Mark VanDyke Photography
Southern Appalachian Mountain Grandeur
The Black and Great Craggy Mountain Ranges of Western North Carolina
Yancey & Buncombe Counties of North Carolina (viewing) from McDowell County, North Carolina
Accessed via the Blue Ridge Parkway (mp 355)
Date Taken: Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Another rapid fire post: I haven't been giving each image much time to breath on its own before introducing the next, but I have a really condensed schedule before I'm on to the next thing and I would really like to get some of my better images posted before I get too busy with other endeavors.
The Black Mountains, home of six out of ten of the tallest peaks in the Eastern United States, including the tallest peak, Mount Mitchell at roughly 6,700 feet of elevation, are a sight to behold. Typically viewed from Mount Mitchell State Park or the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Black Mountains are seen here from Blue Ridge Pinnacle just outside of the protected Asheville Watershed area and the Swannanoa Valley to the left. Named for the dark and contrasting colors of the spruce and fir trees, the Black Mountains are one of only ten or so "spruce-fir islands" left in the Southern Appalachian Mountains; these areas are often referred to on informational signs and pamplets as Boreal or Canadian ecosystems.
The orange colored streaks on the foreground rocks are not, as I wondered while there, spray paint or otherwise human-induced. I believe they are some sort of mineral deposit in the rock leaching to the surface. Perhaps iron? I wish I knew a bit more about geology and the earth sciences in general--anyone know what streaks the rocks with an orange/rust color in the North Carolina mountains?
Southern Appalachian Mountain Grandeur
The Black and Great Craggy Mountain Ranges of Western North Carolina
Yancey & Buncombe Counties of North Carolina (viewing) from McDowell County, North Carolina
Accessed via the Blue Ridge Parkway (mp 355)
Date Taken: Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Another rapid fire post: I haven't been giving each image much time to breath on its own before introducing the next, but I have a really condensed schedule before I'm on to the next thing and I would really like to get some of my better images posted before I get too busy with other endeavors.
The Black Mountains, home of six out of ten of the tallest peaks in the Eastern United States, including the tallest peak, Mount Mitchell at roughly 6,700 feet of elevation, are a sight to behold. Typically viewed from Mount Mitchell State Park or the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Black Mountains are seen here from Blue Ridge Pinnacle just outside of the protected Asheville Watershed area and the Swannanoa Valley to the left. Named for the dark and contrasting colors of the spruce and fir trees, the Black Mountains are one of only ten or so "spruce-fir islands" left in the Southern Appalachian Mountains; these areas are often referred to on informational signs and pamplets as Boreal or Canadian ecosystems.
The orange colored streaks on the foreground rocks are not, as I wondered while there, spray paint or otherwise human-induced. I believe they are some sort of mineral deposit in the rock leaching to the surface. Perhaps iron? I wish I knew a bit more about geology and the earth sciences in general--anyone know what streaks the rocks with an orange/rust color in the North Carolina mountains?