SOUTHEEN APPALACHIAN REGION. 



19 



Virginia the Unakas approach the Blue Ridge and prac- 

 tically merge with the latter into one irregular mountain 

 range; southward, the two diverge. The Unaka range 

 has 18 peaks rising above 5,000 feet, and 8 of these above 

 6,000 feet. The Roan, toward its northern end. Mount 

 Guyot and Clingman's Dome, farther south in the Great 

 Smok}^ Mountains, reach altitudes, respectively, of 6,313, 

 6,636, and 6,619 feet. 



Southwest of the North Carolina line these bordering 

 mountain chains lose both in elevation and regularity. In 

 northern Georgia they break up into several minor ridges, 

 diminishing in size as they extend southwestward, sepa- 

 rated by widening, irregular valleys. Near Cartersville, of^The^Appaia- 

 Ga. , between the two principal tributaries of the Coosa chians- 

 River, the Southern Appalachians merge into the Pied- 

 mont Plateau, with its low, isolated hills and ridges, rem- 

 nants of former mountains. (See Pis. IX a and XLV.) 

 They rise again, however, in eastern central Alabama into 

 the short, irregular ridge of the Talladega Mountains, 

 which reach an elevation of 2,500 feet. The slopes of 

 these ridges in north Georgia are still largel}' forest cov- 

 ered, and along them are the countless springs which, 

 with notable constancy, feed the great rivers of that State 

 and Alabama. The scenery of much of this region is 

 exceedingly picturesque, and its attractiveness is increased 

 the many cascades and waterfalls along the courses of 

 these mountain streams, such as Tallulah Falls (see PI. 

 XXVIII), with a descent of 335 feet, and the Dukes Creek, 

 Minnehaha, and Ruby falls, with each a descent of neaiiy 

 300 feet in short distances. 



Extending out from the two great irregular mountain 

 borders, the Blue Ridge and the Unakas, into the elevated 

 region between them, and connecting them in places, are 

 a series of more or less interrupted cross I'idges, which 

 have altitudes comparable to, and in one case (the Black 

 Mountains) greater than, those of either the Blue Ridge 

 or the Unakas. And these interior ridges are separated 

 by high, but deep and generally narrow, irregular valleys. 



Standing on an}^ of these elevated mountains, one may 

 see stretching out in either of several directions an endless 

 succession of mountain ridges and mountain peaks. A 

 remarkable succession of these ridges and peaks is seen 

 from the Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina, looking 

 southwest, as shown in the accompanj'ing panoramic view 

 (PI. VI). Hundreds of such vistas, from as many peaks. 



