NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS 



423 



along its northern boundary. As a 

 rule, the tops of the hills and ridges 

 in the Piedmont present a level sky- 

 line, but locally, dome-like elevations, 

 like Stone Mountain near Atlanta, or 

 Kenesaw Mountain near Marietta, may 

 rise conspicuously above the general 

 level of the country. 



3. The Blue Ridge, the highest and 

 most rugged section of the physiographic 

 provinces, occupies the northeastern 

 part of the state. It is a region of bold 

 peaks and high mountain ridges, with 

 narrow intermontane valleys. The 

 country has an altitude of from about 

 1200 to 5000 ft. 



4. The Appalachian Valley is a lime- 

 stone valley situated between the 

 Blue Ridge on the east and the Cumber- 

 berland Plateau on the west. It has a 

 width of 40 to 50 mi. The topography 

 in general is rolling, but it is traversed 

 by numerous parallel ridges, formed 

 of more resistant rock, which often rise 

 considerably above the general level 

 of the valley itself. The region has a 

 general elevation of 600 to 1000 ft.; 

 the ridges, however, may rise to as 

 much as 1800 ft. 



5. The Cumberland Plateau is formed 

 of a small number of flat-topped moun- 

 tains or tablelands in the extreme 

 northwest corner of the state. They 

 attain an altitude of 1700 to 2500 ft. 

 above sea-level. 



2. Geographic and local plant and animal 

 communities 



There are three principal kinds of 

 forests represented in Georgia: the 

 northern mixed coniferous and hard- 

 wood forest, the mixed hardwood forest 

 and the southern mixed coniferous and 

 hardwood forest. 



The Northern mixed coniferous and 

 hardwood forest (Transition Zone) in 

 Georgia is typically represented only 

 on the higher elevations of the Blue 

 Ridge province in the northeastern 

 corner of the state, though in a minor 

 degree its influence is shown on the 

 ridges in the Appalachian Valley and 

 on the Cumberland Plateau. In the 



Blue Ridge occur such trees, suggestive 

 of more northern regions, as chestnut 

 (Castanea dentata), white pine (Pinus 

 strobus), hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), 

 chestnut oak (Quercus prinus) and 

 maple. Characteristic shrubs are 

 mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) and 

 rhododendron (R. maximum}. In the 

 valleys of this section there appears 

 to be a strong (Austral) mixed hardwood 

 infusion, southern species meeting and 

 mingling here with typically northern 

 species. 



The mixed hardwood forest area 

 (Upper Austral Zone) forms by far the 

 greater part of the northern half of 

 the state. It includes most, if not 

 quite all, of the Piedmont region and 

 practically all of the Appalachian Valley 

 and Cumberland Plateau. Under exist- 

 ing conditions this in Georgia is the 

 zone of shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata}. 

 Mingled with this tree are the remnants 

 of a once extensive deciduous forest 

 consisting predominantly of a variety of 

 oaks and hickories and dogwood. Most 

 of the country embraced in the mixed 

 hardwood forest area (Upper Austral 

 Zone) is in a state of rather intensive 

 cultivation. As a consequence natural 

 conditions are represented only in 

 places unfavorable for cultivation. The 

 herbaceous flora is predominantly of a 

 weedy type, but in favorable spots the 

 native flora is represented by an assem- 

 blage of species typical of rich, de- 

 ciduous woodlands, such as hepatica, 

 bloodroot, anemones, trilliums, wild 

 geranium, and jack-in-the-pulpit. In 

 general the flora is like that of the Pied- 

 mont Region of the Central Atlantic 

 States, with, however, a strong infusion 

 of other forms from the Mississippi 

 Valley. The latter are best represented 

 in the Appalachian Valley and Cumber- 

 land Plateau. 



The southern mixed coniferous and 

 hardwood forest area (Lower Austral 

 Zone), as limited and defined by Rehn 

 and Hebard, includes the upper two- 

 thirds of the Coastal Plain and the 

 lower portion of the Piedmont Region. 

 In this zone the character of the vegeta- 



