APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS

The Appalachian Mountains. also called Appalachians, great highland system of North America, the eastern counterpart of the Rocky Mountains. Extending for almost 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometres) from the Canadian province of Newfoundland to central Alabama in the United States, they form a natural barrier between the eastern Coastal Plain and the vast Interior Lowlands of North America. As a result, they have played a vital role in the settlement and development of the entire continent. They combine a heritage of natural beauty and a distinctive regional culture with contemporary problems of economic deprivation and environmental deterioration. also called Appalachians, great highland system of eastern North America, extending for almost 2,000 miles (3,200 km) from the Canadian province of Newfoundland through the eastern United States southward to central Alabama. They form a natural barrier between the eastern seaboard and the vast lowlands of the continental interior. As a result, they have played a vital role in the settlement and development of the continent. The system may be divided into three large regions: northern, central, and southern Appalachia. The northern region includes such mountains as the Shickshocks and the Notre Dame ranges in Quebec; the Long Range in Newfoundland; Mount Katahdin in Maine; the White Mountains of New Hampshire; and Vermont's Green Mountains, which become the Berkshires in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and eastern New York. New York's Catskills and the beginnings of the Blue Ridge range in southern Pennsylvania and the Alleghenies, which rise in New York and cover parts of western Pennsylvania, western Maryland, and eastern Ohio, are in central Appalachia. The southern region includes portions of the Alleghenies of West Virginia and Virginia; the Blue Ridge range of Virginia, western North Carolina, and parts of South Carolina and Georgia; the Unakas in Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina; and the Cumberland Mountains, extending from eastern Kentucky south to northern Alabama. The highest elevations in the Appalachians are in the northern division in the White Mountains and in the southern region, where peaks of the North Carolina Black Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains rise above 6,000 feet (1,800 m) and where the entire system reaches its highest summit on Mount Mitchell (6,684 feet ). A distinctive feature of the mountain system is the Great Appalachian Valley. It includes the St. Lawrence River valley in Canada and the Kittatinny, Cumberland, Shenandoah, and Tennessee valleys in the United States. A noncommercial motor route runs 469 miles (755 km) from the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail is a 2,100-mile (3,400-kilometre) footpath. The Appalachians are among the oldest mountains on Earth, consisting mostly of crystalline rocks and Paleozoic sediments. The entire Appalachian system is laced with an intricate network of springs, streams, waterfalls, and rivers, especially in the southern Appalachians. Generally, northeast of the New River in Virginia, the major Appalachian rivers flow into the Atlantic Ocean, while southwest of the New the rivers drain into the Ohio River valley. The most extensive broad-leaved deciduous forests in the world flourish in southern Appalachia, and a mix of conifers and northern hardwoods predominate in the north. The western slopes of the Great Smokies receive an annual rainfall as high as 90 inches (2,286 mm), producing trees that have reached record maximum heights and diameters. Important lumber and pulp, coal, iron-ore, salt, granite, and marble industries operate in the region but have had deleterious effects on the environment. Despite the early arrival of the lumber industry and coal mining, some areas remained isolated until early in the 20th century, notably those mountain areas of southern Appalachia where rough terrain hindered road construction. Consequently, Southern highlanders developed a folk culture characterized by distinctive handicrafts, ballads, and folklore. The Appalachians combine a heritage of natural beauty and a distinctive regional culture with contemporary problems of economic deprivation and environmental deterioration. Additional reading Maurice Brooks, The Appalachians (1965, reissued 1975), is an accurate and comprehensive geography. Nevin M. Fenneman, Physiography of Eastern United States (1938), includes a survey of Appalachia's natural resources. Clyde H. Smith, Wilma Dykeman, and Dykeman Stokely, Appalachian Mountains (1980), is a volume of photographs capturing the natural beauty and variety of the extended mountain chain, with the accompanying text developing historical and cultural themes. Thomas L. Connelly, Discovering the Appalachians (1968), describes the natural setting, with simple maps. Stephen Kulik et al., The Audubon Society Field Guide to the Natural Places of the Northeast, vol. 2, Inland (1984), includes excellent descriptions of and detailed guides to the Appalachian areas of the Northeast. Michael Frome, Strangers in High Places: The Story of the Great Smoky Mountains, rev. ed. (1980), offers a detailed survey of natural and human history. John Anthony Caruso, The Appalachian Frontier: America's First Surge Westward (1959), is a scholarly study of the barrier presented by the mountain chain. Allan W. Eckert, The Frontiersmen (1967), presents a documented exploration of the frontier and pioneer life in the area. Ann Sutton and Myron Sutton, The Appalachian Trail: Wilderness on the Doorstep (1967), discusses the history and natural surroundings of major portions of the trail; while Steve Sherman and Julia Older, Appalachian Odyssey (1977), chronicles the authors' hike along its entire length. Harley E. Jolley, Blue Ridge Parkway (1969), describes the history of the establishment of the parkway. Wilma Dykeman