A Naturalist S Guide To The Southern Blue Ridge Front

A comprehensive handbook to top southeastern nature sites For hikers, climbers, naturalists, botanists, zoologists, wildflower enthusiasts, waterfall watchers, and all who enjoy exploring the outdoors, this field guide offers detailed descriptions of more than fifty natural areas in the "gorge" region of the Blue Ridge province. Veteran naturalist L. L. Gaddy, Jr., shares his extensive knowledge of this scenic, biologically diverse region, which runs from North Carolina's Linville Gorge to Tallulah Gorge in Georgia, and offers practical advice on how to best experience its many rock pinnacles, deep ravines, wildflower coves, and spectacular waterfalls. Describing areas that range in size from less than fifty to more than ten thousand acres, Gaddy provides comprehensive information on well-known sites—Table Rock State Park, Caesar's Head State Park, Whiteside Mountain, Chimney Rock Park, and Raven Cliff Falls—along with many lesser-known areas—Wolf's Lair, Thompson River Gorge, Chattooga River Narrows, and Chauga River Gorge. For each location he outlines points of interest, flora and fauna (including rare plants and endangered wildlife), and other natural features. Gaddy supplements his entries with topographic maps and an introduction to the area in which he distinguishes the specific ecosystems of the gorge region from those found in the rest of the Blue Ridge.

Winding over the crests and through the valleys of the southern Appalachian highlands between Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks, the Blue Ridge Parkway offers the traveler a natural spectacle unsurpassed for complexity and grandeur. This book is a lively and compact on-the-spot guide to the region's features, geological history, and natural inhabitants--from its plants, insects, and fish to its reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals.

A comprehensive and indispensable reference for identifying and appreciating native flora From its summits to its shores, South Carolina brims with life and unparalleled beauty thanks to its abundant array of native and naturalized flora, all carefully documented in this revised and expanded edition of A Guide to the Wildflowers of South Carolina. Dramatic advances in plant taxonomy and ecology have occurred since the guide's publication 20 years ago; new species have been discovered while others struggle to survive in the face of vanishing habitats and climate change. The authors, all experienced botanists, offer essays on carnivorous plants, native orchids, Carolina bays, the roles and effects of fire and agriculture on the landscape, and detailed descriptions of the plant communities throughout the state's major natural regions. This expanded edition catalogs nearly 1,000 species organized by habitat, with descriptions, color photographs, range maps, and comments on pharmacological uses, suitability for garden cultivation, origin of common and scientific names, and conservation status.

Getting acquainted with local flora and fauna is the perfect way to begin to understand the wonder of nature. The natural environment of Southern Appalachia, with habitats that span the Blue Ridge to the Cumberland Plateau, is one of the most biodiverse on earth. A Literary Field Guide to Southern Appalachia—a hybrid literary and natural history anthology—showcases sixty of the many species indigenous to the region. Ecologically, culturally, and artistically, Southern Appalachia is rich in paradox and stereotype-defying complexity. Its species range from the iconic and inveterate—such as the speckled trout, pileated woodpecker, copperhead, and black bear—to the elusive and endangered—such as the American chestnut, Carolina gorge moss, chucky madtom, and lampshade spider. The anthology brings together art and science to help the reader experience this immense ecological wealth. Stunning images by seven Southern Appalachian artists and conversationally written natural history information complement contemporary poems from writers such as Ellen Bryant Voigt, Wendell Berry, Janisse Ray, Sean Hill, Rebecca Gayle Howell, Deborah A. Miranda, Ron Rash, and Mary Oliver. Their insights illuminate the wonders of the mountain South, fostering intimate connections. The guide is an invitation to get to know Appalachia in the broadest, most poetic sense.

Before the novel and the film Deliverance appeared in the early 1970s, any outsiders one met along the Chattooga River were likely serious canoeists or anglers. In later years, untold numbers and kinds of people have felt the draw of the river’s torrents, which pour down the Appalachians along the Georgia-South Carolina border. Because of Deliverance the Chattooga looms enigmatically in our shared imagination, as iconic as Twain’s Mississippi—or maybe Conrad’s Congo. This is John Lane’s search for the real Chattooga—for the truths that reside somewhere in the river’s rapids, along its shores, or in its travelers’ hearts. Lane balances the dark, indifferent mythical river of Deliverance against the Chattooga known to locals and to the outdoors enthusiasts who first mastered its treacherous vortices and hydraulics. Starting at its headwaters, Lane leads us down the river and through its complex history to its current status as a National Wild and Scenic River. Along the way he stops for talks with conservation activists, seventh-generation residents, locals who played parts in the movie, day visitors, and others. Lane weaves into each encounter an abundance of details drawn from his perceptive readings and viewings of Deliverance and his wide-ranging knowledge of the Chattooga watershed. At the end of his run, Lane leaves us still fully possessed by the Chattooga’s mystery, yet better informed about its place in his world and ours.

Why has the American South--a place with abundant rainfall--become embroiled in intrastate wars over water? Why did unpredictable flooding come to characterize southern waterways, and how did a region that seemed so rich in this all-important resource become derailed by drought and the regional squabbling that has tormented the arid American West? To answer these questions, policy expert and historian Christopher Manganiello moves beyond the well-known accounts of flooding in the Mississippi Valley and irrigation in the West to reveal the contested history of southern water. From the New South to the Sun Belt eras, private corporations, public utilities, and political actors made a region-defining trade-off: The South would have cheap energy, but it would be accompanied by persistent water insecurity. Manganiello's compelling environmental history recounts stories of the people and institutions that shaped this exchange and reveals how the use of water and power in the South has been challenged by competition, customers, constituents, and above all, nature itself.

Author and naturalist Marci Spencer reveals the history and splendor of the Nantahala National Forest. The 500,000-acre Nantahala National Forest dominates the rugged southwestern corner of North Carolina. Rivers such as the Cheoah, Cullasaja, and Tuckasegee carve deep gorges, making the region one of the wettest in the nation. The Whitewater River tumbles over the highest waterfall in the eastern United States. Power companies dammed local rivers, creating some of North Carolina's most scenic recreational mountain lakes. The high peaks, secluded coves and forested woodlands of the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, Panthertown Valley and Buck Creek Serpentine Pine Barrens and other areas hold cultural and natural history secrets.