back Allegheny Mountain in Pocahontas County, West Virginia and is part of Cass Scenic Railroad State Park. At an altitude of above sea level, Bald Knob is the third-highest point in West Virginia and the All ...
are among the more notable peaks in West Virginia. The Blue Ridge Mountains, rising in southern Pennsylvania and there known as
South Mountain South Mountain or South Mountains may refer to: Canada * South Mountain, a village in North Dundas, Ontario * South Mountain (Nova Scotia), a mountain range * South Mountain (band), a Canadian country music group United States Landforms * Sout ...
, attain elevations of about in that state. South Mountain achieves its highest point just below the Mason-Dixon line in Maryland at
Quirauk Mountain Quirauk Mountain is the highest point on South Mountain. The peak is located in northeastern Washington County, Maryland. It lies just southwest of Fort Ritchie Military Reservation in the village of Cascade and about 1/2 mile southeast of t ...
and then diminishes in height southward to the Potomac River. Once in Virginia, the Blue Ridge again reaches and higher. In the Virginia Blue Ridge, the following are some of the highest peaks north of the Roanoke River: Stony Man , Hawksbill Mountain ,
Apple Orchard Mountain Apple Orchard Mountain is a peak of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. Located in George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, Apple Orchard Mountain is the county highpoint for both Bedford County and Botetourt County, Virginia as wel ...
and
Peaks of Otter The Peaks of Otter are three mountain peaks in the Blue Ridge Mountains, overlooking the town of Bedford, Virginia, which lies nine miles (14 km) to the southeast along State Route 43. These peaks are Sharp Top, Flat Top, and Harkening Hill ...
. South of the Roanoke River, along the Blue Ridge, are Virginia's highest peaks including
Whitetop Mountain Whitetop Mountain is the second highest independent mountain in the U.S. state of Virginia, after nearby Mount Rogers. It is also the third highest named peak in Virginia, after Mount Rogers and its subsidiary peak, Pine Mountain. It is locat ...
and
Mount Rogers Mount Rogers is the highest natural point in Virginia, United States, with a summit elevation of above mean sea level. The summit straddles the border of Grayson and Smyth Counties, Virginia, about WSW of Troutdale, Virginia. Most of the mo ...
, the highest point in the Commonwealth. Chief summits in the southern section of the Blue Ridge are located along two main crests—the Western or Unaka Front along the Tennessee-North Carolina border and the Eastern Front in North Carolina—or one of several "cross ridges" between the two main crests. Major subranges of the Eastern Front include the Black Mountains,
Great Craggy Mountains The Great Craggy Mountains, commonly called the Craggies, are a mountain range in western North Carolina, United States. They are a subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains and encompass an area of approx. 194 sq mi (503 km²). They are situated ...
, and
Great Balsam Mountains The Great Balsam Mountains, or Balsam Mountains, are in the mountain region of western North Carolina, United States. The Great Balsams are a subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which in turn are a part of the Appalachian Mountains. The most f ...
, and its chief summits include
Grandfather Mountain Grandfather Mountain is a mountain, a non-profit attraction, and a North Carolina state park near Linville, North Carolina. At 5,946 feet (1,812 m), it is the highest peak on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, one of the major c ...
near the Tennessee-North Carolina border,
Mount Mitchell Mount Mitchell, known in Cherokee as Attakulla, is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and the highest peak in mainland eastern North America. It is located near Burnsville in Yancey County, North Carolina in the Black Mountain su ...
in the Blacks, and
Black Balsam Knob Black Balsam Knob, also known as Black Balsam Bald, is in the Pisgah National Forest southwest of Asheville, North Carolina, near milepost 420 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is the second highest mountain in the Great Balsam Mountains. The Great Ba ...
and Cold Mountain in the Great Balsams. The Western Blue Ridge Front is subdivided into the Unaka Range, the Bald Mountains, the Great Smoky Mountains, and the Unicoi Mountains, and its major peaks include Roan Mountain in the Unakas, Big Bald and
Max Patch Max Patch is a bald mountain on the North Carolina-Tennessee Border in Madison County, North Carolina, and Cocke County, Tennessee. It is a major landmark along the Tennessee/North Carolina section of the Appalachian Trail, although its summit is ...
in the Bald Mountains, Clingmans Dome , Mount Le Conte , and Mount Guyot in the Great Smokies, and Big Frog Mountain near the Tennessee-Georgia-North Carolina border. Prominent summits in the cross ridges include
Waterrock Knob Waterrock Knob is a mountain peak in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the highest peak in the Plott Balsams and is the 16th-highest mountain in the Eastern United States. The mountain is a popular destination with tourists and amateur hike ...
() in the
Plott Balsams The Plott Balsams are a mountain range in western North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. They are part of the Blue Ridge Mountain Province of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Plott Balsams stretch from the city of Sylva in t ...
. Across northern Georgia, numerous peaks exceed , including Brasstown Bald, the state's highest, at and Rabun Bald. In north-central Alabama, Mount Cheaha rises prominently to over its surroundings, as part of the southernmost spur of the Blue Ridge Mountains.


Drainage

There are many geological issues concerning the rivers and streams of the Appalachians. In spite of the existence of the Great Appalachian Valley, many of the main rivers are transverse to the mountain system axis. The drainage divide of the Appalachians follows a tortuous course that crosses the mountainous belt just north of the New River in Virginia. South of the New River, rivers head into the Blue Ridge, cross the higher Unakas, receive important tributaries from the Great Valley, and traversing the Cumberland Plateau in spreading gorges ( water gaps), escape by way of the Cumberland River and the Tennessee River rivers to the Ohio River and the Mississippi River, and thence to the Gulf of Mexico. In the central section, north of the New River, the rivers, rising in or just beyond the Valley Ridges, flow through great gorges to the Great Valley, and then across the Blue Ridge to tidal estuaries penetrating the coastal plain via the Roanoke River, James River, Potomac River, and Susquehanna River. In the northern section the height of land lies on the inland side of the mountainous belt, and thus the main lines of drainage run from north to south, exemplified by the Hudson River. However, the valley through which the Hudson River flows was cut by the gigantic
glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...
s of the ice ages—the same glaciers that deposited their terminal moraines in southern New York and formed the east–west Long Island.


Geology

A look at rocks that are exposed in today's Appalachian mountains reveals elongated belts of folded and thrust faulted marine sedimentary rocks, volcanic rocks and slivers of ancient ocean floor, which provides strong evidence that these rocks were deformed during plate collision. The birth of the Appalachian ranges, some 480 million years ago, marks the first of several mountain-building plate collisions that culminated in the construction of the supercontinent Pangaea with the Appalachians near the center. Because North America and Africa were connected, the Appalachians formed part of the same mountain chain as the
Little Atlas The Anti-Atlas ( ar, الأطلس الصغير, shi, Aṭlas Mẓẓiyn), also known as Lesser Atlas or Little Atlas is a mountain range in Morocco, a part of the Atlas Mountains in the northwest of Africa. The Anti-Atlas extends from the Atlanti ...
in
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...
. This mountain range, known as the Central Pangean Mountains, extended into
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, before the Mesozoic Era opening of the Iapetus Ocean, from the North America/Europe collision (See Caledonian orogeny). During the middle Ordovician Period (about 496–440 million years ago), a change in plate motions set the stage for the first Paleozoic mountain-building event ( Taconic orogeny) in North America. The once-quiet Appalachian passive margin changed to a very active plate boundary when a neighboring oceanic plate, the Iapetus, collided with and began sinking beneath the North American craton. With the birth of this new subduction zone, the early Appalachians were born. Volcanoes grew along the continental margin coincident with the initiation of subduction. Thrust faulting uplifted and warped older sedimentary rock laid down on the passive margin. As the mountains rose, erosion began to wear them down over time. Streams carried rock debris downslope to be deposited in nearby lowlands. The Taconic Orogeny was just the first of a series of mountain building plate collisions that contributed to the formation of the Appalachians, culminating in the collision of North America and Africa (see Alleghanian orogeny). By the end of the Mesozoic Era, the Appalachian Mountains had been eroded to an almost flat plain. It was not until the region was uplifted during the Cenozoic Era that the distinctive topography of the present formed. Uplift rejuvenated the streams, which rapidly responded by cutting downward into the ancient bedrock. Some streams flowed along weak layers that define the folds and faults created many millions of years earlier. Other streams downcut so rapidly that they cut right across the resistant folded rocks of the mountain core, carving canyons across rock layers and geologic structures.


Mineral resources

The Appalachian Mountains contain major deposits of anthracite coal as well as bituminous coal. In the folded mountains the coal is in metamorphosed form as anthracite, represented by the
Coal Region The Coal Region is a region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is known for being home to the largest known deposits of anthracite coal in the world with an estimated reserve of seven billion short tons. The region is typically defined as compris ...
of northeastern Pennsylvania. The bituminous coal fields of western Pennsylvania, western Maryland, southeastern Ohio, eastern Kentucky, southwestern Virginia, and West Virginia contain the sedimentary form of coal. The
mountain top removal Mountaintop removal mining (MTR), also known as mountaintop mining (MTM), is a form of surface mining at the summit or summit ridge of a mountain. Coal seams are extracted from a mountain by removing the land, or overburden, above the seams. ...
method of coal mining, in which entire mountain tops are removed, is currently threatening vast areas and ecosystems of the Appalachian Mountain region. The surface coal mining that started in the 1940s has significantly impacted the central Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Early mining methods were unregulated and mined land reclamation research, including acid base reaction, was led by the West Virginia University in the 1960s and 1970s. West Virginia developed rigorous mine reclamation standards for state coal mines in the late 1960s. Regulations were introduced by most federal states to protect the Appalachian Mountains by the late 1960s. Social and political activism brought about the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. The 1859 discovery of commercial quantities of petroleum in the Appalachian Mountains of western Pennsylvania started the modern United States petroleum industry. Recent discoveries of commercial natural gas deposits in the Marcellus Shale formation and
Utica Shale The Utica Shale is a stratigraphical unit of Upper Ordovician age in the Appalachian Basin. It underlies much of the northeastern United States and adjacent parts of Canada. It takes the name from the city of Utica, New York, as it was first ...
formations have once again focused oil industry attention on the Appalachian Basin. Some plateaus of the Appalachian Mountains contain metallic minerals such as
iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...
and zinc.


Ecology

The Appalachians, particularly the Central and Southern regions, is one of the most biodiverse places in North America. The north–south orientation of the long ridges and valleys contributes to the high number of plant and animal species. Species were able to migrate through these from either direction during alternating periods of warming and cooling, settling in the microclimates that best suited them.


Flora

The flora of the Appalachians are diverse and vary primarily in response to geology, latitude, elevation and moisture availability. Geobotanically, they constitute a floristic province of the North American Atlantic Region. The Appalachians consist primarily of deciduous broad-leaf trees and evergreen needle-leaf conifers, but also contain the evergreen broad-leaf American holly ('), and the deciduous needle-leaf conifer, the tamarack, or eastern larch ('). The dominant northern and high elevation conifer is the red spruce ('), which grows from near sea level to above above sea level (asl) in northern New England and southeastern Canada. It also grows southward along the Appalachian crest to the highest elevations of the southern Appalachians, as in North Carolina and Tennessee. In the central Appalachians it is usually confined above asl, except for a few cold valleys in which it reaches lower elevations. In the southern Appalachians, it is restricted to higher elevations. Another species is the black spruce ('), which extends farthest north of any conifer in North America, is found at high elevations in the northern Appalachians, and in bogs as far south as Pennsylvania. The Appalachians are also home to two species of fir, the boreal balsam fir ('), and the southern high elevation endemic, Fraser fir ('). Fraser fir is confined to the highest parts of the southern Appalachian Mountains, where along with red spruce it forms a fragile ecosystem known as the
Southern Appalachian spruce–fir forest The southern Appalachian spruce–fir forest is an ecoregion of the temperate coniferous forests biome, a type of montane coniferous forest that grows in the highest elevations in the southern Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States. ...
. Fraser fir rarely occurs below , and becomes the dominant tree type at . By contrast, balsam fir is found from near sea level to the tree line in the northern Appalachians, but ranges only as far south as Virginia and West Virginia in the central Appalachians, where it is usually confined above asl, except in cold valleys. Curiously, it is associated with oaks in Virginia. The balsam fir of Virginia and West Virginia is thought by some to be a natural hybrid between the more northern variety and Fraser fir. While red spruce is common in both upland and bog habitats, balsam fir, as well as black spruce and tamarack, are more characteristic of the latter. However, balsam fir also does well in soils with a pH as high as 6. Eastern or Canada hemlock (') is another important evergreen needle-leaf conifer that grows along the Appalachian chain from north to south but is confined to lower elevations than red spruce and the firs. It generally occupies richer and less acidic soils than the spruce and firs and is characteristic of deep, shaded and moist mountain valleys and coves. It is, unfortunately, subject to the hemlock woolly adelgid ('), an introduced insect, that is rapidly extirpating it as a forest tree. Less abundant, and restricted to the southern Appalachians, is Carolina hemlock ('). Like Canada hemlock, this tree suffers severely from the hemlock woolly adelgid. Several species of pines characteristic of the Appalachians are eastern white pine ('),
Virginia pine ''Pinus virginiana'', the Virginia pine, scrub pine, Jersey pine, Possum pine, is a medium-sized tree, often found on poorer soils from Long Island in southern New York south through the Appalachian Mountains to western Tennessee and Alabama. The ...
('), pitch pine ('), Table Mountain pine (') and
shortleaf pine ''Pinus echinata'', the shortleaf pine, is a species of pine native to the southeastern United States. Description The tree is variable in form, sometimes straight, sometimes crooked, with an irregular crown. The tree reaches heights of with ...
('). Red pine (') is a boreal species that forms a few high elevation outliers as far south as West Virginia. All of these species except white pine tend to occupy sandy, rocky, poor soil sites, which are mostly acidic in character. White pine, a large species valued for its timber, tends to do best in rich, moist soil, either acidic or alkaline in character. Pitch pine is also at home in acidic, boggy soil, and Table Mountain pine may occasionally be found in this habitat as well. Shortleaf pine is generally found in warmer habitats and at lower elevations than the other species. All the species listed do best in open or lightly shaded habitats, although white pine also thrives in shady coves, valleys, and on floodplains. The Appalachians are characterized by a wealth of large, beautiful deciduous broadleaf (hardwood) trees. Their occurrences are best summarized and described in
E. Lucy Braun E. Lucy Braun (April 19, 1889 – March 5, 1971) was a prominent botanist, ecologist, and expert on the forests of the eastern United States who was a professor of the University of Cincinnati. She was the first woman to be elected President o ...
's 1950 classic, ''Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America'' (Macmillan, New York). The most diverse and richest forests are the mixed-mesophytic or medium-moisture types, which are largely confined to rich, moist montane soils of the southern and central Appalachians, particularly in the Cumberland and Allegheny Mountains, but also thrive in the southern Appalachian coves. Characteristic canopy species are white basswood ('),
yellow buckeye ''Aesculus flava'', the yellow buckeye, common buckeye, or sweet buckeye, is a species of deciduous tree. It is native to the Ohio Valley and Appalachian Mountains of the Eastern United States. It grows in mesophytic forest or floodplains, genera ...
('), sugar maple ('),
American beech ''Fagus grandifolia'', the American beech or North American beech, is a species of beech tree native to the eastern United States and extreme southeast of Canada. Description ''Fagus grandifolia'' is a large deciduous tree growing to tall, w ...
('), tuliptree ('), white ash (') and yellow birch ('). Other common trees are red maple ('), shagbark and bitternut hickories (') and black or sweet birch ('). Small understory trees and shrubs include flowering dogwood ('),
hophornbeam ''Ostrya'' is a genus of eight to 10 small deciduous trees belonging to the birch family Betulaceae. Common names include hop-hornbeam and hophornbeam. It may also be called ironwood, a name shared with a number of other plants. The genus is nat ...
('), witch-hazel (') and spicebush ('). There are also hundreds of perennial and annual herbs, among them such herbal and medicinal plants as American ginseng ('), goldenseal ('), bloodroot (') and
black cohosh ''Actaea racemosa'', the black cohosh, black bugbane, black snakeroot, rattle-top, or fairy candle (syn. ''Cimicifuga racemosa''), is a species of flowering plant of the family Ranunculaceae. It is native to eastern North America from the extreme ...
('). The foregoing trees, shrubs, and herbs are also more widely distributed in less rich mesic forests that generally occupy coves, stream valleys and flood plains throughout the southern and central Appalachians at low and intermediate elevations. In the northern Appalachians and at higher elevations of the central and southern Appalachians these diverse mesic forests give way to less diverse northern hardwood forests with canopies dominated only by American beech, sugar maple, American basswood (') and yellow birch and with far fewer species of shrubs and herbs. Drier and rockier uplands and ridges are occupied by oak–chestnut forests dominated by a variety of oaks (' spp.), hickories (' spp.) and, in the past, by the American chestnut ('). The American chestnut was virtually eliminated as a canopy species by the introduced fungal chestnut blight ('), but lives on as sapling-sized sprouts that originate from roots, which are not killed by the fungus. In present-day forest canopies, chestnut has been largely replaced by oaks. The oak forests of the southern and central Appalachians consist largely of black, northern red, white, chestnut and
scarlet oak ''Quercus coccinea'', the scarlet oak, is a deciduous tree in the red oak section ''Lobatae'' of the genus ''Quercus'', in the family Fagaceae. It is primarily distributed in the central and eastern United States. It occurs on dry, sandy, usual ...
s ('' and '') and hickories, such as the pignut (') in particular. The richest forests, which grade into mesic types, usually in coves and on gentle slopes, have dominantly white and northern red oaks, while the driest sites are dominated by chestnut oak, or sometimes by scarlet or northern red oaks. In the northern Appalachians the oaks, except for white and northern red, drop out, while the latter extends farthest north. The oak forests generally lack the diverse small tree, shrub and herb layers of mesic forests. Shrubs are generally ericaceous, and include the evergreen mountain laurel ('), various species of
blueberries Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, b ...
(' spp.),
black huckleberry Black huckleberry is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Gaylussacia baccata'', native to eastern North America *''Vaccinium membranaceum ''Vaccinium membranaceum'' is a species within the group of Vaccinium commonly referred t ...
('), a number of deciduous rhododendrons (azaleas), and smaller heaths such as teaberry (') and
trailing arbutus ''Epigaea repens'', the mayflower, trailing arbutus, or ground laurel, is a low, spreading shrub in the family Ericaceae. It is found from Newfoundland to Florida, west to Kentucky and the Northwest Territories. Description The plant is a slow-g ...
('). The evergreen great rhododendron (') is characteristic of moist stream valleys. These occurrences are in line with the prevailing acidic character of most oak forest soils. In contrast, the much rarer chinquapin oak (') demands alkaline soils and generally grows where limestone rock is near the surface. Hence no ericaceous shrubs are associated with it. The Appalachian flora also include a diverse assemblage of bryophytes (mosses and liverworts), as well as fungi. Some species are rare and/or endemic. As with vascular plants, these tend to be closely related to the character of the soils and the thermal environment in which they are found. Eastern deciduous forests are subject to a number of serious insect and disease outbreaks. Among the most conspicuous is that of the introduced gypsy moth ('), which infests primarily oaks, causing severe defoliation and tree mortality. But it also has the benefit of eliminating weak individuals, and thus improving the genetic stock, as well as creating rich habitat of a type through accumulation of dead wood. Because hardwoods sprout so readily, this moth is not as harmful as the hemlock woolly adelgid. Perhaps more serious is the introduced beech bark disease complex, which includes both a scale insect (') and fungal components. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Appalachian forests were subject to severe and destructive logging and land clearing, which resulted in the designation of the national forests and parks as well many state-protected areas. However, these and a variety of other destructive activities continue, albeit in diminished forms; and thus far only a few ecologically based management practices have taken hold.
Appalachian bogs Appalachian bogs are boreal or hemiboreal ecosystems, which occur in many places in the Appalachian Mountains, particularly the Allegheny and Blue Ridge subranges. Though popularly called bogs, many of them are technically fens. Natural hist ...
are boreal ecosystems, which occur in many places in the Appalachians, particularly the Allegheny and Blue Ridge subranges. Though popularly called
bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...
s, many of them are technically
fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...
s. Several mountain summits in the southern Appalachians are covered with expansive open habitats (either grassy meadows or heath) known as Appalachian balds. These habitats support many unique plant and animal communities, including rare, relict species, that are adapted to the open, exposed habitat. Their origins are heavily debated; while all were formerly thought to have anthropogenic origins, more recent evidence indicates a mixed origin: many were formed by climatic conditions in the
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
and kept open by Pleistocene megafauna, then by other grazing wildlife (such as bison, elk, and deer) and Native American burning practices, and finally by grazing livestock introduced by European settlers. Others, especially those dominated by introduced grasses, may be fully anthropogenic in origin. The abandonment of grazing has caused trees to encroach on many of these balds, threatening their ecosystems. In contrast to the largely grazing-influenced balds of the southern Appalachians, parts of the northern Appalachians such as the White Mountains. the Adirondack Mountains, and Mount Katahdin have summits covered with true alpine tundra; these ecosystems are kept clear due to extremely harsh winter storms, and support a vegetation community more akin to that of the Arctic Circle.


Fauna

Animals that characterize the Appalachian forests include five species of tree squirrels. The most commonly seen is the low to moderate elevation eastern gray squirrel ('). Occupying similar habitat is the slightly larger fox squirrel (') and the much smaller southern flying squirrel ('). More characteristic of cooler northern and high elevation habitat is the red squirrel ('), whereas the Appalachian northern flying squirrel ('), which closely resembles the southern flying squirrel, is confined to northern hardwood and spruce–fir forests. As familiar as squirrels are the eastern cottontail rabbit (') and the white-tailed deer ('). The latter in particular has greatly increased in abundance as a result of the extirpation of the eastern wolf (') and the North American cougar. This has led to the overgrazing and browsing of many plants of the Appalachian forests, as well as destruction of agricultural crops. Other deer include the moose ('), found only in the north, and the elk ('), which, although once extirpated, is now making a comeback, through transplantation, in the southern and central Appalachians. In Quebec, the Chic-Chocs host the only population of reindeer (') south of the St. Lawrence River. An additional species that is common in the north but extends its range southward at high elevations to Virginia and West Virginia is the varying or snowshoe hare ('). However, these central Appalachian populations are scattered and very small. Another species of great interest is the beaver ('), which is showing a great resurgence in numbers after its near extirpation for its pelt. This resurgence is bringing about a drastic alteration in habitat through the construction of dams and other structures throughout the mountains. Other common forest animals are the black bear ('), striped skunk ('), raccoon ('), opossum ('), woodchuck ('), bobcat ('), gray fox ('), red fox (') and in recent years, the coyote ('), another species favored by the advent of Europeans and the extirpation of eastern and red wolves ('). European
boars The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species i ...
(') were introduced in the early 20th century. Characteristic birds of the forest are wild turkey ('), ruffed grouse ('), mourning dove ('),
common raven The common raven (''Corvus corax'') is a large all-black passerine bird. It is the most widely distributed of all corvids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. It is a raven known by many names at the subspecies level; there are at least ...
('), wood duck ('), great horned owl ('), barred owl ('), screech owl ('), red-tailed hawk ('), red-shouldered hawk ('), and northern goshawk ('), as well as a great variety of "songbirds" ( Passeriformes), like the warblers in particular. Of great importance are the many species of salamanders and, in particular, the lungless species (Family ') that live in great abundance concealed by leaves and debris, on the forest floor. Most frequently seen, however, is the eastern or red-spotted newt ('), whose terrestrial eft form is often encountered on the open, dry forest floor. It has been estimated that salamanders represent the largest class of animal biomass in the Appalachian forests. Frogs and toads are of lesser diversity and abundance, but the wood frog (') is, like the eft, commonly encountered on the dry forest floor, while a number of species of small frogs, such as spring peepers ('), enliven the forest with their calls. Salamanders and other amphibians contribute greatly to nutrient cycling through their consumption of small life forms on the forest floor and in aquatic habitats. Although reptiles are less abundant and diverse than amphibians, a number of snakes are conspicuous members of the fauna. One of the largest is the non-venomous black rat snake ('), while the common garter snake (') is among the smallest but most abundant. The
Eastern copperhead The eastern copperhead (''Agkistrodon contortrix''), also known as the copperhead, is a species of venomous snake, a pit viper, endemic to eastern North America; it is a member of the subfamily Crotalinae in the family Viperidae. The eastern co ...
(') and the timber rattler (') are venomous pit vipers. There are few lizards, but the
broad-headed skink The broad-headed skink or broadhead skink (''Plestiodon laticeps'') is species of lizard, endemic to the southeastern United States. The broadhead skink occurs in sympatry with the five-lined skink (''Plestiodon fasciatus'') and Southeastern f ...
('), at up to in length, and an excellent climber and swimmer, is one of the largest and most spectacular in appearance and action. The most common turtle is the eastern box turtle ('), which is found in both upland and lowland forests in the central and southern Appalachians. Prominent among aquatic species is the large common snapping turtle ('), which occurs throughout the Appalachians. Appalachian streams are notable for their highly diverse freshwater fish life. Among the most abundant and diverse are those of the minnow family (family Cyprinidae), while species of the colorful
darters The darters, anhingas, or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae, which contains a single genus, ''Anhinga''. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and ...
(' spp.) are also abundant.Page, Lawrence M. and Brooks M. Burr 1991, ''A Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes, North America, North of Mexico'', Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston A characteristic fish of shaded, cool Appalachian forest streams is the wild brook or speckled trout ('), which is much sought after as a game fish.


See also

* * Appalachia * Appalachian League * Appalachian Mountain Club * Appalachian Trail * Appalachian American


Notes


References


Sources

* Topographic maps and Geologic Folios of the United States Geological Survey


Further reading

* Brooks, Maurice (1965), ''The Appalachians: The Naturalist's America''; illustrated by Lois Darling and Lo Brooks.
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
; Houghton Mifflin Company. * Caudill, Harry M. (1963), ''Night Comes to the Cumberlands''. . * Constantz, George (2004), ''Hollows, Peepers, and Highlanders: an Appalachian Mountain Ecology'' (2nd edition). West Virginia University Press; Morgantown. 359 p. * Olson, Ted (1998), ''Blue Ridge Folklife''. University Press of Mississippi, 211 pages, . * Rehder, John (2013) "Appalachian Folkways," Koxville: University of Tennessee Press. * Chapters iii., iv. and v. of Miss E. C. Semple's ''American History and its Geographic Conditions'' (Boston, 1903). * Weidensaul, Scott (2000), ''Mountains of the Heart: A Natural History of the Appalachians''. Fulcrum Publishing, 288 pages, . * Bailey Willis, ''The Northern Appalachians'', and C. W. Hayes, ''The Southern Appalachians'', both in ''National Geographic Monographs'', vol. 9. ;Appalachian flora and fauna-related journals * ''Castanea'', the journal of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society. * ''Banisteria'', a journal devoted to the natural history of Virginia. * ''The Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society''.


External links


Appalachian/Blue Ridge Forests images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu


( ttp://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/ecoregions/50402.htm slow modem version
University of Kentucky Appalachian Center

Forests of the Central Appalachians Project
Detailed inventories of forest species at dozens of sites. {{Authority control Appalachia Appalachian culture Eastern Canada Eastern United States Geography of Appalachia Great Smoky Mountains National Park Geography of the Lehigh Valley Mountain ranges of Alabama Mountain ranges of Canada Mountain ranges of Georgia (U.S. state) Mountain ranges of Kentucky Mountain ranges of Maine Mountain ranges of Maryland Mountain ranges of Massachusetts Mountain ranges of New Brunswick Mountain ranges of New Hampshire Mountain ranges of New Jersey Mountain ranges of Newfoundland and Labrador Mountain ranges of North Carolina Mountain ranges of Nova Scotia Mountain ranges of Pennsylvania Mountain ranges of Quebec Mountain ranges of South Carolina Mountain ranges of Tennessee Mountain ranges of the United States Mountain ranges of Vermont Mountain ranges of Virginia Mountain ranges of West Virginia Mountains of the Lehigh Valley Physiographic divisions Physiographic regions of Canada Physiographic regions of the United States