Appalachian Mountains

I

Introduction

Appalachian Mountains or Appalachians, great mountain system of eastern North America, nearly parallel with the Atlantic coast, and extending from the province of Quebec in Canada to northern Alabama. The system is about 2,400 km (1,500 mi) long and varies from about 160 to more than 480 km (100 to more than 300 mi) in width. Its altitude varies between about 460 and nearly 2,130 m (1,500 and nearly 7,000 ft).

The rounded summits and gradual slopes of the Appalachians are the handiwork of time and erosion, for this wide belt of mountains is one of the oldest mountain chains on Earth—much older, for example, than the Rocky Mountains. The peaks, formed by the folding of Hercynian sedimentary rocks (see orogeny), have been worn down significantly over the years, and none of the remaining peaks are high enough to be covered in snow throughout the year.

II

Topography

The three divisions of the system—northern, central, southern—vary considerably in geological age, having been raised by a series of plate tectonic movements that began during the Ordovician period and climaxed in the Permian. The northern division—including the Green Mountains of Vermont and the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the highlands of Maine, the Shickshock Mountains, and the Notre Dame Mountains of Quebec—terminates in the hills of Newfoundland. The chief ranges of the central section are the Catskill Mountains of New York, Allegheny Mountains or Alleghenies, and Blue Ridge or Blue Ridge Mountains.

The Blue Ridge range is the principal uplift of the Appalachians. Beginning prominently in South Mountain in Pennsylvania, it stretches south-west in greater and greater heights, through Virginia and western North Carolina, where it divides, the northern branch continuing west to Georgia as the Great Smoky Mountains, a broad mass of mountains on the border between North Carolina and Tennessee. The culminating group of the Blue Ridge is known as the Black Mountains. The highest peak of the Appalachians, Mount Mitchell (2,037 m/6,684 ft), and many peaks above 1,829 m (6,000 ft) in height are situated in this group. The principal range of the southern Appalachians, which extend south into Alabama from the New River valley in Virginia and West Virginia, is the Cumberland Plateau and Cumberland Mountains. Elevations in this range average about 600 m (2,000 ft).

The ranges as a group form an enormous barrier separating the lowlands of central North America from its eastern coastal plains. The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, a 3,452-km (2,145-mi) footpath for hikers, extends along the crest of the mountains from Mount Katahdin, Maine, to Springer Mountain, Georgia.

III

Rivers

Numerous rivers make their way through the Appalachians. Among the more important are the Connecticut, Hudson, Delaware, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Potomac, James, and Rappahannock (all flowing east, south, or south-east) and the Cumberland, Kanawha, Allegheny, Monongahela, Tennessee, and others (flowing towards the west).

IV

Economy and Culture

The Appalachian Mountains are heavily forested with pine, spruce, birch, cedar, ash, and maple trees. The Great Appalachian Valley, which spans the length of the mountains and includes the St Lawrence River Valley in Canada and the Cumberland, Shenandoah, and Tennessee valleys in the United States, is a highly fertile region for farming. The mountains contain deposits of iron ore, anthracite, bituminous coal, zinc, slate, limestone, asbestos, mica, granite, and emery. Along the western slope from south-western New York through western Pennsylvania, into West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, lie coalfields.

The steep elevations and deep valleys of the mountains once made westward travel extremely difficult, thus to a large extent determining the patterns of early settlement and commerce in the United States. Some remote southern regions remained isolated until the early 20th century, leading to the development of a unique Appalachian culture known for its distinctive crafts and music.