344 



NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



vvanton destruction of plant and animal 

 life will cease and the denuded moun- 

 tains shall again l)e clothed with their 

 forest verdure where wild life always 

 abounds and the crystal-like streams flow 

 regularly in their onward rush to the sea. 



IV. NATURAL AREAS 



*Monongahela National Forest and 

 Shenandoah National Forest (Va. and 

 W. Va.). See account in "National 

 Forests of the Eastern District." 



*Spruce Mountain. The highest 

 mountain in West Virginia is located in 

 the western part of Pendleton County 

 within the Monongahela Area of the 

 National Forest and is known as 

 Spruce Mountain (or Spruce Knob). 

 It consists of a flat-topped mountain 

 18 mi. long the crest of which varies in 

 width from one-fourth to one-half mile. 

 The ridge contains scattered growths 

 of the original red spruce, and several 

 species of deciduous trees. Black 

 huckleberry, red raspberry, dwarf cor- 

 nel, Hooker's orchis and other plants 

 are found along the slopes. Aside from 

 the animals common in other parts of 

 the State there are found representa- 

 tives of the coniferous forest fauna 

 among which are bob-cat {Lynx rufus), 

 snowshoe hare, smoky shrew, star- 

 nosed mole, red-backed vole, and Cana- 

 dian deer-mouse. Among the birds not 

 commonly found elsewhere in the 

 State are the red-breasted nut-hatch, 

 Canadian warbler, veery and olive- 

 backed thrush. 4860 ft.; level. 



Cumberland, Md., 14 mi. east, B. & O. 

 to Green Spring, 50 mi. south on branch 

 line to Petersburg, 25 mi. south (a), 

 dirt road to Franklin, 20 mi. west (a), 

 dirt road to Circleville, at base of moun- 

 tain. — A. B. Brooks. 



Gauley River Virgin Forest.^ An area 

 of virgin forest of about 50,000 acres is 

 the largest tract of undisturbed timber 

 land in West Virginia at this time (1922), 

 and is located principally in Pocahontas 

 County at the headwaters of the Gauley, 



' Available after the region has been cut over. 



the Williams, and the Elk Rivers. Prac- 

 tically one-half of this wooded region, 

 a rough mountainous country, is covered 

 with mountain coniferous forest, chiefly 

 red spruce and hemlock, and the balance 

 deciduous forest; such as yellow and 

 sweet birch, sugar maple, tulip tree and 

 various species of oak. This virgin 

 forest tract is being rapidly reduced in 

 size by lumbering operations, but it 

 will take about 20 years at the present 

 rate of logging to complete the cutting. 

 As with other high elevations in the 

 State many plants of a more northern 

 range are found here. Among the 

 animals are Virginia deer, black bear, 

 bob-cat, red and gray fox, raccoon, red 

 and gray squirrels, and many other 

 smaller mammals. Many birds belong- 

 ing to the coniferous forest fauna nest 

 in the mountains of this region. 2000 

 to 4800 ft.; level. 



Clarksburg, 70 mi. south, B. & O. R. 

 R. to Holly Junction, 30 mi. east, W. 

 Va. & M. R. R. to Webster Springs; 25 

 mi. east by wagon road up Elk River or 

 south 5 mi. across mountain to the 

 Gauley River and east 25 mi. up this 

 stream. — A. B. Brooks. 



Kate's Mountain. Kate's Mountain 

 lies just south of White Sulphur Springs, 

 Greenbrier County. It has an area of 

 about 40 sq. mi. and is in the form of a 

 mountain ridge with abrupt margins on 

 the east, west and north. Deciduous 

 forest covers it in the main, with small 

 tracts of mountain coniferous forest on 

 the higher elevations such as are found 

 in the Appalachian region. Owing to 

 lumbering operations and forest fires 

 much of this territory is not in its origi- 

 nal natural condition. This area is of 

 special interest to the botanist on ac- 

 count of a species of clover (Trifolium 

 Virginicum) , that grows on the mountain 

 side. This rare and indigenous plover 

 has not been recorded elsewhere in the 

 United States. It is a small inconspicu- 

 ous plant occurring only in restricted 

 areas and therefore hard to find. An- 

 other interesting plant. Clematis ovata, 

 closely associated with this clover has 

 here its northern limit. Owing to the 

 overlapping of plants of a more northern 

 and southern habitat on and about 

 Kate's M!ountain the place has added 

 value to the naturalist. 3000 ft.; level. 



