Editing Appalachian Mountains

{{Short description|Mountain range in eastern North America}}
{{Redirect|Appalachians|other uses|Appalachian (disambiguation){{!}}Appalachian}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox mountain
 | name              = Appalachian Mountains
 | photo             = Blue Ridge Parkway Sunset (43691100).jpeg
 | photo_caption     = The [[Blue Ridge Mountains]], part of the Appalachian chain, near [[Sparta, North Carolina]]
 | other_name        = Appalachians
 | country           = {{hlist|United States|Canada,|France{{efn|name=TriNational|France maintains governmental control of eight small islands off the southern coast of Newfoundland, Canada, named [[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]]. Newfoundland is generally considered the northernmost point of the Appalachian range. Therefore, the Appalachians run through the lone remaining North American territory of France.}} (one of its [[Overseas collectivity|overseas territorial collectivities]])}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saint Pierre and Miquelon |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/saint-pierre-and-miquelon/ |access-date=August 15, 2023 |website=World Factbook |quote=the islands are actually part of the northern Appalachians along with Newfoundland}}</ref>
 | subdivision2_type = Province/
State
 | subdivision2      = {{hlist|[[Newfoundland and Labrador]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iatnl.ca/ |title=International Appalachian Trail- Newfoundland |publisher=Iatnl.ca |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100604074527/http://www.iatnl.ca/ |archive-date=June 4, 2010 |access-date=November 6, 2010}}</ref><ref>Cees R. van Staal, [http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/mindep/synth_prov/appalachian/index_e.php Mineral Deposits of Canada: Regional Metallogeny: Pre-Carboniferous tectonic evolution and metallogeny of the Canadian Appalachians] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311034415/http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/mindep/synth_prov/appalachian/index_e.php |date=March 11, 2009 }}, Geological Survey of Canada website</ref>|[[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]]|[[Quebec]]|[[Nova Scotia]]|[[New Brunswick]]|[[Maine]]|[[New Hampshire]]|[[Vermont]]|[[Massachusetts]]|[[Connecticut]]|[[New York (state)|New York]]|[[New Jersey]]|[[Pennsylvania]]|[[Maryland]]|[[Washington, D.C.]]|[[Delaware]]|[[Virginia]]|[[West Virginia]]|[[Ohio]]|[[Kentucky]]|[[Tennessee]]|[[North Carolina]]|[[South Carolina]]|[[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]|[[Alabama]]}}
 | highest           = [[Mount Mitchell]] in [[Yancey County, North Carolina]], U.S.
 | elevation_ft      = 6684
 | length_mi         = 2,050
 | geology           = 
 | age               = [[Mesoproterozoic]] era ([[Stenian]] period)<ref name="Thomas 2021">{{Cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=William A. |last2=Hatcher, Jr. |first2=Robert D. |date=2021 |title=Southern-Central Appalachians-Ouachitas Orogen |journal=Encyclopedia of Geology |volume=4 |quote=The foundations of the Appalachian-Ouachita orogen were laid when the assembly of supercontinent Rodinia was completed. The collisional events were accompanied by high-grade metamorphism and magmatism during the Grenville orogeny in the time span of 1300–950 Ma. |via=Elsevier Science Direct}}</ref>–[[Paleozoic]] era ([[Permian]] period); 1.2 billion years ago to 300 million years ago
 | orogeny           = [[Grenville orogeny|Grenvillle]], [[Taconic orogeny|Taconic]], [[Acadian orogeny|Acadian]], [[Alleghenian orogeny|Alleghanian]]
 | map_image         = Map of Appalachian Highlands and Appalachian Lowlands.png
 | map_caption       = Appalachian Mountains, including U.S. and Canadian portions
}}

The '''Appalachian Mountains''',{{efn|''Appalachian'' is commonly pronounced as {{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Appalachian.ogg|ˌ|æ|p|ə|ˈ|l|eɪ|ʃ|ə|n}} {{respell|AP|ə|LAY|shən}}, but in some regional dialects as {{respell|AP|ə|LATCH|ən}}, elsewhere also {{IPAc-en|ˌ|æ|p|ə|ˈ|l|eɪ|tʃ|(|i|)|ə|n}} {{respell|AP|ə|LAY|ch(ee|)ən}}, {{IPAc-en|ˌ|æ|p|ə|ˈ|l|æ|ʃ|(|i|)|ə|n}} {{respell|AP|ə|LASH|(ee|)ən}}.<ref>{{cite EPD|18}}</ref> {{langx|fr|Appalaches}}, {{IPA|fr|apalaʃ|pron}}.}} often called the '''Appalachians''',<!-- In Quebec and French-speaking areas of New Brunswick--> are a [[mountain range]] <!--range is distinguished from system in the Wikipedia page on mountain ranges. A range is a group of systems. For instance, the Appalachian Mountains were formed from several mountain systems, also referred to as orogenies--> in eastern to northeastern [[North America]]. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain. The general definition used is one followed by the [[United States Geological Survey]] and the [[Geological Survey of Canada]] to describe the respective countries' [[Physiographic region|physiographic]] regions. The U.S. uses the term [[Appalachian Highlands]] and [[Canada]] uses the term [[Appalachian Uplands]]; the Appalachian Mountains are not synonymous with the [[Appalachian Plateau]], which is one of the provinces of the Appalachian Highlands.

The Appalachian range runs from the [[Newfoundland (island)|Island of Newfoundland]] in Canada, {{convert|2050|mi|km|abbr=on}} southwestward to [[Central Alabama]] in the United States;{{efn|measured from Montgomery, Alabama which is at the southwestern end of the Coosa Valley, to Belle Island, Newfoundland and Labrador which is the northeastern-most extent of Newfoundland }} south of Newfoundland, it crosses the 96-square-mile (248.6&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) archipelago of [[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]], an [[overseas collectivity]] of [[France]], meaning it is technically in three countries.{{efn|name=TriNational}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Saint Pierre and Miquelon |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/saint-pierre-and-miquelon/ |access-date=August 15, 2023 |website=World Factbook |quote=the islands are actually part of the northern Appalachians along with Newfoundland}}</ref>  The highest peak of the mountain range is [[Mount Mitchell]] in [[North Carolina]] at {{convert|6684|ft|m|0}}, which is also the highest point in the United States east of the [[Mississippi River]].

The range is older than the other major mountain range in North America, the [[Rocky Mountains]] of the west. Some of the [[outcrop]]s in the Appalachians contain rocks formed during the [[Precambrian]] era. The geologic processes that led to the formation of the Appalachian Mountains started 1.1 billion years ago. The first mountain range in the region was created when the continents of [[Laurentia]] and [[Amazonian craton|Amazonia]] collided, creating a supercontinent called [[Rodinia]]. The collision of these continents caused the rocks to be folded and faulted, creating the first mountains in the region.<ref name="Thomas 2021"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Clark |first=Sandra H. B. |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/birth/birth.pdf |title=Birth of the Mountains: The Geologic Story of the Southern Appalachian Mountains |publisher=United States Geologic Survey |year=1996 |pages=4 |quote=The rocks at the core of the Appalachian Mountains formed more than a billion years ago. At that time, all of the continents were joined together in a single supercontinent surrounded by a single ocean. Remnants of the supercontinent make up much of the North American core and are composed of minerals that are more than a billion years old.}}</ref>  Many of the rocks and minerals that were formed during that event can currently be seen at the surface of the present Appalachian range.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Clark |first=Sandra H. B. |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/birth/birth.pdf |title=Birth of the Mountains: The Geologic Story of the Southern Appalachian Mountains |publisher=United States Geologic Survey |year= 1996 |pages=4 |quote= We can see fragments of the billion-year-old supercontinent ... at the surface in many places in the Appalachian Mountains. }}</ref>  Around 480 million years ago, geologic processes began that led to three distinct orogenic eras that created much of the surface structure seen in today's Appalachians.{{Efn|Many internet sources cite 480 million years as the age of the Appalachians. This statement ignores some of the highest and most prominent features of the range that exposes scientifically-dated metamorphic rocks that are at least 1 billion years old.}} During this period, mountains once reached elevations similar to those of the [[Alps]] and the Rockies before natural erosion occurred over the last 240 million years leading to what is present today.<ref name="usgs2">{{Cite web |url=http://geology.er.usgs.gov/eespteam/Mtleconte/website/geology.html?etoc |title=Geology of the Great Smoky Mountains |publisher=usgs |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117093921/http://geology.er.usgs.gov/eespteam/Mtleconte/website/geology.html?etoc |archive-date=January 17, 2013 |access-date=April 4, 2012}}</ref>

The Appalachian Mountains are a barrier to east–west travel, as they form a series of [[Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians|alternating ridgelines and valleys]] oriented in opposition to most [[highway]]s and [[railroad]]s running east–west. This barrier was extremely important in shaping the expansion of the United States in the colonial era.<ref>{{cite web |last=Brown |first=Daniel |date= |title=Cumberland Gap: A new beginning |url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/sero/appalachian/sec14.htm |website=National Park Service |quote=To the English settlers of North America the Appalachian Mountains formed an almost impenetrable geographic barrier.}}</ref> 
<!--This is an unsupported fact: the system is divided into a series of ranges with the individual mountains averaging around {{convert|3000|ft|m|abbr=on}}.-->

The range is the home of a very popular recreational feature, the  [[Appalachian Trail]]. This is a {{convert|2175|mi|km|adj=on}} hiking trail that runs all the way from [[Mount Katahdin]] in Maine to [[Springer Mountain]] in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], passing over or past a large part of the Appalachian range. The [[International Appalachian Trail]] is an extension of this hiking trail into the Canadian portion of the Appalachian range in [[New Brunswick]] and [[Quebec]].

==Etymology==
While exploring inland along the northern coast of [[Florida]] in 1528, the members of the [[Narváez expedition]], including [[Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca]], found a [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] village near present-day [[Tallahassee, Florida]], whose name they transcribed as ''Apalchen'' or ''Apalachen'' {{IPA|xap|a.paˈla.tʃɛn}}. The name was soon altered by the Spanish to [[Apalachee Province|Apalachee]] and used as a name for [[Apalachee|the tribe]] and region spreading well inland to the north. [[Pánfilo de Narváez]]'s expedition first entered Apalachee territory on June 15, 1528, and applied the name. Now spelled "Appalachian", it is the fourth-oldest surviving European place-name in the US.<ref>After [[Florida]], [[Cape Canaveral]], and [[Dry Tortugas]]: {{Cite book |last=Stewart |first=George |title=Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States |publisher=Random House |year=1945 |location=New York |pages=11–13, 17, 18 |author-link=George R. Stewart}}</ref>

After the 1540 expedition of [[Hernando de Soto]], Spanish cartographers began to apply the name of the tribe to the mountains themselves. The first cartographic appearance of ''Apalchen'' is on [[Diego Gutiérrez (cartographer)|Diego Gutiérrez]]'s map of 1562; the first use for the mountain range is the map of [[Jacques le Moyne|Jacques le Moyne de Morgues]] in 1565.<ref>Walls, David (1978), [http://www.sonoma.edu/users/w/wallsd/on-the-naming-of-appalachia.shtml "On the Naming of Appalachia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528100459/http://www.sonoma.edu/users/w/wallsd/on-the-naming-of-appalachia.shtml |date=May 28, 2010 }} In ''An Appalachian Symposium'', pp. 56–76.</ref>

[[File:Gutierrez-1562-detail-app1.jpg|thumb|[[Diego Gutiérrez (cartographer)|Diego Gutiérrez's]] 1562 map of the [[Western Hemisphere]] showing the first known use of a variation of the place name Appalachia ("Apalchen") from his map, {{lang|la|Americae sive qvartae orbis partis nova et exactissima descriptio}}]]

The name was not commonly used for the whole mountain range until the late 19th century. A competing and often more popular <!--{{date=July 2022}} - based on the reference to this paragraph, the answer to says who is George R. Stewart in 1967--> name was the "Allegheny Mountains", "Alleghenies", and even "Alleghania". In the early 19th century, [[Washington Irving]] proposed renaming the United States either Appalachia or Alleghania.<ref>[[George R. Stewart|Stewart, George R.]] (1967). ''Names on the Land''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.</ref>

In U.S. dialects in most regions of the Appalachians, the word is pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˌ|æ|p|ə|ˈ|l|æ|tʃ|ᵻ|n|z}}, with the third syllable sounding like "latch". In some northern parts of the mountain range, particularly Pennsylvania, it is pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˌ|æ|p|ə|ˈ|l|eɪ|tʃ|ᵻ|n|z}} or {{IPAc-en|ˌ|æ|p|ə|ˈ|l|eɪ|ʃ|ᵻ|n|z}}; the third syllable is like "lay", and the fourth "chins" or "shins".<ref>David Walls, "Appalachia". ''The Encyclopedia of Appalachia'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2006), 1006–1007.</ref> There is often great debate between the residents of the regions regarding the correct pronunciation. Elsewhere, a commonly accepted pronunciation for the adjective ''Appalachian'' is {{IPAc-en|ˌ|æ|p|ə|ˈ|l|æ|tʃ|i|ə|n}}, with the last two syllables "-ian" pronounced as in the word "Romanian".<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/appalachian Define "Appalachian".] Random House Dictionary, online at Dictionary.com. Retrieved May 15, 2011.</ref>
<!--[[File:Appalachian Uplands.jpg|thumb|left|Appalachian Uplands region of Canada. University of Maine Digital Commons 2005 map from Canadian-American Center Cartography. Canadian-American Center Cartography, "Appalachian Uplands Region Map" (2005). Maps for Teaching Canada. 1. <nowiki>https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/canam_teachmaps/1</nowiki>]]-->

==Geography==
[[File:Appalachian Mountains of North America.jpg|thumb|Appalachian Mountains broken down by physiographic division, provinces, and sections]]
Perhaps partly because the range runs through large portions of both the United States and Canada, and partly because the range was formed over numerous geologic time periods, one of which is sometimes termed [[Alleghanian orogeny|the Appalachian orogeny]], writing communities struggle to agree on an encyclopedic definition of the mountain range. However, each of the governments has an agency that informs the public about the major [[landform]]s that make up the countries, the [[United States Geological Survey]] (USGS) and the [[Geological Survey of Canada]] (GSC). The landforms are referred to as [[Physiographic region|physiographic regions.]] The regions create precise boundaries from which maps can be drawn. The Appalachian Highlands is the name of one of the eight [[Physiographic regions of the United States|physiographic regions of the contiguous 48 United States.]]<ref name="USGS-Water" />
The Appalachian Uplands is the name of one of seven physiographic regions of Canada.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Atlas of Canada - Physiographic Regions 
|url=https://atlas.gc.ca/phys/en/index.html 
|access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Government of Canada|date=September 12, 2016 
}}</ref>

===Appalachian Highlands of the United States===
[[File:Appalachian Highlands.jpg|thumb|Appalachian Highlands physiographic provinces]]
The second level in the physiographic classification schema for the USGS is "province", the same word as Canada uses to divide its political subdivisions, meaning that the terminology used by the two countries do not match below the region level. The lowest level of classification is "section".<ref name="USGS-Water" />

{{bulleted list |[[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]], including the Uplands and Lowlands sections |[[Blue Ridge Mountains|Blue Ridge]], including the Northern and Southern sections |[[Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians|Valley and Ridge]], including Tennessee, Middle, and [[Hudson Valley]] sections |[[St. Lawrence Valley]], including only the Champlain section{{Efn|Originally the intent was that there would be two sections, the Champlain and the Northern section, however the dividing line was never officially determined}} |[[Appalachian Plateau]]s, including the Mohawk, [[Catskill Mountains|Catskill]], Southern New York, [[Allegheny Mountains|Allegheny Mountain]], Kanawha, [[Cumberland Plateau]], and [[Cumberland Mountains|Cumberland Mountain]] sections |[[New England]], including the [[New England Seaboard|Seaboard Lowland]], [[New England Uplands|New England Upland]], [[White Mountains (New Hampshire)|White Mountains]], [[Green Mountains]], and [[Taconic Mountains]] |[[Adirondack Mountains|Adirondack]]  with no sections}}

===Appalachian Uplands of Canada===
[[File:Appalachian Uplands by SubRegion.jpg|thumb|Appalachian Uplands of [[Canada]]'s 13 divisions]]
[[File:Saint Simon de Rimouski 004.jpg|thumb|The hills of the [[Notre Dame Mountains]] in [[Quebec]], Canada]]
The Appalachian Uplands are one of the seven physiographic divisions in [[Canada]]. Canada's GSC does not use the same classification system as the USGS below the division level. The agency does break the divisions of the Appalachian Uplands into 13 subsections that are in four different political provinces of Canada.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Atlas of Canada - Physiographic Regions |url=https://atlas.gc.ca/phys/en/index.html |access-date=August 17, 2023 |website=Government of Canada|date=September 12, 2016 }}</ref>
{{bulleted list |Newfoundland contains the [[Newfoundland Highland forests|Newfoundland Highlands]], [[Atlantic Upland]]s, and [[Central Lowlands]] |Nova Scotia contains the Atlantic Uplands, Nova Scotia Uplands, and the Annapolis Lowlands |New Brunswick contains the New Brunswick Highlands, the Chaleur Uplands, and the [[Maritime Plain]] |Quebec contains the [[Notre Dame Mountains]], Eastern Quebec Uplands, Sutton Mountains, and Mégantic Hills }}
While the Appalachian Highlands and Appalachian Uplands are generally continuous across the U.S./Canadian border, the St. Lawrence Valley area is handled differently in the physiographic classification schemas. The part of the St. Lawrence Valley in the United States is one of the second-level classifications, part of the Appalachian Highlands. In Canada, the area is part of the first-level classification, the [[St. Lawrence Lowlands]]. This includes the area around the city of Montreal, [[Anticosti Island]], and the northwest coastline of Newfoundland. 
The dissected plateau area, while not actually made up of geological mountains, is popularly called "mountains", especially in eastern Kentucky and West Virginia, and while the ridges are not high, the terrain is extremely rugged. In Ohio and New York, some of the plateau has been [[Glaciated rock|glaciated]], which has rounded off the sharp ridges and filled the valleys to some extent. The glaciated regions are usually referred to as hill country rather than mountains.
<!--=== to be added:Areas around the Appalachian Mountains not included in the physiographic definition===-->
<!-- The following text is based on the Allegheny/Appalachian orogeny and not based on physiographic regions. The text remains here for further discussion. 
The Appalachians do not include the [[Adirondack Mountains]], a distinct and growing range that is a part of the [[Canadian Shield]] and belongs to the [[Grenville Orogeny]].<ref name="geomorph">{{Cite web |url=http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/geomorphology/GEO_2/GEO_PLATE_T-11.shtml |title=Geomorphology From Space&nbsp;– Appalachian Mountains |publisher=[[NASA]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206045710/http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/geomorphology/GEO_2/GEO_PLATE_T-11.shtml |archive-date=December 6, 2007 |access-date=December 27, 2007}}</ref><ref
 name=peakbag>{{cite peakbagger |rid=1507
|name=Adirondack Mountains |access-date=December 27, 2007}}
</ref><ref
 name=weidensaul>{{cite book |last= Weidensaul |first= Scott
|title= Mountains of the Heart: A Natural History of the Appalachians
|year= 1994
|publisher= Fulcrum Publishing |isbn= 978-1-55591-139-3 |pages= ix |author-link= Scott Weidensaul}}
</ref>-->

===Range characteristics===
{{See also|List of subranges of the Appalachian Mountains}}
[[File:Appalachian Trail- Totts Gap to Mount Minsi (19) (10355303223).jpg|thumb|The Appalachian Trail at [[Mount Minsi]] in [[Northampton County, Pennsylvania]], in the [[Lehigh Valley]]]]
[[File:Appalachian Mountains from International Space Station.jpg|thumb|The Appalachian Mountains seen from the [[International Space Station]]]]
The Appalachian belt includes the plateaus sloping southward to the [[Atlantic Ocean]] in [[New England]], and southeastward to the border of the [[coastal plain]] through the central and southern Atlantic states; and on the northwest, the Allegheny and Cumberland plateaus declining toward the Great Lakes and the interior plains. A remarkable feature of the belt is the longitudinal chain of broad valleys, including the [[Great Appalachian Valley]], which in the southerly sections divides the mountain system into two unequal portions, but in the northernmost lies west of all the ranges possessing typical Appalachian features, and separates them from the Adirondack group. The mountain system has no axis of dominating altitudes, but in every portion, the summits rise to rather uniform heights, and, especially in the central section, the various ridges and intermontane valleys have the same trend as the system itself. None of the summits reaches the region of perpetual snow.<ref name="EB1911" />

In [[Pennsylvania]], there are over sixty summits that rise over {{convert|2500|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}; the summits of [[Mount Davis (Pennsylvania)|Mount Davis]] and [[Blue Knob (Pennsylvania)|Blue Knob]] rise over {{convert|3000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}. In Maryland, Eagle Rock and [[Dans Mountain]] are conspicuous points reaching {{convert|3162|and|2882|ft|m|abbr=on}} respectively. On the same side of the Great Valley, south of the Potomac, are the Pinnacle {{convert|3007|ft}} and Pidgeon Roost {{convert|3400|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name="EB1911" /> In West Virginia, more than 150 peaks rise above {{convert|4000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}, including [[Spruce Mountain (West Virginia)|Spruce Knob]] {{convert|4863|ft|abbr=on}}, the highest point in the [[Allegheny Mountains]]. A number of other points in the state rise above {{convert|4800|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}. [[Cheat Mountain]] ([[Snowshoe Mountain]]) at Thorny Flat {{convert|4848|ft|abbr=on}} and [[Bald Knob]] {{convert|4842|ft|abbr=on}} are among the more notable peaks in West Virginia.

The [[Blue Ridge Mountains]], rising in southern Pennsylvania and there known as [[South Mountain (Maryland and Pennsylvania)|South Mountain]], attain elevations of about {{convert|2000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}} in Pennsylvania. South Mountain achieves its highest point just below the [[Mason-Dixon]] line in [[Maryland]] at [[Quirauk Mountain]] {{convert|2145|ft|abbr=on}} and then diminishes in height southward to the [[Potomac River]]. Once in [[Virginia]], the Blue Ridge again reaches {{convert|2000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}} and higher. In the Virginia Blue Ridge, the following are some of the highest peaks north of the [[Roanoke River]]: Stony Man {{convert|4031|ft|abbr=on}}, [[Hawksbill Mountain]] {{convert|4066|ft|abbr=on}}, [[Apple Orchard Mountain]] {{convert|4225|ft|abbr=on}} and [[Peaks of Otter]] {{convert|4001|and|3875|ft|abbr=on}}. South of the Roanoke River, along the Blue Ridge, are Virginia's highest peaks including [[Whitetop Mountain]] {{convert|5520|ft|abbr=on}} and [[Mount Rogers (Virginia)|Mount Rogers]] {{convert|5729|ft|abbr=on}}, the highest point in the Commonwealth.

Chief summits in the southern section of the Blue Ridge are located along two main crests, the Western or Unaka Front along the [[Tennessee]]-[[North Carolina]] border and the Eastern Front in North Carolina, or one of several "cross ridges" between the two main crests. Major subranges of the Eastern Front include the [[Black Mountains (North Carolina)|Black Mountains]], [[Great Craggy Mountains]], and [[Great Balsam Mountains]], and its chief summits include [[Grandfather Mountain]] {{convert|5964|ft|m|abbr=on}} near the Tennessee-North Carolina border, [[Mount Mitchell]] {{convert|6684|ft|m|abbr=on}} in the Blacks, and [[Black Balsam Knob]] {{convert|6214|ft|m|abbr=on}} and [[Cold Mountain (North Carolina)|Cold Mountain]] {{convert|6030|ft|m|abbr=on}} in the Great Balsams. The Western Blue Ridge Front is subdivided into the [[Unaka Range]], the [[Bald Mountains]], the [[Great Smoky Mountains]], and the [[Unicoi Mountains]], and its major peaks include [[Roan Mountain (Roan Highlands)|Roan Mountain]] {{convert|6285|ft|m|abbr=on}} in the Unakas, Big Bald {{convert|5516|ft|m|abbr=on}} and [[Max Patch]] {{convert|4616|ft|m|abbr=on}} in the Bald Mountains, [[Kuwohi]] {{convert|6643|ft|m|abbr=on}}, [[Mount Le Conte (Tennessee)|Mount Le Conte]] {{convert|6593|ft|m}}, and [[Mount Guyot (Great Smoky Mountains)|Mount Guyot]] {{convert|6621|ft|m|abbr=on}} in the Great Smokies, and [[Big Frog Mountain]] {{convert|4224|ft|m|abbr=on}} near the Tennessee-[[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]-North Carolina border. Prominent summits in the cross ridges include [[Waterrock Knob]] ({{convert|6292|ft|m|abbr=on}}) in the [[Plott Balsams]]. Across northern Georgia, numerous peaks exceed {{convert|4000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}, including [[Brasstown Bald]], the state's highest, at {{convert|4784|and|4696|ft|m|adj=on|abbr=on}} [[Rabun Bald]]. In north-central [[Alabama]], [[Mount Cheaha]] rises prominently to {{convert|1445|ft|m}} over its surroundings, as part of the southernmost spur of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Highest Peaks in each U.S. state and Canadian province in the Appalachian Mountains
!State or Province 
!Country 
!Physiographic Area 
!Highest Peak !! Elev. (feet)
!Elev. (meters)!! Geographic Coordinates
|-
| Alabama || USA|| Appalachian Plateau||[[Cheaha Mountain]] ||align="right" | 2,407 || align="right"|734 || 33.4869° N 85.8091° W
|-
| Georgia || USA|| Blue Ridge || [[Brasstown Bald]] || align="right" | 4,784 ||align="right" | 1,457 || 34.8745° N 83.8063° W
|-
| Kentucky || USA||Appalachian Plateau|| [[Black Mountain (Kentucky)|Black Mountain]] || align="right" | 4,145 || align="right"| 1,263 || 36.9022° N 82.9144° W
|-
| Maine || USA ||New England|| [[Mount Katahdin]] || align="right" | 5,269 ||align="right" | 1,606 || 45.9046° N 68.9216° W
|-
| Maryland ||USA|| Appalachian Plateau|| [[Backbone Mountain]] ||align="right" | 3,360 || align="right" | 1,024 || 39.4049° N 79.2911° W
|-
|Massachusetts
|USA
|New England
|[[Mount Greylock]]
|align="right"|3,489
|align="right"|1,063
|42.3813° N 73.0957° W
|-
| New Brunswick || Canada || Chaleur Uplands|| [[Mount Carleton]] ||align="right" | 2,690  || align="right" | 820 ||    47.2241° N 66.5233 ° W
|-
| Newfoundland ||Canada||Newfoundland|| [[The Cabox]] ||align="right" | 2,664 || align="right" | 812 || 48.4959° N 58.2903° W
|-
| New Hampshire ||USA|| New England || [[Mount Washington]] ||align="right" | 6,288 || align="right" | 1,917 || 44.1614° N 71.1811° W
|-
| New Jersey ||USA|| Valley and Ridge || [[High Point (New Jersey)|High Point]] ||align="right" | 1,804 || align="right" | 550|| 41.3206° N 74.6616° W
|-
| New York|| USA || Adirondacks|| [[Mount Marcy]]|| align="right" |  5,344 || align="right" |  1,629 || 44.1126° N 73.9235° W
|-
| North Carolina ||USA|| Blue Ridge|| [[Mount Mitchell]] ||align="right" | 6,684 || align="right" | 2,037 || 35.7658° N 82.2655° W
|-
| Nova Scotia || Canada|| Nova Scotia Highlands ||  [[White Hill (Nova Scotia)|White Hill]] || align="right" | 1,755 || align="right" |  535 ||  46.7555° N 60.6350° W
|-
| Ohio || USA|| Appalachian Plateau || [[Campbell Hill (Ohio)|Campbell Hill]] ||align="right" | 1,549 || align="right" | 472 || 40.3888° N 83.6381° W
|-
| Pennsylvania || USA|| Appalachian Plateau|| [[Mount Davis (Pennsylvania)|Mount Davis]] ||align="right" | 3,213 ||  align="right"| 979 || 39.7866° N 79.1751° W
|-
| Quebec || Canada || [[Notre Dame Mountains]] || [[Mont Jacques-Cartier]] || align="right" | 4,160 || align="right" | 1,268 || 48.9906° N 65.9425° W
|-
| South Carolina ||USA|| Blue Ridge|| [[Sassafras Mountain]] ||align="right" | 3,553 || align="right" | 1,083 || 35.0632° N 82.3062° W
|-
| Tennessee || USA|| Blue Ridge || [[Kuwohi]] ||align="right" | 6,643 || align="right" | 2,025 || 35.5625° N 83.4989° W
|-
| Vermont || USA || Green Mountains || [[Mount Mansfield]] || align="right" | 4,395 || align="right" | 1,340 ||  44.5439° N 72.8143° W
|-
| Virginia ||USA|| Blue Ridge|| [[Mount Rogers]] ||align="right" | 5,729 || align="right" | 1,746 || 36.6586° N 81.5438° W
|-
| West Virginia ||USA || Appalachian Plateau|| [[Spruce Mountain (West Virginia)|Spruce Knob]] ||align="right" | 4,863 || align="right" | 1,482 || 38.6992° N 79.5327° W
|}

=== Categorization of Appalachian mountains before physiographic regions ===
Sources written prior to the recognition of the concept of physiographic regions divided the Appalachian Mountains into three major sections:<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Appalachian Mountains|volume=2|pages=207–208|first=Arthur Coe|last=Spencer}}</ref>{{efn|Description used by 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica that is now in the public domain}}
[[File:Mt. Washington from Bretton Woods.JPG|thumb|Mt. Washington, NH from Bretton Woods]]
* Northern: The northern section runs from the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian province]] of [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] to the [[Hudson River]]. It includes the [[Long Range Mountains]] and [[Annieopsquotch Mountains]] on the island of Newfoundland, the French Territorial Collectivity of [[Saint-Pierre and Miquelon]]  southwest of Newfoundland, [[Chic-Choc Mountains]] and [[Notre Dame Mountains|Notre Dame Range]] in [[Quebec]] and [[New Brunswick]], scattered elevations and small ranges elsewhere in [[Nova Scotia]] and New Brunswick, the [[Longfellow Mountains]] in [[Maine]], the [[White Mountains (New Hampshire)|White Mountains]] in [[New Hampshire]], the [[Green Mountains]] in [[Vermont]], and [[Berkshires|The Berkshires]] in [[Massachusetts]], and [[Connecticut]], the [[Metacomet Ridge|Metacomet Ridge Mountains]] in Connecticut and south-central Massachusetts, and the [[Adirondack Mountains]] in New York are all part of the Appalachian Mountains as defined by the governments of Canada and the United States.{{pb}}Mountains of the [[Long Range Mountains|Long Range]] in Newfoundland, such as [[the Cabox]] and [[Gros Morne (Newfoundland)|Gros Morne]], reach heights of nearly {{convert|2700|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}. In the Chic-Choc and Notre Dame Mountain ranges in Quebec, the higher summits rise above {{convert|4000|ft|m|abbr=on}} in elevation. Isolated peaks and small ranges in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick vary from {{convert|1000|to|2700|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}. In [[Maine]], several peaks exceed {{convert|4000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}, including [[Mount Katahdin]] at {{convert|5267|ft}}. In [[New Hampshire]], many summits rise above {{convert|5000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}, including [[Mount Washington (New Hampshire)|Mount Washington]] in the [[White Mountains (New Hampshire)|White Mountains]] at {{convert|6288|ft|m|abbr=on}}, [[Mount Adams (New Hampshire)|Adams]] at {{convert|5771|ft|m|abbr=on}}, [[Mount Jefferson (New Hampshire)|Jefferson]] at {{convert|5712|ft|m|abbr=on}}, [[Mount Monroe|Monroe]] at {{convert|5380|ft|m|abbr=on}}, [[Mount Madison|Madison]] at {{convert|5367|ft|m|abbr=on}}, [[Mount Lafayette|Lafayette]] at {{convert|5249|ft|m}}, and [[Mount Lincoln (New Hampshire)|Lincoln]] at {{convert|5089|ft|m|abbr=on}}. In the [[Green Mountains]] the highest point, [[Mount Mansfield|Mt. Mansfield]], is {{convert|4393|ft|m|abbr=on}} in elevation; others include [[Killington Peak]] at {{convert|4226|ft|m|abbr=on}}, [[Camel's Hump]] at {{convert|4083|ft|m|abbr=on}}, [[Mount Abraham (Vermont)|Mt. Abraham]] at {{convert|4006|ft|m|abbr=on}}, and a number of other heights exceeding {{convert|3000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}.<ref name="EB1911" /><ref name="geomorph">{{Cite web |url=http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/geomorphology/GEO_2/GEO_PLATE_T-11.shtml |title=Geomorphology From Space&nbsp;– Appalachian Mountains |publisher=[[NASA]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206045710/http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/geomorphology/GEO_2/GEO_PLATE_T-11.shtml |archive-date=December 6, 2007 |access-date=December 27, 2007}}</ref><ref name="weidensaul">{{cite book |last= Weidensaul |first= Scott
|title= Mountains of the Heart: A Natural History of the Appalachians
|year= 1994
|publisher= Fulcrum Publishing |isbn= 978-1-55591-139-3 |pages= ix |author-link= Scott Weidensaul}}
</ref>

[[File:WV plateau.jpg|thumb|A shaded map of the [[Cumberland Plateau]] and [[Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians]] on the [[Virginia]]–[[West Virginia]] border]]
* Central: The central section runs from the [[Hudson Valley]] in [[New York (state)|New York]] to the [[New River (Kanawha River)|New River]] through the [[Lehigh Valley]] and central [[Pennsylvania]] and western [[Maryland]] to western [[Virginia]] and [[West Virginia]]. The central region comprises the [[Ridge-and-valley Appalachians|Valley Ridges]] between the [[Allegheny Front]] of the [[Allegheny Plateau]] and the [[Great Appalachian Valley]], the [[New York–New Jersey Highlands]], the [[Taconic Mountains]] in New York, and a large portion of the [[Blue Ridge Mountains|Blue Ridge]]. In addition to the true folded mountains, known as the [[Ridge-and-valley Appalachians|ridge and valley province]], the area of [[dissected plateau]] to the north and west of the mountains is usually grouped with the Appalachians. This includes the [[Catskill Mountains]] of Lower New York, the [[Pocono Mountains|Poconos]] in [[Pennsylvania]], and the [[Allegheny Plateau]] of New York's [[Southern Tier]] region, western Pennsylvania, eastern [[Ohio]] and northern [[West Virginia]].

[[File:Greene-county-bald-mtns-tn1.jpg|thumb|[[Bald Mountains]] in [[Tennessee]]]]
* Southern: The southern section runs from the [[New River (Kanawha River tributary)|New River]] and consists of the prolongation of the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]], which is divided into the Western Blue Ridge (or Unaka) Front and the Eastern Blue Ridge Front, the [[Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians]], and the [[Cumberland Plateau]]. This same plateau is known as the [[Cumberland Plateau]] in southern West Virginia, eastern [[Kentucky]], far [[Southwest Virginia]], eastern [[Tennessee]], and northern [[Alabama]].

==Geology==
{{Main|Geology of the Appalachians}}
Plate tectonics over the period dating back at least 1 billion years led to geological creation of the land that is now the Appalachian Mountain range. The continental movement led to collisions that built mountains and they later pulled apart creating oceans over parts of the continent that are now exposed.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Keppie |first=J. D. |date=2006 |title=Avalonian terranes of the Appalachian orogen: A review |journal=Geological Society of America Bulletin |volume=129 |issue=9/10 |pages=1195–1208 |doi=10.1130/B31595.1}}</ref>

===Grenville Orogeny and formation of Supercontinent Rodinia===
The first mountain-building tectonic plate collision that initiated the construction of what are today the Appalachians occurred at least a billion years ago when the pre-North American [[craton]] called [[Laurentia]] collided with at least one other craton - [[Amazonian craton|Amazonia]]. All the other cratons of the earth also collided at about this time to form the supercontinent [[Rodinia]] and were surrounded by one single ocean.  (It is possible that the cratons of [[Kalahari craton|Kalahari]], and [[Río de la Plata craton|Rio Plato]], were also part of that early collision since they were present as Rodinia broke up). Mountain-building referred to as the [[Grenville Orogeny]] occurred along the boundaries of the cratons.<ref name="Thomas 2021"/><ref name="auto">{{Cite book |last=Clark |first=Sandra H. B. |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/birth/birth.pdf |title=Birth of the Mountains: The Geologic Story of the Southern Appalachian Mountains |publisher=United States Geologic Survey |year=1996 |pages=4 }}</ref> The present Appalachian Mountains have at least two areas which are made from rock formations that were formed during this orogeny - the  [[Blue Ridge Mountains]] and the [[Adirondack Mountains|Adirondacks]].
[[File:Grenville extent.gif|thumb|Land added to Laurentia during the Grenville orogeny]]

===Breakup of Rodinia and formation of the Iapetus Ocean===
After the Grenville orogeny, the direction of the continental drift reversed, and the single supercontinent Rodinia began to break up. The mountains formed during the Grenvillian era underwent erosion due to weathering, glaciation, and other natural processes, resulting in the leveling of the landscape. The eroded sediments from these mountains contributed to the formation of sedimentary basins and valleys. For example, in what is now the southern United States, the Ococee Basin was formed. Seawater filled the basin. Rivers from the surrounding countryside carried clay, silt, sand, and gravel to the basin, much as rivers today carry sediment from the midcontinent region to the Gulf of Mexico. The sediment spread out in layers on the basin floor. The basin continued to subside, and over a long period of time, probably millions of years, a great thickness of sediment accumulated.<ref name="auto"/> Eventually, the tectonic forces pulling the two continents apart became so strong that an ocean formed off the eastern coast of the Laurentian margin. This was called the [[Iapetus Ocean]] and was the precursor of the modern Atlantic Ocean. The rocks of the Valley and Ridge province formed over millions of years, in the Iapetus. Shells and other hard parts of ancient marine plants and animals accumulated to form limey deposits that later became limestone. This is the same process by which limestone forms in modern oceans. The weathering of limestone, now exposed at the land surface, produces the lime-rich soils that are so prevalent in the fertile farmland of the Valley and Ridge province.<ref name="auto"/>

During this continental break-up, around 600 million to 560 million years ago, volcanic activity was present along the tectonic margins. There is evidence of this activity in today's Blue Ridge Mountains. [[Mount Rogers]], [[Whitetop Mountain]], and [[Pine Mountain (Appalachian Mountains)|Pine Mountain]] are all the result of volcanic activity that occurred around this time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rankin |first=James W. |title=The volcanogenic Mount Rogers Formation and the overlying glaciogenic Konnarock Formation: Two late Proterozoic units in southwestern Virginia |publisher=USGS |year=1993 |doi=10.3133/b2029}}</ref> Evidence of subsurface activity, dikes and sills intruding into the overlying rock, is present in the Blue Ridge as well. For instance, mafic rocks have been found along the Fries Fault in the central Blue Ridge area of Montgomery County, VA.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaygi |first=Patti Boyd |title=The Fries Fault near Riner, Virginia: an example of a polydeformed, ductile deformation zone |publisher=VT Works |year=1994}}</ref>

===Taconic Orogeny===
[[File:Taconic orogeny.gif|thumb|Taconic orogeny]]
The Iapetus continued to expand and during that time bacteria, algae, and many species of invertebrates flourished in the oceans, but there were no plants or animals on land. Then, during the middle [[Ordovician Period]] about 500 to 470 million years ago, the motion of the crustal plates changed, and the continents began to move back toward each other. The once-quiet Appalachian passive margin changed to a very active plate boundary when a neighboring Iapetus oceanic plate containing a volcanic arc collided with and began sinking beneath the [[North American craton]]. Volcanoes grew along the continental margin coincident with the initiation of [[subduction]]. Thrust faulting uplifted and warped older sedimentary rock laid down on the passive margin. As the mountains rose, erosion began to wear them down over time. Streams carried rock debris downslope to be deposited in nearby lowlands.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite book |last=Clark |first=Sandra H. B. |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/birth/birth.pdf |title=Birth of the Mountains: The Geologic Story of the Southern Appalachian Mountains |publisher=United States Geologic Survey |year=1996}}</ref>  The Taconic orogeny ended after about 60 million years, but built much of the land mass that is now New England and southwestward to Pennsylvania.

The Taconic Orogeny was the second of four mountain building plate collisions that contributed to the formation of the Appalachians, culminating in the collision of North America and Africa (see [[Alleghanian orogeny]]).<ref name="usgs">{{Cite web |url=http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/parks/province/appalach.html |title=Geologic Provinces of the United States: Appalachian Highlands Province |publisher=USGS |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130311111217/http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/parks/province/appalach.html |archive-date=March 11, 2013 |access-date=July 19, 2010}}</ref>

===Acadian Orogeny===
The third mountain-building event was the [[Acadian orogeny]] which occurred between 375 and 359 million years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hatch |first=N. L. |date=2009 |title=The Acadian orogeny: A review |journal=Geological Society of America Bulletin |volume=121 |issue=5–6 |pages=639–678}}</ref> The Acadian orogeny was caused by a series of collisions of pieces of crust from the Avalonia Terrane, sections broken off from continent of [[Gondwana]], with the North American Plate. The collision initiating this orogeny resulted in the closing of the southern [[Iapetus Ocean]] and the formation of a high mountain belt. After the Acadian collision took place, Gondwana began to retreat from Laurentia with the newly [[Accretion (geology)|accreted]] [[Avalonia]]n [[terrane]]s left behind. As Gondwana moved away, a new ocean opened up, the [[Rheic Ocean]], during the Middle to Late Devonian, and subsequently its closure would result in the formation of the [[Alleghanian orogeny]].

===Alleghenian Orogeny and Supercontinent Pangea===
As the continental plates moved closer together, fragments of oceanic crust, islands, and other continental masses collided with the eastern margin of ancestral North America. By this time, plants had appeared on land, followed by scorpions, insects, and amphibians. The ocean continued to shrink until, about 270 million years ago, the continents that were ancestral to North America and Africa collided during the formation of the [[Pangaea|supercontinent Pangea]].<ref name="auto1"/>

Because [[North America]] and [[Africa]] were once geographically connected, the Appalachians formed part of the same mountain chain as the [[Little Atlas]] in [[Morocco]]. This mountain range, known as the [[Central Pangean Mountains]], extended into [[Scotland]], before the Mesozoic Era opening of the [[Iapetus Ocean]], from the North America/Europe collision (See [[Caledonian orogeny]]).

[[File:Appalachian fault.jpg|thumb|Old [[fault (geology)|fault]] exposed by roadcut near [[Hazleton, Pennsylvania]], along [[Interstate 81 in Pennsylvania|Interstate 81]].]]

By the end of the [[Mesozoic|Mesozoic Era]], the Appalachian Mountains had been eroded to an almost flat plain.<ref name="usgs" /> It was not until the region was uplifted during the [[Cenozoic Era]] that the distinctive topography of the present formed.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Poag |first1=C. Wylie |last2=Sevon |first2=William D. |date=September 1989 |title=A record of Appalachian denudation in postrift Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary deposits of the U.S. Middle Atlantic continental margin |journal=Geomorphology |volume=2 |pages=119–157 |bibcode=1989Geomo...2..119P |doi=10.1016/0169-555X(89)90009-3 |number=1–3}}</ref> Uplift [[rejuvenation (river)|rejuvenated]] the streams, which rapidly responded by cutting downward into the ancient bedrock. Some streams flowed along weak layers that define the folds and faults created many millions of years earlier. Other streams [[downcutting|downcut]] so rapidly that they cut right across the resistant folded rocks of the mountain core, carving canyons across rock layers and geologic structures.

===Mineral resources===
[[File:Cliffs above Gauley-27527.jpg|thumb|Cliffs overlooking the [[New River (Kanawha River)|New River]] near [[Gauley Bridge, West Virginia]]]]
The Appalachian Mountains contain major deposits of [[anthracite]] [[coal]] as well as [[bituminous coal]]. In the folded mountains the coal is in metamorphosed form as [[anthracite]], represented by the [[Coal Region]] of [[northeastern Pennsylvania]]. The bituminous coal fields of [[western Pennsylvania]], [[western Maryland]], southeastern Ohio, eastern Kentucky, [[Southwest Virginia|southwestern Virginia]], and West Virginia contain the sedimentary form of coal.<ref name="coal">{{Cite web |url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/p1625c/CHAPTER_A/CHAPTER_A.pdf |title=Executive Summary—Coal Resource Assessment of Selected Coal Beds and Zones in the Northern and Central Appalachian Basin Coal Regions |last=Ruppert |first=Leslie F. |publisher=USGS |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715045305/http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/p1625c/CHAPTER_A/CHAPTER_A.pdf |archive-date=July 15, 2010 |access-date=July 19, 2010}}</ref> The [[mountain top removal]] method of [[coal mining]], in which entire mountain tops are removed, is currently threatening vast areas and ecosystems of the Appalachian Mountain region.<ref name="Palmer et al 2010" /> The surface coal mining that started in the 1940s has significantly impacted the central Appalachian Mountains in [[Kentucky]], [[Tennessee]], Virginia and West Virginia. Early mining methods were unregulated and mined land reclamation research, including [[acid base reaction]], was led by the [[West Virginia University]] in the 1960s and 1970s. West Virginia developed rigorous [[mine reclamation]] standards for state coal mines in the late 1960s. Regulations were introduced by most states to protect the Appalachian Mountains by the late 1960s. Social and political activism brought about the [[Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Legislation, Technology and Practice of Mine Land Reclamation |last=Hu |first=Zhenqi |publisher=CRC Press |year=2014 |page=3 |isbn=9781315732138}}</ref>

The [[Drake Well|1859 discovery]] of commercial quantities of [[petroleum]] in the Appalachian Mountains of western Pennsylvania started the modern United States [[petroleum industry]].<ref name="appBasin" /> Recent discoveries of commercial [[natural gas]] deposits in the [[Marcellus Shale]] formation and [[Utica Shale]] formations have once again focused oil industry attention on the Appalachian Basin.

Some plateaus of the Appalachian Mountains contain metallic minerals such as [[iron]] and [[zinc]].<ref>{{cite book |url=http://quarriesandbeyond.org/articles_and_books/min_res_appalachian_region/tc_intro.html |title=Mineral Resources of the Appalachian Region |publisher=USGS |year=1968 |id=Professional Paper 580}}</ref>

===Drainage===
[[File:Eastern North American Paleogeography Middle Devonian.gif|thumb|[[Palaeogeography|Paleogeographic]] reconstruction showing the Appalachian Basin area during the Middle Devonian period<ref name="url">{{Cite web |url=http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/rcb7/nam.html |title=Paleogeography and Geologic Evolution of North America |last=Blakey |first=Ron |website=Global Plate Tectonics and Paleogeography |publisher=Northern Arizona University |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621201253/http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/rcb7/nam.html |archive-date=June 21, 2008 |access-date=July 4, 2008}}</ref>]]
There are many geological issues concerning the rivers and streams of the Appalachians. In spite of the existence of the Great Appalachian Valley, many of the main rivers are transverse to the mountain system axis. The [[drainage divide]] of the Appalachians follows a tortuous course that crosses the mountainous belt just north of the [[New River (Kanawha River)|New River]] in Virginia. South of the New River, rivers head into the Blue Ridge, cross the higher Unakas, receive important tributaries from the Great Valley, and traversing the Cumberland Plateau in spreading gorges ([[water gap]]s), escape by way of the [[Cumberland River]] and the [[Tennessee River]] rivers to the [[Ohio River]] and the Mississippi River, and thence to the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. In the central section, north of the New River, the rivers, rising in or just beyond the Valley Ridges, flow through great gorges to the Great Valley, and then across the Blue Ridge to tidal estuaries penetrating the coastal plain via the Roanoke River, [[James River (Virginia)|James River]], [[Potomac River]], and [[Susquehanna River]].<ref name="EB1911" />

In the northern section the height of land lies on the inland side of the mountainous belt, and thus the main lines of drainage run from north to south, exemplified by the [[Hudson River]].<ref name="EB1911" /> However, the valley through which the Hudson River flows was cut by the gigantic [[glacier]]s of the [[ice age]]s—the same glaciers that deposited their [[terminal moraine]]s in southern New York and formed the east–west [[Long Island]].

[[File:Appleorchardmountain.jpg|thumb|[[Apple Orchard Mountain]] peak in the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]], which stretch from southern [[Pennsylvania]] in the north through [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] in the south]]The Appalachian region is generally considered the geographical divide between the [[East Coast of the United States|eastern seaboard]] of the United States and the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]] region of the country. The [[Eastern Continental Divide]] follows the Appalachian Mountains from Pennsylvania to Georgia.

==Ecology==
The Appalachians, particularly the Central and Southern regions, is one of the most biodiverse places in North America.<ref name="TNC">{{cite news |last1=Elliston |first1=Jon |title=Heart of Appalachia |url=https://www.nature.org/en-us/magazine/magazine-articles/cumberland-forest-project/ |access-date=June 16, 2020 |agency=The Nature Conservancy |issue=Winter 2019 |publisher=The Nature Conservancy |date=October 31, 2019}}</ref> The north–south orientation of the long ridges and valleys contributes to the high number of plant and animal species. Species were able to migrate through these from either direction during alternating periods of warming and cooling, settling in the microclimates that best suited them.<ref name="Southern Getaways">{{cite book |last1=Jeffries |first1=Stephanie B |last2=Wentworth |first2=Thomas R. |title=Exploring Southern Appalachian Forests |date=2014 |publisher=The University of North Carolina Press |location=Chapel Hill NC |isbn=9781469619798 |page=8 |edition=1 }}</ref>

===Flora===
{{Further|Appalachian–Blue Ridge forests|Appalachian bogs|Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests|Appalachian temperate rainforest|New England/Acadian forests|List of plants endemic to the Appalachian Mountains}}
[[File:Mount Mitchell-27527.jpg|thumb|View from [[Mount Mitchell]], [[North Carolina]] at {{convert|6684|ft|m|abbr=on}}, the highest peak east of the [[Mississippi River]]]]
[[File:Rockytop and Patterson Ridges (13083210443).jpg|thumb|[[Shenandoah National Park]] in [[Virginia]]]]
[[File:Craggy Gardens-27527.jpg|thumb|View from Craggy Gardens on the [[Blue Ridge Parkway]] in [[North Carolina]]]]
[[File:Rhododendron maximum-27527.jpg|thumb|[[Rhododendron maximum|Great laurel]] thicket in the [[Pisgah National Forest]] in [[North Carolina]]]]
[[File:Cranberry-glades-fog-1.jpg|thumb|[[Cranberry Glades]], a bog preserve in [[West Virginia]]]]
[[File:HumpsRoan.jpg|thumb|Grassy balds on the [[Roan Mountain (Roan Highlands)|Roan Highlands]] straddling the [[North Carolina]]/[[Tennessee]] border]]
The flora of the Appalachians are diverse and vary primarily in response to geology, latitude, elevation and moisture availability. Geobotanically, they constitute a [[floristic province]] of the [[North American Atlantic Region]]. The Appalachians consist primarily of deciduous broad-leaf trees and evergreen needle-leaf conifers, but also contain the evergreen broad-leaf [[American holly]] (''Ilex opaca''), and the deciduous needle-leaf conifer, the [[Tamarack larch|tamarack]], or eastern larch (''Larix laricina'').

The dominant northern and high elevation conifer is the [[red spruce]] (''Picea rubens''), which grows from near sea level to above {{convert|4000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]] (asl) in northern [[New England]] and southeastern Canada. It also grows southward along the Appalachian crest to the highest elevations of the southern Appalachians, as in [[North Carolina]] and [[Tennessee]]. In the central Appalachians it is usually confined above {{convert|3000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}} asl, except for a few cold valleys in which it reaches lower elevations. In the southern Appalachians, it is restricted to higher elevations. Another species is the [[black spruce]] (''Picea mariana''), which extends farthest north of any conifer in North America, is found at high elevations in the northern Appalachians, and in bogs as far south as Pennsylvania.

The Appalachians are also home to two species of fir, the boreal [[balsam fir]] (''Abies balsamea''), and the southern high elevation endemic, [[Fraser fir]] (''Abies fraseri''). Fraser fir is [[endemic]] to the highest parts of the southern Appalachian Mountains, where along with red spruce it forms a fragile ecosystem known as the [[Southern Appalachian spruce–fir forest]]. Fraser fir rarely occurs below {{convert|5500|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}, and becomes the dominant tree type at {{convert|6200|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}}.<ref>Rose Houk, ''Great Smoky Mountains National Park: A Natural History Guide'' (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1993), pp. 50–62.</ref> By contrast, balsam fir is found from near sea level to the tree line in the northern Appalachians, but ranges only as far south as Virginia and West Virginia in the central Appalachians, where it is usually confined above {{convert|3900|ft|m|-2|abbr=on}} asl, except in cold valleys. Curiously, it is associated with oaks in Virginia. The balsam fir of Virginia and West Virginia is thought by some to be a natural hybrid between the more northern variety and Fraser fir. While red spruce is common in both upland and bog habitats, balsam fir, as well as black spruce and tamarack, are more characteristic of the latter. However, balsam fir also does well in soils with a pH as high as 6.<ref>Fowells, H.A., 1965, ''Silvics of Forest Trees of the United States'', Agricultural Handbook No. 271, [[United States Department of Agriculture]], Forest Service, Washington, D.C.</ref>

[[Tsuga canadensis|Eastern or Canada hemlock]] (''Tsuga canadensis'') is another important evergreen needle-leaf conifer that grows along the Appalachian chain from north to south but is confined to lower elevations than red spruce and the firs. It generally occupies richer and less acidic soils than the spruce and firs and is characteristic of deep, shaded and moist mountain valleys and [[cove (Appalachian Mountains)|cove]]s. It is subject to the [[hemlock woolly adelgid]] (''Adelges tsugae''), an introduced insect, that is rapidly extirpating it as a forest tree. Less abundant, and restricted to the southern Appalachians, is [[Carolina hemlock]] (''Tsuga caroliniana''). Like Canada hemlock, this tree suffers severely from the hemlock woolly adelgid.

Several species of pines characteristic of the Appalachians are [[eastern white pine]] (''Pinus strobus ''), [[Virginia pine]] (''Pinus virginiana''), [[pitch pine]] (''Pinus rigida ''), [[Table Mountain pine]] (''Pinus pungens'') and [[shortleaf pine]] (''Pinus echinata''). [[Red pine]] (''Pinus resinosa'') is a boreal species that forms a few high elevation outliers as far south as West Virginia. All of these species except white pine tend to occupy sandy, rocky, poor soil sites, which are mostly acidic in character. White pine, a large species valued for its timber, tends to do best in rich, moist soil, either acidic or alkaline in character. Pitch pine is also at home in acidic, boggy soil, and Table Mountain pine may occasionally be found in this habitat as well. Shortleaf pine is generally found in warmer habitats and at lower elevations than the other species. All the species listed do best in open or lightly shaded habitats, although white pine also thrives in shady coves, valleys, and on floodplains.

The Appalachians are characterized by a wealth of large, beautiful deciduous broadleaf (hardwood) trees. Their occurrences are best summarized and described in [[Emma Lucy Braun|E. Lucy Braun]]'s 1950 classic, ''Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America'' (Macmillan, New York). The most diverse and richest forests are the [[Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests|mixed-mesophytic]] or medium-moisture types, which are largely confined to rich, moist montane soils of the southern and central Appalachians, particularly in the Cumberland and Allegheny Mountains, but also thrive in the southern Appalachian coves. Characteristic canopy species are [[Tilia heterophylla|white basswood]] (''Tilia heterophylla''), [[yellow buckeye]] (''Aesculus octandra''), [[sugar maple]] (''Acer saccharum''), [[Fagus grandifolia|American beech]] (''Fagus grandifolia''), [[Liriodendron|tuliptree]] (''Liriodendron tulipifera''), [[Fraxinus americana|white ash]] (''Fraxinus americana'') and [[Betula alleghaniensis|yellow birch]] (''Betula alleganiensis''). Other common trees are [[Acer rubrum|red maple]] (''Acer rubrum''), [[Carya ovata|shagbark]] and [[Carya cordiformis|bitternut]] hickories (''Carya ovata'' and ''C. cordiformis'') and [[Betula lenta|black or sweet birch]] (''Betula lenta ''). Small understory trees and shrubs include [[Asimina triloba|paw paw]] (''Asimina tribola''), [[Cornus florida|flowering dogwood]] (''Cornus florida''), [[Ostrya|hophornbeam]] (''Ostrya virginiana''), [[witch-hazel]] (''Hamamelis virginiana'') and [[Lindera|spicebush]] (''Lindera benzoin''). There are also hundreds of perennial and annual herbs, among them such herbal and medicinal plants as American [[ginseng]] (''Panax quinquefolius''), [[goldenseal]] (''Hydrastis canadensis''), [[Sanguinaria|bloodroot]] (''Sanguinaria canadensis'') and [[Actaea racemosa|black cohosh]] (''Cimicifuga racemosa'').

The foregoing trees, shrubs, and herbs are also more widely distributed in less rich [[mesic habitat|mesic]] forests that generally occupy coves, stream valleys and [[flood plain]]s throughout the southern and central Appalachians at low and intermediate elevations. In the northern Appalachians and at higher elevations of the central and southern Appalachians these diverse mesic forests give way to less diverse [[Appalachian hemlock–northern hardwood forest|northern hardwood forests]] with canopies dominated only by American beech, sugar maple, [[American basswood]] (''Tilia americana'') and yellow birch and with far fewer species of shrubs and herbs.

Drier and rockier uplands and ridges are occupied by [[oak–chestnut forest]]s dominated by a variety of oaks (''Quercus'' spp.), [[hickory|hickories]] (''Carya'' spp.) and, in the past, by the [[American chestnut]] (''Castanea dentata''). The American chestnut was virtually eliminated as a canopy species by the introduced fungal [[chestnut blight]] (''Cryphonectaria parasitica''), but lives on as sapling-sized sprouts that originate from roots, which are not killed by the fungus. In present-day forest canopies, chestnut has been largely replaced by oaks.

The [[Central and southern Appalachian montane oak forest|oak forests of the southern and central Appalachians]] consist largely of [[Quercus velutina|black]], [[Northern red oak|northern red]], [[Quercus alba|white]], [[Chestnut oak|chestnut]] and [[scarlet oak]]s (''Quercus velutina'', ''Q. rubra'', ''Q. alba'', ''Q. prinus'' and ''Q. coccinea'') and hickories, such as the pignut (''Carya glabra'') in particular. The richest forests, which grade into mesic types, usually in coves and on gentle slopes, have predominantly white and northern red oaks, while the driest sites are dominated by chestnut oak, or sometimes by scarlet or northern red oaks. In the northern Appalachians the oaks, except for white and northern red, drop out, while the latter extends farthest north.

The oak forests generally lack the diverse small tree, shrub and herb layers of mesic forests. Shrubs are generally [[Calcifuge|ericaceous]], and include the evergreen [[Kalmia latifolia|mountain laurel]] (''Kalmia latifolia''), various species of [[blueberry|blueberries]] (''Vaccinium'' spp.), [[Gaylussacia baccata|black huckleberry]] (''Gaylussacia baccata''), a number of deciduous [[rhododendron]]s (azaleas), and smaller heaths such as [[Gaultheria procumbens|teaberry]] (''Gaultheria procumbens'') and [[trailing arbutus]] (''Epigaea repens ''). The evergreen great rhododendron (''Rhododendron maximum'') is characteristic of moist stream valleys. These occurrences are in line with the prevailing acidic character of most oak forest soils. In contrast, the much rarer [[chinquapin oak]] (''Quercus muehlenbergii'') demands alkaline soils and generally grows where limestone rock is near the surface. Hence no ericaceous shrubs are associated with it.

The Appalachian flora also include a diverse assemblage of [[bryophyte]]s (mosses and liverworts), as well as [[fungi]]. Some species are rare and/or endemic. As with [[vascular plant]]s, these tend to be closely related to the character of the soils and the thermal environment in which they are found.

Eastern deciduous forests are subject to a number of serious insect and disease outbreaks. Among the most conspicuous is that of the introduced [[Lymantria dispar|spongy moth]] (''Lymantria dispar''), which infests primarily oaks, causing severe defoliation and tree mortality. But it also has the benefit of eliminating weak individuals, and thus improving the genetic stock, as well as creating rich habitat of a type through accumulation of dead wood. Because hardwoods sprout so readily, this moth is not as harmful as the [[hemlock woolly adelgid]]. Perhaps more serious is the introduced [[beech bark disease]] complex, which includes both a scale insect (''Cryptococcus fagisuga'') and fungal components.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Appalachian forests were subject to severe and destructive logging and land clearing, which resulted in the designation of the national forests and parks as well many state-protected areas. However, these and a variety of other destructive activities continue, albeit in diminished forms; and thus far only a few ecologically based management practices have taken hold.

[[Appalachian bogs]] are [[boreal ecosystem]]s, which occur in many places in the Appalachians, particularly the [[Allegheny Mountains|Allegheny]] and [[Blue Ridge Mountains|Blue Ridge]] subranges.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.fws.gov/southeast/pubs/mtbog.pdf |title=Info |website=www.fws.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.fws.gov/refuge/mountain_bogs/ |title=Home – Mountain Bogs – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |website=www.fws.gov}}</ref> Though popularly called [[bog]]s, many of them are technically [[fen]]s.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/YF0QNPA8IsM Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20190202060824/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF0QNPA8IsM&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF0QNPA8IsM&index=32&list=PLnN7OGI1bJ88pzzjPYF-U6pgYTwj_8nHe |title=Southern Appalachian Cranberry Bog |last=expeditionspatrick |date=November 24, 2010 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Several mountain summits in the southern Appalachians are covered with expansive open habitats (either grassy [[meadow]]s or [[heath]]) known as [[Appalachian balds]]. These habitats support many unique plant and animal communities, including rare, [[Relict (biology)|relict]] species, that are adapted to the open, exposed habitat. Their origins are heavily debated; while all were formerly thought to have anthropogenic origins, more recent evidence indicates a mixed origin: many were formed by climatic conditions in the [[Pleistocene]] and kept open by [[Pleistocene megafauna]], then by other grazing wildlife (such as [[American bison|bison]], [[elk]], and deer) and [[Native American use of fire in ecosystems|Native American burning practices]], and finally by grazing [[livestock]] introduced by European settlers. Others, especially those dominated by introduced grasses, may be fully anthropogenic in origin. The abandonment of grazing has caused trees to encroach on many of these balds, threatening their ecosystems.<ref>{{Cite web|title=NatureServe Explorer 2.0|url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.723195/Southern_Appalachian_Grass_and_Shrub_Bald|access-date=May 31, 2021|website=explorer.natureserve.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Discovering the Southern Appalachian Grassy Balds - Office of the Vice President for Research {{!}} University of South Carolina|url=https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/research/news_and_pubs/caravel/archive/2015/2015-caravel-appalachian-balds.php|access-date=May 31, 2021|website=sc.edu}}</ref>
 
In contrast to the largely grazing-influenced balds of the southern Appalachians, parts of the northern Appalachians such as the White Mountains. the [[Adirondack Mountains]], and [[Mount Katahdin]] have summits covered with true [[alpine tundra]]; these ecosystems are kept clear due to extremely harsh winter storms, and support a vegetation community more akin to that of the [[Arctic Circle]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 22, 2015|title=In the Zone: Exploring the Ecozones of the White Mountains|url=https://www.outdoors.org/resources/amc-outdoors/conservation-and-climate/in-the-zone/|access-date=May 31, 2021|website=Appalachian Mountain Club}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Carlson|first1=Bradley Z.|last2=Munroe|first2=Jeffrey S.|last3=Hegman|first3=Bill|date=August 1, 2011|title=Distribution of Alpine Tundra in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, U.S.A.|journal=Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research|volume=43|issue=3|pages=331–342|doi=10.1657/1938-4246-43.3.331|bibcode=2011AAAR...43..331C |s2cid=53579861|issn=1523-0430|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Regenold|first=Stephen|date=October 12, 2007|title=A Pocket of Alpine Tundra Nestled Atop New England|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/12/travel/escapes/12trek.html|access-date=May 31, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Fauna===
[[File:Southern Flying Squirrel-27527-3.jpg|thumb|[[Southern flying squirrel]]]]
[[File:Wild Turkey-27527-1.jpg|thumb|A male [[Wild turkey|eastern wild turkey]]]]
Animals that characterize the Appalachian forests include five species of [[tree squirrel]]s. The most commonly seen is the low to moderate elevation [[eastern gray squirrel]] (''Sciurus carolinensis''). Occupying similar habitat is the slightly larger [[fox squirrel]] (''Sciurus niger'') and the much smaller [[southern flying squirrel]] (''Glaucomys volans''). More characteristic of cooler northern and high elevation habitat is the [[American red squirrel|red squirrel]] (''Tamiasciurus hudsonicus''), whereas the Appalachian [[northern flying squirrel]] (''Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus''), which closely resembles the southern flying squirrel, is confined to northern hardwood and spruce–fir forests.

As familiar as squirrels are the [[eastern cottontail]] rabbit (''Silvilagus floridanus'') and the [[white-tailed deer]] (''Odocoileus virginianus''). The latter in particular has greatly increased in abundance as a result of the extirpation of the [[eastern wolf]] (''Canis lupus lycaon'') and the [[North American cougar]]. This has led to the [[overgrazing]] and browsing of many plants of the Appalachian forests, as well as destruction of agricultural crops. Other deer include the [[eastern moose|moose]] (''Alces alces ''), found only in the north, and the [[elk]] (''Cervus canadensis''), which, although once [[Eastern elk|extirpated]], is now making a comeback, through transplantation, in the southern and central Appalachians. In [[Quebec]], the Chic-Chocs host the only population of [[reindeer]] (''Rangifer tarandus'') south of the [[St. Lawrence River]]. An additional species that is common in the north but extends its range southward at high elevations to Virginia and West Virginia is the varying or [[snowshoe hare]] (''Lepus americanus''). However, these central Appalachian populations are scattered and very small.

Another species of great interest is the [[North American beaver|beaver]] (''Castor canadensis''), which is showing a great resurgence in numbers after its near extirpation for its pelt. This resurgence is bringing about a drastic alteration in habitat through the construction of dams and other structures throughout the mountains.

Other common forest animals are the [[American black bear|black bear]] (''Ursus americanus''), [[striped skunk]] (''Mephitis mephitis''), [[raccoon]] (''Procyon lotor''), [[Virginia opossum|opossum]] (''Didelphis virginianus''), [[groundhog|woodchuck]] (''Marmota monax''), [[bobcat]] (''Lynx rufus''), [[gray fox]] (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), [[red fox]] (''Vulpes vulpes'') and in recent years, the [[coyote]] (''Canis latrans''), another species favored by the advent of Europeans and the extirpation of eastern and [[red wolf|red wolves]] (''Canis rufus''). European [[Wild boar|boars]] (''Sus scrofa'') were introduced in the early 20th century.

Characteristic birds of the forest are [[wild turkey]] (''Meleagris gallopavo silvestris''), [[ruffed grouse]] (''Bonasa umbellus''), [[mourning dove]] (''Zenaida macroura''), [[common raven]] (''Corvus corax''), [[wood duck]] (''Aix sponsa''), [[great horned owl]] (''Bubo virginianus''), [[barred owl]] (''Strix varia''), [[Scops owl|screech owl]] (''Megascops asio''), [[red-tailed hawk]] (''Buteo jamaicensis''), [[red-shouldered hawk]] (''Buteo lineatus''), and [[American goshawk|northern goshawk]], as well as a great variety of "songbirds" ([[Passeriformes]]), like the warblers in particular.

Of great importance are the many species of [[salamander]]s and, in particular, the [[lungless salamander|lungless]] species (family Plethodontidae) that live in great abundance concealed by leaves and debris, on the forest floor. Most frequently seen, however, is the [[Eastern newt|eastern or red-spotted newt]] (''Notophthalmus viridescens''), whose terrestrial eft form is often encountered on the open, dry forest floor. It has been estimated that salamanders represent the largest class of animal biomass in the Appalachian forests. Frogs and toads are of lesser diversity and abundance, but the [[wood frog]] (''Rana sylvatica'') is, like the eft, commonly encountered on the dry forest floor, while a number of species of small frogs, such as [[spring peeper]]s (''Pseudacris crucifer''), enliven the forest with their calls. Salamanders and other amphibians contribute greatly to nutrient cycling through their consumption of small life forms on the forest floor and in aquatic habitats.

Although reptiles are less abundant and diverse than amphibians, a number of snakes are conspicuous members of the fauna. One of the largest is the non-venomous [[black rat snake]] (''Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta''), while the [[common garter snake]] (''Thamnophis sirtalis'') is among the smallest but most abundant. The [[eastern copperhead]] (''Agkistrodon contortrix'') and the [[timber rattler]] (''Crotalus horridus'') are venomous [[pit viper]]s. There are few lizards, but the [[broad-headed skink]] (''Eumeces laticeps''), at up to {{convert|13|in|cm|abbr=on}} in length, and an excellent climber and swimmer, is one of the largest and most spectacular in appearance and action. The most common turtle is the [[eastern box turtle]] (''Terrapene carolina carolina''), which is found in both upland and lowland forests in the central and southern Appalachians. Prominent among aquatic species is the large [[common snapping turtle]] (''Chelydra serpentina''), which occurs throughout the Appalachians.

Appalachian streams are notable for their highly diverse freshwater fish life. Among the most abundant and diverse are those of the minnow family (family [[Cyprinidae]]), while species of the colorful [[Etheostomatinae|darters]] (''Percina'' spp.) are also abundant.<ref>Page, Lawrence M. and Brooks M. Burr 1991, ''A Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes, North America, North of Mexico'', Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston</ref>

A characteristic fish of shaded, cool Appalachian forest streams is the [[Brook trout|wild brook or speckled trout]] (''Salvelinus fontinalis''), which is much sought after as a game fish.<ref>{{Cite thesis |title=Brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') movement and habitat use in a headwater stream of the central Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.33915/etd.1798 |publisher=West Virginia University Libraries |first=Marisa Nel |last=Logan|date=2003 |doi=10.33915/etd.1798 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Brook Trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') - Species Profile |url=https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?SpeciesID=939 |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database}}</ref>

==Impact on North American history==

===Indigenous people===
The roots of the Appalachian regions' histories trace back to the indigenous peoples who inhabited these lands long before European arrival. Indigenous communities across the Appalachians developed diverse cultures, languages, and societies, adapting to the region's varying environments and ecosystems. The interactions between indigenous communities and the natural world laid the foundation for the intricate relationship between humans and the Appalachian landscape.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jennings |first=Francis |title=The Invasion of America: Indians, Colonialism, and the Cant of Conquest. |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company. |year=1993}}</ref> Indigenous peoples thrived in these challenging terrains, adapting their lifestyles to the resources available. They forged deep connections with the land, developing sustainable practices for hunting, fishing, agriculture, and gathering. The Appalachian landscape provided a rich tapestry of flora and fauna, which indigenous communities learned to harness for their sustenance and well-being.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rickter |first=D. K. |title=Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America. |publisher=Harvard University Press. |year=2001}}</ref> The Appalachian Mountains served as a conduit for trade networks, connecting distant indigenous communities through intricate trails. These trade routes facilitated the exchange of goods, ideas, and cultural practices across vast distances. This network fostered a sense of shared identity among diverse indigenous groups, transcending geographical boundaries.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Marshall |first1=Kathleen |last2=Marshall |first2=Lamar |date=October 30, 2008 |title=Indian Trails of Appalachia |url=https://appvoices.org/2008/10/30/indian-trails-of-appalachia/#:~:text=An%20intricate%20trail%20network%20radiated%20out%20in,were%20Cowee%20and%20Nikwasi%20(also%20Nuqose%2C%20Nuquose) |access-date=August 24, 2023 |website=The Appalachian Voice}}</ref>

===European exploration===
During the late 15th and early 16th centuries, European explorers embarked on voyages of discovery across the Atlantic Ocean. While seeking new trade routes and riches, they encountered the vast landmass of North America, including the Appalachian regions. The mountains posed a formidable geographical obstacle that European explorers had to navigate. The French, British, and Spanish were among the major powers vying for dominance in the New World, and their interactions with indigenous communities and the Appalachian landscape shaped the course of history.

====Colonial settlements====
The Appalachian Highlands and Lowlands became focal points for European colonial expansion. French and British explorers traversed the Appalachian Mountains as they established footholds in North America. The French established settlements in the Great Lakes region and Canada, while the British colonies stretched along the eastern seaboard of what would become the United States. The territorial ambitions of European powers set the stage for later conflicts such as the [[French and Indian War]].

The [[Royal Proclamation of 1763|British Proclamation of 1763]] holds significance in both Canadian and American histories. In the United States, the proclamation aimed to curb westward expansion beyond the Appalachian Mountains to avoid conflicts with indigenous nations, leading to tensions between American colonists and the British Crown and contributing to the drive for independence. In Canada, the proclamation provided a framework for governing newly acquired French territories, including Quebec, to ensure stability and control over the region. The ramifications of the proclamation were multifaceted, reflecting the complex dynamics of colonial governance and indigenous relations.

====Cultural exchange and identity====

The Appalachian Mountains in both countries nurtured unique cultural identities that persist to this day. The isolation of these mountainous regions allowed for the development of distinctive music, folklore, and traditions. Appalachian music played a significant role in the broader evolution of American and Canadian music genres. While each side of the border has its own cultural expressions, the shared geographical features and historical interactions contributed to common threads of self-reliance, resilience, and connection to nature that characterize Appalachian culture.

====Colonization and frontier expansion====
European exploration of the Appalachian regions contributed to the mapping and understanding of the area's geographical features. Explorers documented the rugged terrain, dense forests, and abundant natural resources. Their observations shaped the perceptions of the Appalachian landscape and influenced subsequent settlement patterns and resource utilization. The range posed significant barriers to westward expansion, leaving an indelible mark on colonization efforts.

====Cumberland Gap and Gaspé Peninsula====

The [[Cumberland Gap]], a prominent geographic feature, played a pivotal role in westward expansion in the United States. This passage through the Appalachian Mountains provided a route for pioneers seeking new opportunities beyond the mountains. Similarly, Canada had its own geographical passage, the [[Gaspé Peninsula]], which facilitated exploration and trade in the Canadian Appalachian region. These passages were vital gateways that shaped the movement of people, ideas, and resources on both sides of the border. {{cite encyclopedia |title=Gaspé Peninsula  |encyclopedia= The Canadian Encyclopedia. }}

==See also==
* [[Appalachia]]
* [[Appalachian American]]
* [[Appalachian League]]
* [[Appalachian Mountain Club]]
* [[Appalachian Trail]]
* [[List of subranges of the Appalachian Mountains]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|refs=

<ref name="appBasin">{{cite web |publisher=USGS |url=http://certmapper.cr.usgs.gov/data/noga95/prov67/text/prov67.pdf |title=Appalachian Basin Province (067) |first=R.T. |last=Ryder |access-date=July 19, 2010}}</ref>

<ref name="Palmer et al 2010">{{cite journal |last=Palmer |first=M. A. |author2=Bernhardt, E. S. |author3=Schlesinger, W. H. |author4=Eshleman, K. N. | author5=Foufoula-Georgiou, E. |author6=Hendryx, M. S. |author7=Lemly, A. D. |author8=Likens, G. E.  |author9=Loucks, O. L. |author10=Power, M. E. |author11=White, P. S. |author12=Wilcock, P. R.  |date=January 8, 2010 |title=Mountaintop Mining Consequences |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=327 |issue=5962 |pages=148–149 |issn=1095-9203 |doi=10.1126/science.1180543 |pmid=20056876 |bibcode=2010Sci...327..148P |s2cid=206522928}}</ref>

<ref name="USGS-Water">{{cite web |title=Physiographic divisions of the conterminous U. S.|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |url=http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/metadata/usgswrd/XML/physio.xml |access-date=December 6, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071205095639/http://water.usgs.gov/GIS/metadata/usgswrd/XML/physio.xml |archive-date=December 5, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>

}}

==Sources==
* Topographic maps and Geologic Folios of the United States Geological Survey
* {{cite journal |last1=Goodge |first1=J. W. |last2=Vervoort |first2=J. D. |last3=Fanning |first3=C. M. |last4=Brecke |first4=D. M. |last5=Farmer |first5=G. L. |last6=Williams |first6=I. S. |last7=Myrow |first7=P. M. |last8=DePaolo |first8=D. J. |title=A positive test of East Antarctica–Laurentia juxtaposition within the Rodinia supercontinent |year=2008 |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=321 |issue=5886 |pages=235–240 |url=http://sites.coloradocollege.edu/pmyrow/files/2012/09/APositiveTestOfEastAntarcticaLaurentia.pdf |access-date=February 4, 2016 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=18621666 |doi=10.1126/science.1159189 |bibcode=2008Sci...321..235G |s2cid=11799613}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Loewy |first1=S. L. |last2=Dalziel |first2=I. W. D. |last3=Pisarevsky |first3=S. |last4=Connelly |first4=J. N. |last5=Tait |first5=J. |last6=Hanson |first6=R. E. |last7=Bullen |first7=D. |title=Coats Land crustal block, East Antarctica: A tectonic tracer for Laurentia? |year=2011 |journal=[[Geology (journal)|Geology]] |volume=39 |issue=9 |pages=859–862 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232551854 |access-date=January 24, 2016 |doi=10.1130/G32029.1 |bibcode=2011Geo....39..859L}}

==Further reading==
* [[Maurice Brooks|Brooks, Maurice]] (1965), ''The Appalachians: The Naturalist's America''; illustrated by Lois Darling and Lo Brooks. [[Boston]]; [[Houghton Mifflin Company]].
* [[Harry M. Caudill|Caudill, Harry M.]] (1963), ''Night Comes to the Cumberlands''. {{ISBN|0-316-13212-8}}.
* Constantz, George (2004), ''Hollows, Peepers, and Highlanders: an Appalachian Mountain Ecology'' (2nd edition). West Virginia University Press; [[Morgantown, West Virginia|Morgantown]]. 359 p.
* Olson, Ted (1998), ''Blue Ridge Folklife''. University Press of Mississippi, 211 pages, {{ISBN|1-57806-023-0}}.
* Rehder, John (2013) "Appalachian Folkways", Koxville: University of Tennessee Press.
* Chapters iii., iv. and v. of Miss E. C. Semple's ''American History and its Geographic Conditions'' (Boston, 1903).
* Weidensaul, Scott (2000), ''Mountains of the Heart: A Natural History of the Appalachians''. Fulcrum Publishing, 288 pages, {{ISBN|1-55591-139-0}}.
* [[Bailey Willis]], ''The Northern Appalachians'', and C. W. Hayes, ''The Southern Appalachians'', both in ''National Geographic Monographs'', vol. 9.

;Appalachian flora and fauna-related journals
* ''Castanea'', the journal of the [[Southern Appalachian Botanical Society]].
* ''Banisteria'', a journal devoted to the natural history of Virginia.
* ''The Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society''.

==External links==
{{Sister project links |b=no |voy=Appalachian Mountains |d=Q93332 |m=no |mw=no |n=no |q= no|wikt=no|v=yes}}
* [http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/ecoregions/50403frame.htm Appalachian/Blue Ridge Forests images] at bioimages.Vanderbilt.edu ([http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/ecoregions/50403.htm slow modem version])
* [http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/ecoregions/50402frame.htm Appalachian Mixed Mesophytic Forests images] at bioimages.Vanderbilt.edu ([http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/ecoregions/50402.htm slow modem version])
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100508092535/http://www.appalachiancenter.org/ University of Kentucky Appalachian Center] (archived May 8, 2010)
* [http://asecular.com/forests/ Forests of the Central Appalachians Project] Detailed inventories of forest species at dozens of sites.

{{United States topics}}
{{Portal bar|Appalachia}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Appalachian Mountains| ]]
[[Category:Appalachia]]
[[Category:Appalachian culture]]
[[Category:Eastern Canada]]
[[Category:Eastern United States]]
[[Category:Geography of Appalachia]]
[[Category:Great Smoky Mountains National Park]]
[[Category:Geography of the Lehigh Valley]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Alabama]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Canada]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Kentucky]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Maine]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Maryland]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of New Brunswick]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of New Jersey]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Newfoundland and Labrador]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of North Carolina]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Quebec]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of South Carolina]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Tennessee]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of the United States]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Vermont]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Virginia]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of West Virginia]]
[[Category:Mountains of the Lehigh Valley]]
[[Category:Physiographic divisions]]
[[Category:Physiographic regions of Canada]]
[[Category:Physiographic regions of the United States]]