The fact invariably stated about Great Smoky is this: It is the nation's busiest park, drawing more than nine million visitors a year, twice the number of any other national park. Most of the millions see the park from a mountain-skimming scenic highway that, on a typical weekend day during the summer, draws 60,000 people, bumper-to-bumper. Luckily, there is plenty of park, thinly laced by 384 miles of mountain roads. You can pull off the road, park the car, and stroll one of Great Smoky's many Quiet Walkways, quarter-mile paths into what the signs call a “little bit of the world as it once was.” Eight hundred miles of hiking trails, from a half-mile to 70 miles long, also give you that world. Relatively few visitors walk the trails; most prefer to stay in their cars. The park, which …show more content…
The water and hydrocarbons exuded by the leaves produce the filmy “smoke” that gives the mountains their name. Air pollution in recent years has added microscopic sulfate particles to the haze, cutting visibility back about 60 percent since the 1950s. The pollution has also affected the park's red spruce stand—the southern Appalachians' largest. And insects are destroying the Fraser fir, the spruce's high-altitude companion. The park also preserves the humble churches, cabins, farmhouses, and barns of the mountain people who began settling here in the late 1700s. Most people left when the park was founded, but some chose to stay and live out their lives here. Did You Know? The park was designated an International Biosphere Reserve in 1976 and a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983. Many people who live in the Eastern third of the U.S. can reach the park in a day. The Great Smoky Mountains are home to over 100 native species of trees, more than are found in northern Europe. At 480 feet, Fontana Dam, on the southwestern boundary of the park, is the tallest concrete dam east of the Rocky
Yellowstone National Park is one of the largest and oldest national parks in American history. Yellowstone was the first park to be protected by private investment on March 1, 1872, and the first to be put under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service in 1918, no doubt due to its unique and inspiring landscape and geothermal features. In fact, Yellowstone National Park is home to half of the world’s total hydrothermal features. These awesome attractions draw an incredible amount of visitors, an average of two to three million each year, to Yellowstone’s immense landscape. The park has a total size of 28,125 square miles, is found in three distinct states, and is considered to be one of the largest
Fire has long been understood to have an impact on the ecosystem of our native woodlands, but it is only recently that we have come to understand its importance in maintaining the ecosystem. This report takes samples of the flora structure and growth in two different areas of Anstey Hill Recreation Park. The first was last burnt in 1995, and the second burnt in 2012. The results of these samples can be compared to data sampled in 2011, when the 2012 burnt area had not been burnt since Ash Wednesday in 1983.
In the book The Great Smokies From Natural Habitat to National Park, one can see the true passion and application that the author, Daniel S. Pierce, holds for one of the United States most prized possession, the Great Smoky Mountains. Like most, he is intrigued by the incomparable beauty and thrill of the wilderness, with his main goal being to show that the propose of this national park isn’t just to protect undeveloped land but more to reclaim the wildness and all it stands for. He looks in-depth to the different land use of the smokies over time and the people who have called it home for centuries with his lager focus on the movement to turn the Great Smokies in to the national park it is today.
Where is the Great Smokey Mountains? It is at North Caroline and Tennessee. It was Established by June 15, 1934. How many acres is there? There are 521,896 acres in The Great Smokey Mountains. They get nine million people a year, twice as many than other parks. That nine million people go see the mountain-skimming scenic. During their summer that draws 60,000 people. How many mountain roads in there in The Great Smokey Mountains? There are 384 miles of mountain roads. There a quarter-miles of paths. There are eight hundred miles of trails, from a half-mile to a 70 miles long. Some the people hike the trails, some drive their cars.
The Great Smoky Mountains a border between Tennessee and North Carolina, and the Blue Ridge mountain with the bluish color when seen from the distance, is by far, one of the most impressive places in the United States.
In addition to the hiking trails there are also eight biking trails. These trails stretch from a range of one, mile to as far as eight miles. A nice asset to the bike trails is the Hank/Graham Bridge. Although the bridge is not an actual trail it is
Everytime my family goes to Gatlinburg we go to a very significant place called Cades Cove. Cades Cove is out in the prairies where the pioneers used to live. Not only is interesting to learn about the pioneers, but also get to physically see how they lived. It is truly amazing to see how they did it and how they accomplished the things they did. Although you are learning a lot of history in Cades Cove, the scenery and wildlife is also astonishing. Cades Cove is filled with nothing but pretty flat fields that lead into huge glorious mountains. Cades Cove also has many wildlife someone might be lucky to see such as: deer, bears, wolves, coyotes, and many more. Therefore if you ever go to Gatlinburg, Cades Cove is a place i would not miss out on.
The mountains of central Appalachia have always been known for, almost exclusively, the booming coal deposits that inhabit it, as well as the controversy that comes with the industry. The controversy that involves the wildlife, ecosystems, and residents of the area is one with fine lines, gray areas, and more than simply a good and evil side. The mountains of Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee are also home to some of the most extensive biodiversity in our country, as well as rich cultural heritage that extends to the earliest years of our nation. Everything that makes central Appalachia unique and identifiable is exactly what they might be in jeopardy of losing.
A park in Virginia with more than 500 miles of fantastic trails is the Shenandoah National park. This park is located in Virginia. It is a great place to visit if you're interested in wildlife. I have always wanted to visit Virginia.
In fact the park gets 10 million people visit the park in a year! The process of buying the
The scenery and wildlife are beautiful. There are many different kinds of trees including but not limited to the flora, fauna, aspen, ponderosa pine, douglas fir, silver spruce and the blue spruce. Additional to the trees, there are over 250 different species of wildflowers. To name a few, there are the columbine, mariposa lily, scarlet paintbrush, mountain iris, fireweed, fairy trumpets, aster and much, much more.
The NPCA found that even parks with the most protection under the Clear Air Act continue to experience pollution. The parks include icons like Mesa Verde, Everglades, Yosemite, Acadia and Sequoia. The pollution can affect wildlife and human health, as well as the climate. According to the National Park Service's data, ozone levels on the peaks of the Great Smoky Mountains, for example, are nearly twice those in nearby cities like Atlanta. Up to 90 percent of black cherry trees in the park (depending on location) have sickly yellow leaves and other signs of ozone damage. Visitors with asthma can have trouble breathing. In California, Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks regularly have ozone pollution that exceeds 70 parts per billion. The number is the standard set by the Environmental Protection
Yellowstone is a beautiful park, but a long journey to go through. The park had been explored by many people and is widely known. A couple of the people that have traveled through Yellowstone National Park are, John Colter and Tom Murphy. These two men went through difficult struggles to get through the park.
Grand Teton National Park – has crystal clear alpine lakes, jagged, snow-capped peaks and green forests that combine to make one of the most beautiful areas in the country. It’s no wonder the ancient Native Americans spend their summers there 11,000 years ago. The John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway takes you through some of this gorgeous scenery and right to the entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The park offers mountain climbing, cross-country skiing, hiking, biking and fishing. There is a fee for entering the park, but it is also good for visiting Yellowstone.
“I like how a montane beech forest defines a distinct line across mountain slopes and the excitement you feel when you emerge into the alpine zone”.