20 



SOUTHERN 



APPALACHIAN 



REGION. 



opiMi out before the traveler through this reffion. In 

 every direc-tion the splendid hiU'd-wood forehts cover and 

 protect the inouiitaiii slope's and the countless spi-in^-.s of 

 water which How from thcin as the sources of great l ix ers. 

 There is but one discordant fact — the calamitous destruction 

 of the forests on these mountain slopes. 



Some of these ridges, like the Black Mountains, are short, 

 but iiigh and massiv e and terminate abruptly. Others are 

 longer and lower and slope graduall}' down to the adjacent 

 valley or rise from a lower gap to another still higher ridge. 

 All are more or less irregular both in their courses and 

 their elevation. Most of them have peaks rising from 

 their tops; but not a few have fairl}- uniform crests. (See 



pelk/and ridges^ PI- XVII.) Some of these peaks, like the (i]-andfather 

 (PI. VII), are sharp, rugged, and rock}^; others, like the 

 Roan or the "Balds" (PI. VIII «), are rounded domes 

 whose tops are covered only with grass and rhododendron, 

 while still others, equally tall and massive, like the Blacks 

 and the Great Smokies, are heavil}^ forest covered to the 

 summit. (See PI. VIII J.) 



The haziness of the atmosphere, which has found expres- 

 sion in the names "Blue Ridge" and "Smok}- Mountain," 

 often limits the distance of distinct vision, but it combines 

 with the forest cover to soften the details and to render 

 this Southern Appalachian landscape attractive beyond 

 comparison. This succession of ridges and peaks, seen 

 through it from an eminence, rising one above and be3'ond 



these^ountairTi i^'iother for 50 or 100 miles or more, impresses upon the 

 observer in a manner not to be forgotten the vastness of 

 this region of mountains. It has 46 peaks, a mile or more 

 apart, and 41 miles of dividing ridges, which rise above 

 6,000 feet; 288 additional peaks and 300 miles of divide 

 rise more than .5,000 feet above the sea. These are not 

 only the greatest masses of mountains east of the Rockies; 

 they are the highest mountains covered with hard -wood 

 forests in America. 



tures'*^"' '"^^ '^^^'^ region, thus unique in its position, in its mountain 

 features, in its forests, and in its climate, stands grandly 

 out as the greatest physiographic feature in the eastern 

 half of the continent. (See Pis. II and VI.) 



ieys°"°'^*'°^*' Between these groups of mountains and far below them, 

 though still at an elevation of 2,000 feet or more above 

 the sea, are the numerous narrow valleys of this region. 

 The}' border the numberless streams and are generally 

 more extensive nearer the sources of these streams, and 



