Black Mountains (North Carolina)

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The Black Mountains are a part of the great Appalachian Mountain range. They are the highest mountains in the Eastern United States. The Black Mountains are located in western North Carolina. The range takes its name from the dark appearance of the Red Spruce and Fraser Fir trees which were once found abundantly on the range's upper slopes, in contrast with the brown (during winter) or lighter green (during the growing season) appearance of the deciduous trees at lower elevations. This effect has been reduced in recent decades by death of those mature conifers, from logging, acid rain, and especially the introduction of the Balsam wooly adelgid, an invasive insect that kills Fraser firs. However, a new crop of healthy, young Fraser firs and older Red spruces still makes it possible to see how the mountains got their name.

[edit] Characteristics

The Black Mountains range itself is quite small, running only fifteen miles in a north-to-south direction. However, within these fifteen miles are 18 peaks climbing to at least 6300 feet (1900 meters) above sea level. The Black Mountains rise prominently above the surrounding lower terrain. This is particularly noticeable from the range's eastern side, which rises over 4500 feet above the Catawba River Valley and Interstate 40, providing some impressive mountain scenery. The highest point in the Black Mountains - and the highest point east of the Mississippi River - is Mount Mitchell. Located in Yancey County, North Carolina, Mount Mitchell rises to 6,684 feet (2,037 meters) above sea level.

[edit] Environmental Threats

Dead trees on the crest of the Black Mountains, in Mount Mitchell State Park.

The Black Mountains, like many other ranges in the Appalachians, are currently threatened by acid rain and air pollution. Much of the range's once-famous Red Spruce and Fraser Fir trees are dead or dying due in part to the pollution. A more significant threat to the Firs, however, is the Balsam Wooly Adelgid, an insect which may have an easier time killing the Firs than it normally would due to them being weakened by the acid rain. In some recent studies, individual Fraser fir trees which are resistant to the Adelgid have been found, lending hope to the possibility that these will again repopulate a healthy, mature Fir forest at the mountains' highest elevations.

At lower elevations of the Black Mountains, Eastern and Carolina Hemlock trees grow on moist slopes near streams. (A National Forest recreation area on the Toe River at the base of Mount Mitchell is called "Carolina Hemlocks" for this reason). These too are under attack by an introduced pest, the Hemlock wooly adelgid. Arriving only in the last few growing seasons, the health of the Hemlocks in the region is rapidly declining. Research is currently underway in releasing predator beetles that will, hopefully, eat enough Adelgids to balance their population and allow the Hemlocks to flourish. The fate of the Hemlocks is extremenly uncertain as of the fall of 2006.

The area around the Black Mountains is also experiencing rapid population growth as retirees from other states pour into the region. Due to a lack of zoning laws, this has resulted in rapid development of ridgetop cabins, large second-homes on the lower ridges, and deforestation that threatens the natural beauty of the region. And although many people visit the Black Mountains for their legendary scenic views, visibility has been greatly reduced due to particulate matter in the air, mainly coming from large TVA coal-fired powerplaints "upstream" of the Black Mountains in the Midwest.