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Guide to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

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  • wcu_great_smoky_mtns-2785.jpg
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  • balds have a remarkable development of moist, fibrous brown peat, frequently to a depth of one and two feet." The principal region of heath balds, Dr. Cain states, is in the vicinity of the North Carolina-Tennessee state line, from Laurel Top along the Sawteeth to Mount Kephart, westward on Mount LeConte and the intervening territory, and south- westward to the limits of the spruce. . . . Mount Guyot to the northeast and Clingman's Dome to the southwest, the two highest peaks in the Great Smoky Mountains, approximately mark off this region of numerous heath balds of the type under consideration. These two mountains are themselves essentially without such areas, a phenomenon probably related to their more bulky and less precipitous form. Below Clingman's Dome the heath balds are less frequent until in 'he southwestern part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park area, from Thunderhead to the Little Tennessee River, they are entirely absent, being replaced by grassy balds. This lower, more southern region is also without the spruce- fir formation which stops south of Clingman's Dome about at Double Springs Gap. To the north and east, the heath bald ls to be found in varying frequency and character as far at 'east as the Craggy mountains. The heath balds are to be found at the tops of ridges and peaks with all exposures and with varying degrees of slope. I' has not been possible to correlate the balds with southern exposure, for example, or merely with the angle of slope, although the latter may sometimes be tin important factor. I'hey may occur merely as narrow strips along knife-like fidges, as on Beartrap lead or the Alum Cave balds, or they m'.y occupy the top and extensive upper slopes of a moun- tain, as in the case of Brushy mountain north of Mount LeConte. Dr. Cain says that there seem to be three catastrophic factors influencing the formation and maintenance of heath balds in tin Great Smoky Mountains. They are: Windfall, landslide and fire. Of these factors fire, he says, is by far 97
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