Appalachian Mountains

Lore & Background

The name 'Appalachian' originates from a Native American village near present-day Tallahassee, Florida, encountered by the Narváez expedition in 1528. The name was transcribed as Apalchen or Apalachen and soon altered by the Spanish to Apalachee, used for the tribe and region spreading inland. After Hernando de Soto's 1540 expedition, Spanish cartographers began applying the name to the mountains. The first cartographic appearance of Apalchen is on Diego Gutiérrez's map of 1562; the first use for the mountain range is on Jacques le Moyne de Morgues's map of 1565. The name was not commonly used for the whole range until the late 19th century; a competing name was the 'Allegheny Mountains' or 'Alleghenies'. In the early 19th century, Washington Irving proposed renaming the United States either Appalachia or Alleghania.

Reader's Guide

The Appalachian Mountains are a barrier to east–west travel, forming a series of alternating ridgelines and valleys oriented in opposition to most highways and railroads running east–west. This barrier was extremely important in shaping the expansion of the United States in the colonial era. Much of the range's economy was historically based on logging and coal mining, which attracted many migrants who contributed to the genesis of a new cultural region. Though the decline of these industries was an economic detriment, many communities have pivoted to manufacturing and services. Tourism has also become increasingly prevalent: the mountains are home to the very popular Appalachian Trail, a 2,175-mile (3,500 km) hiking trail that runs from Mount Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia. The International Appalachian Trail is an extension into the Canadian portion of the range in New Brunswick and Quebec. The range is ecologically diverse, containing biomes from temperate broadleaf and mixed Appalachian-Blue Ridge forest in the south to boreal Eastern Canadian forest in the north. The climate ranges from humid subtropical to subarctic, with a few peaks in the Presidential Range of New Hampshire's White Mountains having a true tundra climate. Geologically, the Appalachians are related to the Scottish Highlands, Atlas Mountains, Scandinavian Mountains, and Ouachitas, as these ranges all originally belonged to the Central Pangean Mountains.

Did You Know?

• Saint Pierre and Miquelon, an overseas collectivity of France, is part of the Appalachian range, meaning it technically spans portions of three countries.
• The name 'Appalachian' is the fourth-oldest surviving European place-name in the US, originating from a Native American village encountered in 1528.
• The young Appalachians reached elevations similar to today's Alps and Rockies before 240 million years of erosion wore them down.
• A few peaks in the Presidential Range of New Hampshire's White Mountains have a true tundra climate.
• Once-largely extirpated species like the bobcat and coyote have made a resurgence in the Appalachians in recent years.

Deep-Time Origins and the Long Erosion

The geologic processes that led to the formation of the Appalachian Mountains started around 1.1 billion years ago with the creation of supercontinent Rodinia, and many Precambrian rocks and minerals created via this process remain visible today in the range's outcrops. The modern Appalachians and their relatives were created by a series of three distinct orogenies beginning approximately 480 million years ago, making them one of the oldest surviving mountain ranges in the world. The young Appalachians reached elevations similar to today's Alps and Rockies—both of which are significantly younger mountain ranges—before 240 million years of natural erosion by water, wind, ice, and gravity gradually morphed them into the lower, rugged peaks typically seen today. The range is geologically related to the Scottish Highlands, Atlas Mountains, Scandinavian Mountains, and Ouachitas, as these ranges all originally belonged to the sprawling Central Pangean Mountains before plate tectonics tore them apart.

A Living Tapestry of Biomes and Wildlife

Considering their extensive length, the Appalachians contain a diverse selection of biomes ranging from the temperate broadleaf and mixed Appalachian-Blue Ridge forest in the south to the boreal Eastern Canadian forest in the north. Conifers like red spruce and balsam fir dominate the north and high elevations, while deciduous trees like sugar maple and beech are more prevalent further south and oak-chestnut forests reign between. The climate ranges from humid subtropical to subarctic, with a few peaks in the Presidential Range of New Hampshire's White Mountains having a true tundra climate; many locations are also oceanic or humid continental. Mammals like black bear, white-tailed deer, squirrels, raccoons, and skunks are common throughout the range, while others like moose are more regionally limited. Birds, fish, shellfish, amphibians like salamanders, and other invertebrates are also abound in the profoundly ecologically diverse region. Once-largely extirpated species like the bobcat and coyote have also made a resurgence in recent years.

Shaping a Nation and Forging a Culture

The Appalachian Mountains are a barrier to east–west travel, as they form a series of alternating ridgelines and valleys oriented in opposition to most highways and railroads running east–west. This barrier was extremely important in shaping the expansion of the United States in the colonial era. Much of the range's economy was historically based on logging and coal mining, which attracted many migrants who contributed to the genesis of a new cultural region. Though the decline of these industries was an economic detriment, many communities have pivoted to manufacturing and services. Tourism has also become increasingly prevalent: the mountains are home to the very popular Appalachian Trail, a 2,175-mile (3,500 km) hiking trail that runs from Mount Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia. The International Appalachian Trail is an extension of this hiking trail into the Canadian portion of the Appalachian range in New Brunswick and Quebec.

A Name Born from First Contact

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 American village near present-day Tallahassee, Florida, the name of which they transcribed as Apalchen or Apalachen. The name was soon altered by the Spanish to Apalachee and used as a name for 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. 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's map of 1562; the first use for the mountain range is the map of Jacques le Moyne de Morgues in 1565. The name was not commonly used for the whole mountain range until the late 19th century. A competing and often more popular 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.