16 THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN FORESTS. 



chemical composition; (7) a vast extent of forest, principally hard wood, consisting 

 of 137 species of trees, msniy of which yield lumber and bark. 



Up to the present the resources have been developed by individuals without 

 economic plan or regard to community of interest. The result has been a great 

 waste and an unsatisfactory, often deplorable, lack of advancement. 



CLIMATE, 



In general the climate of this elevated region resembles that of northern 

 Virginia, southern and central Pennsylvania, and New Jersey; the most notable 

 difference being that the temperature, especially on the southeastern slope, where 

 it is somewhat regulated by oceanic air currents, is more uniform. In the central 

 and especially the northwestern portions the climate is more variable. Destructive 

 winds are rare and much less frequent than in the Northern States. 



The temperature of the regions above 5,000 feet usually ranges in summer 

 between 45 and 75 F., and in winter between 10 and 45, varying much between 

 the northeastern and southwestern ends and the northwestern and southeastern 

 sides of the mountains. 



This is a region not only of sudden and heavy downpours of rain (8 inches 

 has been known to fall in eleven hours), but the frequently prevailing southeast 

 winds cause long periods of wet weather, and not uncommonly twenty or more 

 rainy days occur in one month. The annual precipitation, according to the United 

 States Weather Bureau, ranges from 40 to 50 inches on the northwestern slopes 

 and 60 to 70 inches on the southeastern, and it is probable that near the crests 

 of the mountains, where no records have been kept, the rainfall is even greater. 



The water supply of all the region between Ohio River and the Atlantic and 

 Gulf coasts is affected by the heavy rainfall in these mountains. 



SCENERY. 



The scenery of this region is more striking because it is in marked contrast 

 to the surrounding lowlands. From the escarpments of the highlands may be 

 obtained views of the broad expanse of the plains; along winding mountain roads 

 and trails are seen cosy coves and mountain valleys under cultivation; from the 

 summits of the remoter "balds" one looks over vast stretches of unbroken, 

 billowy forest land. This is not an alpine region, and it does not rival the Rocky 

 Mountains, the Cascade Range, or the Alps in grandeur, but it has peculiar and 

 distinctive scenic attractions. Many thousand people now visit these mountains 

 each year, and the economic value of this scenery will constantly become greater. 



