Uwharrie Mountains
The Uwharrie Mountains are a mountain range in the state of North Carolina in the United States of America . The mountains are in Counties Randolph , Montgomery , Stanly and Davidson , the foothills of the Uwharries reach into Counties Cabarrus , Anson and Union .
The Uwharries were formed 500 million years ago, making them the oldest mountain range in North America . The Uwharries originally peaked 6,000 meters above sea level, but erosion carried them away to a height of 341 meters. The highest point of the mountain range is High Rock Mountain in southwest Davidson County. The shifting of the continental plates lifted the seabed off the eastern coast until the mountains in the Piedmont Region , which were originally located on the coast, were shifted 250 kilometers into inland North Carolina.
In the area of the Uwharrie Mountains lies the Uwharrie National Forest and Morrow Mountain State Park . Once completely cleared for farmland and logging, the Uwharries were placed under protection as the US National Forest in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy . The forests have now recovered and the area is home to a number of recreational facilities, Indian archaeological sites and a diverse range of flora and fauna.
The discovery of gold in Cabarrus County in 1799 at the nearby Reed Gold Mine sparked America's first gold rush .
The North Carolina Zoo , the first state-sponsored zoo , is located in the Uwharrie region.
The Caraway Mountains, a section of the Uwharries in western Randolph County, west of Asheboro, are very untypical of the rolling undulating landscape of the Piedmont because of their ruggedness and steep terrain.
The Uwharrie National Park is regularly used by the US Army Special Forces as a training ground for survival courses.
Individual evidence
- ^ NC Geodetic Survey
- ↑ Green Berets ( Memento from June 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
Web links
- UNC Asheville: Uwharrie Forest (English)