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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  • 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, Georgia, 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 journey 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 population than any other mountain district. THE MOUNTAIN SYSTEMS. Although this region contains many large rivers and im- th^Sntl?ns°f 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 valleys 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 3(H) miles long. Between the chains are extensive plateaus, which are themselves mountains when compared with the lower valleys that dissect them. The Blue Ridge forms the southeastern and the Unaka Mountains the northwestern front of the moun- *S. Doc. 84 8 us
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Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).