Appalachian Mountains (ăpəlā`chən, –chēən, –lăch`–), mountain system of E North America, extending in a broad belt c.1,600 mi (2,570 km) SW from the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec prov., Canada, to the Gulf coastal plain in Alabama. Main sections in the system are the White Mts., Green Mts., Berkshire Hills, Catskill Mts., Allegheny Plateau, Black Mts., Great Smoky Mts., Blue Ridge, and Cumberland Plateau. To the E is the Piedmont (foothill) region. The Appalachians, much-eroded remnants of a great mass formed by folding (see mountains mountain, high land mass projecting conspicuously above its surroundings and usually of limited width at its summit. Although isolated mountains are not unusual, mountains commonly form ranges, comprising either a single complex ridge or a series of related ridges.
..... Click the link for more information. ), consist largely of sedimentary rocks. Mt. Mitchell (6,684 ft/2,037 m) in North Carolina's Black Mts. is the highest peak.

The

Great Appalachian Valley is a chain of lowlands extending S and W from the Hudson Valley; its main segments are the Lehigh, Lebanon, Cumberland, and Shenandoah valleys; the Valley of Virginia; and the Valley of East Tennessee. Long a major north-south travel and settlement corridor, the Great Valley is one of the most fertile areas in the E United States.

The Appalachians are rich in coal; other resources include iron, petroleum, and natural gas. The scenic ranges also abound in resorts and recreation areas, including Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mts. national parks. The Appalachian Trail International Appalachian Trail, a 690-mi (1,110-km) extension of the trail north and east from Mt. Katahdin into New Brunswick and Quebec to Cape Gaspé, was dedicated. Sections of this trail pass through Canadian national and provincial parks.
..... Click the link for more information. winds 2,050 mi (3,299 km) along the ridges of the Appalachians between Mt. Katahdin, Maine, and Springer Mt., Georgia.

Crossed by few passes, the Appalachians were a barrier to early westward expansion and played an important role in U.S. history; major east-west routes like the Cumberland Gap Cumberland Gap, natural passage through the Cumberland Mts., near the point where Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee meet. The gap was formed by the erosive action of a stream that once flowed there. It was explored and named in 1750 by Dr.
..... Click the link for more information. and Mohawk Trail Mohawk Trail.

1 Old road (c.100 mi/160 km long) in central New York state following the Mohawk River. It was the sole route through the Appalachians by which thousands of settlers emigrated from the Eastern seaboard to the Midwest.
..... Click the link for more information. followed river valleys or mountain notches.

Appalachia is a name applied to parts of the region that were long characterized by marginal economy, isolation of its people from the U.S. mainstream, and distinctive folkways.

Bibliography

See E. Porter, Appalachian Wilderness (1970); H. M. Caudill, My Land is Dying (1971); M. Brooks, The Appalachians (1986); H. D. Shapiro, Appalachia on Our Mind (1986).

Appalachian Mountains

Mountain system, eastern North America. The Appalachians, among the oldest mountains on Earth, extend almost 2,000 mi (3,200 km) from the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador in the northeast southwestward to Alabama in the U.S. They include the White Mountains in New Hampshire, the Green Mountains in Vermont, the Catskill Mountains in New York, the Allegheny Mountains primarily in Pennsylvania, the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia and North Carolina, the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee, and the Cumberland Plateau extending from West Virginia to Alabama. Their highest peak is Mount Mitchell in North Carolina. See also Appalachian Geosyncline; Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

Appalachian Mountains (redirected from Appalachian Highlands)

Bibliography

Appalachian Mountains

Appalachian Mountains
(redirected from Appalachian Highlands)