Friday, December 24, 2010

What Makes The Smokey Mountains Smokey

What Makes the Smokey Mountains Smokey?


The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a nature lover's paradise. The park features more than 800 miles of hiking trails that are appropriate for both novice and seasoned hikers. The park offers a variety of outdoor activities,, including camping, backpacking and fishing. The Smokies are home to an amazingly diverse wildlife population, including bears, deer, birds, elk and more. The park also features more than 1,600 kinds of flowering plants that bloom from early spring to late winter.








Features


The smokey part of the Smokey Mountains is not smoke at all, but a dense fog that is common in the region.


Effects


The fog which appears as plumes of smoke when viewed from a distance forms when warm, humid air moving up from the Gulf of Mexico is cooled rapidly by the higher elevations of the mountain range.


Fun Fact


The Smokey Mountains are also known as the Great Smoky Mountains.








Significance


The Smokey Mountains are part of an international biosphere reserve that includes the largest stand of old-growth forest east of the Mississippi River.


Geography


The Smokey Mountains are part of the Appalachian Mountain Range and the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province, and form a rough border between Tennessee and North Carolina.

Tags: Smokey Mountains, features more, features more than, Great Smoky, Great Smoky Mountains, Makes Smokey