Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

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Report of the Secretary of Agriculture in relation to the forests, rivers, and mountains of the southern Appalachian region

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  • SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION. 75 of the area, by reason of which a rise of the three main tributaries at one time niaj' cause a flood in the river. There is no room for doubt, however, that the large amount of cleared land in this basin greatly increases the floods. Every resident who has known the river ten years or more states very positively that the volume of water is now much less constant than in former years. In Yancey County many of the steep slopes in the basins of Caney River, Bald Creek, and in the vicinity of Burnsville, which have for many successive years been planted in corn or small grain, are deeply eroded, and some such fields have been abandoned. The same statement will apply to much steep land in Mitchell Count}', on the waters of Cane and Big Rock creeks, and in the vicinit}' of Red Hill. The lands at higher elevations, which have been retained in grass, are less damaged. The alluvial lands of the Nolichucky were severely washed by several freshets during the spring and summer of 1901, the most severe being that of May 20 to May 23, which caused damage to land and other property in Mitchell County to the amount of $500,000 or more. All of the soil on the flood plain of Cane Creek, 9 miles in length, was removed, leaving only the large stones and rocks, and many fine farms on North Toe River were destroyed. More than twenty dwellings, several mills and dams, and many million feet of saw logs are known to have been washed away. In addition, the damage to the public highways was $50 or more per mile, aggregating $50,000, while the railroad sustained an equal loss in the injury to roadbed, bridges, and culverts. (See PI. XXXV (b) showing wreckage from Mitchell County, lodged near Erwin, Tenn.) Although greatly broken by clearings, large areas of Tne torest- woodland remain on the Unicoi and parallel ranges on the northwestern border, on Roan Mountain, the Blue Ridge, the Black Mountain group, and the western tributaries of Caney River. In composition there is great variety. Spruce and balsam prevail on the highest portions of the Black, Roan, and Sampson mountain groups. Hemlock, birch, maple, cucumber, ash, buckeye, linn, and other moisture-loving trees line the ravines, while oak, chestnut, gum, and other hard woods cover the ridges of the higher altitudes. Oak and pine form a less dense cover, usually very brushy, on the ridges of lower altitude.
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Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).