SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION. 



53 



woods, associated with hemlock and spruce. On the north- 

 ern slopes the softer of the hard woods form the dom- 

 inant element, as linn, ash, bucke3'e, and yellow poplar, 

 while the proportion of oak and chestnut is smaller. The 

 hemlock is associated with these in the deep hollows, while 

 spruce crowns the summits of the northern slopes. On the 

 southern slope oak and chestnut form the larger proportion 

 of the timber, and there are less of the lighter woods and 

 of hemlock and almost no spruce. The eastern, or French 

 Broad River slope about Mount Pisgah, is lightly timbered 

 with oak and chestnut and has been much damaged by 

 fire. At present, however, it is under forest protection, 

 and a vigorous 3^oung growth is springing up. Railroads 

 are now being built into the forests on both the north and 

 south slopes in order to exploit the timber. 



The almost precipitous walls of the beautiful Nantahala 

 Gorge, nearly 2,000 feet deep, are forest covered through- 

 out their entire extent. (See PI. XLIl.) 



FORESTS OF THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS. 



This segment of the Unakas is the largest mountain Topography 



fc" & and forest coH' 



mass in the Southern Appalachians, and it contains the'J't'ODs- 

 largest area of continuous forest (see PI. XVII), with 

 the smallest number of clearings. It includes the Smoky 

 Mountains from the Big Pigeon River on the northeast to 

 McDaniel Bald on the southwest, and that part of the 

 Balsam Mountains which lies west of Soco Gap, with their 

 numerous spurs and subsidiary ridges. The region is 

 rough and rugged on both north and south slopes, and 

 rises from a low valle}^ level of about 1,500 feet at the 

 larger streams to more than 6,000 feet along the crests of 

 the highest mountains. The wooded area begins on the 

 western foothills of the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, 

 covers the northwestern and southeastern slopes of the 

 Great Smokies (see PI. XLIII) and the slopes of the 

 Cataloochee Mountain. 



The broad agricultural vallej^s of East Tennessee lie 

 against these mountains on the northwest, but elsewhei'c 

 they are surrounded by a rough countr}" of lower moun- 

 tains, with narrow, intervening agricultural valle3-s. Less 

 than 10 per cent of this area is cleared. The clearings are 

 few and small, and lie chiefly some miles distant from the 

 crest of the ridge. 



The forests are chiefly of hard woods, with a large amount tenrorthe'^fM- 

 of coniferous growth around the higher summits and in ^sts. 



