TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY OF THE 

 SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. 



By Arthur Keith. 



That portion of the Southern Appalachian Mountains in 

 which it is proposed to make a national park lies mainly 

 in North Carolina, but comprises also small portions of 

 South Carolina, Greoi'gia, Tennessee, and Virginia. The 

 area, as a whole, covers about 12,000 square miles, large 

 portions of which are specially adapted to the purposes of 

 a park. This region can be reached within a day's jour- 

 ney from the large cities east of the Mississippi, a measure 

 of accessibility possessed by no other similar district in 

 the United States. It is also nearer the center of popula- 

 tion than any other mountain district. 



THE MOUNTAIN SYSTEMS. 



Although this region contains man}^ large rivers and im- the^^ount 

 portant valleys, it is preeminently a region of mountains. 

 It includes the largest areas of land over 5,000 feet in 

 height east of the Mississippi. In all, 46 peaks a mile or 

 more apart and 41 miles of divide rise above 6,000 feet, 

 while 288 peaks and 300 miles of divide are 5,000 feet or 

 more in height. From the southeastern foot of this mass 

 the Piedmont Plateau stretches southeastward with small 

 interruptions, finally merging into the coastal plain which 

 borders the Atlantic. Past its northwestern foot sweep 

 the vallej'^s of Tennessee and Virginia, with their included 

 ridges and smaller mountains. The great mountain mass 

 thus limited is composed of a number of large and many 

 lesser chains, forming a belt over 300 miles long. Between 

 the chains are extensive plateaus, which are themselves 

 mountains when compared with the lower valleys that dis- 

 sect them. The Blue Ridge forms the southeastern and 

 the Unaka Mountains the northwestern front of the moun- 

 ts. Doc. 84 8 113 



