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Blue Ridge Mountains

Blue Ridge, also called Blue Ridge Mountains, is a segment of the Appalachian Mountains in the United States, extending southwestward for 615 mile from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, through parts of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, to Mt. Oglethorpe, Georgia. The range, a relatively narrow ridge, is 5 to 65 miles wide, with average heights in elevation of 2,000 to 4,000 ft. Included in the Blue Ridge system are the Black Mountains, the Great Smoky mountains and the Unaka mountains.

The Blue Ridge mountains region has been separated by many small streams, and three major rivers have cut gaps through the ridges—the Roanoke River, The James River, and Potomac River, all in Virginia. Beginning south of Front Royal, Virginia, the Skyline Drive runs through the Shenandoah National Park and connects at Rockfish Gap, Virginia, with the Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic motor route that runs south to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Blue Ridge mountains lie within Chattahoochee, Cherokee, Nantahala, Pisgah, Jefferson, and George Washington national forests, and more than 700 varieties of trees and plants have been catalogued. The region, although known for its isolation, contains numerous small farms with picturesque log cabins. Intensive truck farming, tobacco production, and cattle raising are important activities. The hardwood forests of the Blue Ridge are a source of timber, and some minerals are worked.