APPALACHIAN REGION 87 



the rhododendron. Our common Virginia creeper has its 

 true home there, and the autumnal beauty of its foliage 

 may serve to give an idea of the gorgeous colours of 

 autumn in the Great Lake district. 



This vast region is so varied that it naturally falls 

 into large divisions or provinces, each with a character 

 and a plant-world of its own. The wide terrace which 

 extends at the rear of the lower coastal plain up to the 

 foothills of the central Appalachians shows a transition 

 between the lake region and the more luxuriant south, 

 as far as vegetation is concerned. It possesses, amid the 

 deciduous forests, a large admixture of patches and 

 clumps of conifers, the Weymouth pine and the red 

 spruce being the chief of these. On the whole, 'the 

 vegetation of this belt is similar to that of central 



o 



Europe. 



On the seaward side, this terrace is followed east of 

 the line New York- Washington by a lower and much 

 indented coastal shelf, whose dry, sandy-gravelly soil 

 can only support pine-forests and a meagre flora. These 

 constitute the so-called ' Pine-Barrens '. 



The Appalachian range, in its central and southern 

 portions, was once almost entirely timber-clad, and still 

 retains magniticent vestiges of its former wealth. In the 

 central portion the forests are mixed: among other 

 conifers, the Weymouth pine attains there heights of 

 100 to 150 feet. Magnolias, rhododendrons, kalmias, 

 and other shrubs form a dense and beautiful under- 

 growth, sometimes overtopped by the tall pines, some- 

 times by the deciduous trees. Above the limits of the 

 broad-leaf forests, the black spruce and Fraser fir pre- 

 dominate. The higher ridges and peaks are covered with 

 subalpine heaths, composed of tall scrub and grassy 

 glades. 



