Vegetation of Stone Mountain 97 
Fig. 2. A view on the northwest side of Stone Mountain. The almost bare slope 
is gradual and the somewhat broad talus supports a pure stand of broad leaf trees. 
Fig. 9. A pure stand of Gymnolomia Porteri in full bloom, on the south side of 
Stone Mountain. 
The sun’s rays have always struck Stone Mountain in such a way 
as to make the summer temperature abnormally high on the south side 
and abnormally low on the north. In like manner the sun’s rays make 
the disintegrating effects of the short winters abnormally great on the 
south (frequent thawing and freezing) and abnormally small on the 
north (less frequent freezing and thawing). Thus Stone Mountain has, 
in close proximity, virtually two climates and two types of topography, 
and under these physiographic and climatic differences two remarkably 
diverse floral types have developed. 
The East and West Sides—The east and west surfaces are strik- 
ingly similar, each having a slope which seems to be about a mean 
between the steep north and the gradual south, and a tree formation 
of near a half and half mixture of deciduous broad leaf and coniferous 
evergreen (Figs. 6 and 7). 
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