Mount Mitchell

Mount Mitchell

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The Mount Mitchell in the U.S. state of North Carolina is 2037 meters ( 6684 feet) the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and the namesake of the park of the same. Besides, he is the highest point east of the Mississippi in North America and is crossed by the Appalachian Trail.

The mountain is located in the Black Mountains, a mountain range of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The mountain was named after Elisha Mitchell, a professor at the University of North Carolina, which the height of the mountain in 1835 certain.

The ascent of Mount Mitchell is comparatively easy, since a road leads through the National Park. After a short hike through a forest of conifers you reach the top. At the top, there is a viewing platform and the tomb of Dr. Mitchell.

Ecology

On the mountain the vegetation is exposed to high levels of pollution, including acid rain - rain, snow, and fog with very low pH. These acids damage especially spruce and fir trees, partly by natural metals in the soil, such as aluminum, which are released. Also leaches the acid precipitation important minerals from the soil. This influence also reduces the resistance of the trees and their immunity against insects such as the spruce lice (see aphids ).

While the mountain in the summer there was usually appear lush and green, a lot of dead tree trunks can be discovered on the basis of these serious problems. To repair the damage is a difficult task, as the pollutants shall be nursed often from great distances hundreds of kilometers.