1 / 12

Natural Resources & Environment of Appalachia

Natural Resources & Environment of Appalachia. Introducing Appalachian Studies. Age/Formation. The Appalachian Mountain range is roughly 480 million years old Once rivaled peaks of Alps and Rockies, but they are smaller now due to erosion. Appalachian Mountain Topography.

brandall
Download Presentation

Natural Resources & Environment of Appalachia

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Natural Resources & Environment of Appalachia Introducing Appalachian Studies

  2. Age/Formation • The Appalachian Mountain range is roughly 480 million years old • Once rivaled peaks of Alps and Rockies, but they are smaller now due to erosion

  3. Appalachian Mountain Topography • Four Principal Areas: • Blue Ridge • Great Smoky Mountains • Black Mountains (Mount Mitchell in the Black Mountains is the highest point in the Appalachians) • Cumberland Mountains and plateau - Big Stone Gap is located here

  4. Rivers • Most important single resource • Functions of rivers: • Source of drinking water • Transportation • Fish and game • Tourist attractions • Valleys formed by rivers good for agriculture • Impact of industrialization on rivers • Stripping of trees has caused buildup of silt on river bottoms-->leads to flooding • Release of chemicals has made fish unfit for consumption in certain areas • Few natural lakes (glaciers of last ice age didn't affect much of Appalachia); many human-made lakes (TVA) • Interestingly enough, Virginia has only two natural lakes, one of which is in the Appalachian Mountains (Mountain Lake of Giles County)

  5. Biodiversity • The Appalachians are one of the most diverse biological regions of North America • 690 vertebrate species and 2,245 higher plant species native to region • Trees found here are similar to trees found 50 million years ago • Sixty vertebrate species and 83 plant species threatened or endangered • Greatest threats: logging, mining, air pollution • Variety of game: • Bears, deer, squirrel, rabbit, wild turkey, ruffled grouse, fox, raccoon, etc. • Reintroductions: beaver, wolves, elk, bald eagle • Largely gone: mountain lion, golden eagle, bison

  6. Forests • 80-90% forested when Europeans began to settle • Similar to present-day forests with exception of American chestnut, which was destroyed by blight • Upper elevations: spruce and intermingled fir • Middle elevations: tulip poplar, red and white oak, ash, and maple • Southern: varieties of pine • By 1900, 75% still wooded • Water originally delivered timber to destination before railroads were contructed • Development of bandsaws leads to timber boom after 1890; selective cutting replaced by clear-cutting • Timber practices lead to watershed loss, soil erosion, greater potential for fire (aided by steam engines)

  7. Forests • Weeks Law of 1911: authorized purchase of private "forested, cut-over, or denuded lands within the watersheds of navigable streams" • Clark-McNary Act of 1924: more funds for land acquisition • By end of 1930s: National forests: Chattahoochee, Sumter, Nantahala, Pisgah, Cherokee, Jefferson, Washington, Daniel Boone, Monongahela, Allegheny and National Parks: Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah • Future of timber: • Giant timber companies moving East due to overharvesting in West • Chip mill construction (leads to clear-cutting)

  8. Minerals • Variety: copper, aluminum, gold, coal • Two types of coal: anthracite (western PA) is a very hard coal with high carbon content and bituminous (WV, KY, VA, TN, AL) is softer and easier to ignite • Broad form deed: separation of surface and mineral rights, which leads to negative circumstances with landowners as strip mining is developed • Peak years for coal mining employment: 1941-1945 • In 1944, coal miners worked 1.078 billions hours for 685 million tons of coal • In 1979, miners worked 393 million hours for 741 million tons

  9. Mechanization • Coal mining's early years: pick, shovel, and blasting powder • Technological developments • Mechanical loader: coal pulled onto belt • Continuous miner: cuts coal from seam • Longwall: like giant circular saw • New methods create more dust • Black lung • Explosions • Acid mine drainage from low-grade iron ore oxidizing and producing sulfuric acid • Mine water blow outs and flash-flooding • Surface changes due to structural issues • 1977: Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act • Five-year bond to transform land to "higher and better use" • Non-native species and few of them often used to reclaim lands previously used

  10. Mechanization • Soil compaction • Mountaintop removal • Coal refuse • Dry, can ignite and burn for years • Wet, can form sludge: October of 2001, Massey Coal Company released 2.5 million gallons of coal sludge into Big Sandy River

  11. Agriculture • Agriculture dominated region prior to timber and coal • Tobacco, sorghum molasses, Christmas tree farms, gardens • Appalachian Sustainable Development in Abingdon, VA

  12. Development • Some areas experiencing population loss, others experiencing rapid growth • Vacation homes have become a hot-button issue in many areas • How to control development? • Prisons as economic development

More Related