Mount Mitchell

History

Mount Mitchell was the highest mountain of the United States from 1789 until the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 when Mount Elbert became the highest mountain claimed by the United States. Mount Mitchell was also the most isolated peak in the United States from 1789 until the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 when Mount Whitney became the most isolated.

The Cherokee people, who long occupied this area as part of their homeland, called the mountain Attakulla. European-American settlers first called the mountain Black Dome for its rounded shape. They later named it after Elisha Mitchell, a professor at the University of North Carolina, who first explored the Black Mountain region in 1835. He determined that the height of the range exceeded by several hundred feet that of Mount Washington in New Hampshire. The latter had been commonly thought at the time to be the highest point in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. Mitchell fell to his death at nearby Mitchell Falls in 1857, where he had returned to verify his earlier measurements.

A 4.6-mile (7.4 km) road (NC 128) connects the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway to a parking lot where a steep paved 980-foot (300 m) trail leads through a conifer forest to the summit. The 40-foot (12 m) stone observation tower on the summit was torn down in late 2006. A new observation deck was constructed and opened to visitors in January 2009.

Geologic Composition

Mount Mitchell was formed during the Precambrian when marine deposits were metamorphosed into gneiss and schist. These metasedimentary rocks were later uplifted during the Alleghenian orogeny. The soils are well drained, dark brown and stony with fine-earth material ranging in texture from sandy clay loam to loam or sandy loam; Burton and Craggey are the most common series around the summit.

Mount Mitchell is located along the Ashe Metamorphic Suite and is composed largely of metagreywacke rocks. These include, quartzite, marble, amphibolite gneiss and schist, and mica gneiss and schist. In addition to these metamorphic rocks, igneous rocks allow Mount Mitchell to deteriorate at a slower pace. These rocks can endure harsh conditions, resisting erosion, and allowing Mount Mitchell to continue to be the tallest peak in North Carolina. Three orogenies in particular led to the formation of Mount Mitchell, including the Taconic, Acadian, and Alleghanian. These orogenies occurred in sequential order to form the Ashe Metamorphic Suite, inclusive of Mount Mitchell.

Many studies have been done to identify exact temperature and pressure constraints the rocks of Mount Mitchell withstood during formation. One specific study performed by the Environmental Studies Department at the University of Asheville, North Carolina used three samples from the top peak (Slant Rock) of Mount Mitchell. Researchers focused on investigating mostly titanium in biotite, but also other minerals such as kyanite, sillimanite, rutile, and ilmenite. Conclusions were made from all three of the Slant Rock samples that they formed in medium to high temperature and pressure ranges due to the composition of kyanite and sillimanite in the samples that only form at higher temperature and pressure extremes. For kyanite and sillimanite to form, conditions have to be at or above 500 degrees Celsius and 0.4 GPa.

The configuration of titanium in biotite rock found in Mount Mitchell can be an indicator of the pressure and temperature the mountain was formed at. Researchers at the University of Asheville, North Carolina found that biotite rocks in Mount Mitchell use a specific process to obtain titanium. It primarily occurs due to proximity between the minerals biotite and rutile. When in close contact, biotite exchanges iron for titanium. Rutile obtains iron in the exchange, and biotite obtains titanium. At certain temperatures and pressures, titanium engages in this substitution for iron present in biotite. For example, as pressure increases, titanium substitution diminishes. Hence, identifying biotite with and without titanium can help us understand under which conditions that specific area of Mount Mitchell formed. Researchers can further examine this method of titanium substitution to enhance knowledge of the geologic formation of Mount Mitchell.

Environment

The mountain's summit is coated in a dense stand of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest, which consists primarily of two evergreen species—the red spruce and the Fraser fir. Most of the mature Fraser firs, however, were killed off by the non-native balsam woolly adelgid in the latter half of the 20th century. Additionally, at the beginning of the twentieth century, logging became a common practice and eradicated much of the populations of the red spruce and Fraser fir. Following logging, an intense wildfire arose and transformed the landscape dramatically. The presence of forest fires reconfigured the soil, such that what remained of the red spruce and Fraser fir could not readily repopulate. The high elevations expose plant life to high levels of pollution, including acid precipitation in the form of rain, snow, and fog. These acids damage the red spruce trees in part by releasing natural metals from the soil, such as aluminum, and by leaching important minerals. To what extent this pollution harms the high-altitude ecosystem is debatable.

Despite adverse conditions affecting the populations of these tree species, conservationist groups have emerged to help re-establish in particular, the red spruce. The Southern Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative (SASRI) began working directly on Mount Mitchell with Sue Cameron representing their leader. Their plan was to re-establish the red spruce in the Black Mountains, allowing the conifer forest to return to its original density. After investigating maps indicating spruce distribution, Sue Cameron decided that Camp Alice was a favorable site to perform red spruce plantation. The Fish and Wildlife Service was a contributor to this project, and began walking the site, placing flags down where trees could be installed. 327 trees were loaded and transported to the site; thirty-eight people gathered to help plant the trees in the ground. The many volunteers contributing to this effort included twenty-one volunteers originating from the North Carolina High Peaks Trail Association, five volunteers from Warren Wilson College, six volunteers from the Service's Asheville Field Office, five volunteers from North Carolina State Parks, and one volunteer from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. This effort to restore an integral part of Mount Mitchell's ecosystem required partnership and community assistance to ensure a smooth process.

Red spruce trees have multiple ties within the existing wildlife and ecological community of Mount Mitchell. The Carolina northern flying squirrel is an endangered species that can only be located in high-elevation regions of Southern Appalachia. Red spruce trees provide both shelter for this species in their branches, as well as food for the squirrel in the soil of its roots. Mycorrhizal fungi grow alongside plants such as the red spruce, creating a mutualistic relationship as they both benefit through the reciprocal transfer of nutrients and water. The Carolina northern flying squirrel consumes truffles, which are the fruiting bodies that mycorrhizal fungi produce. This allows for the dispersement of fungal spores. In this way, the presence of red spruce trees allows for a system where species can depend on each other. Additionally, the presence of red spruce benefits two other species currently being protected by the Endangered Species Act. These are the spruce-fir moss spider and the rock gnome lichen. These species depend on high-moisture environments, which these forests, with heavy fog conditions provide. Aiding the growth of these forests, permitting them to become healthier and more interconnected with the environment allows for micro-climate shifts that can counter climate change and create a region that animals can depend upon.

While the mountain is still mostly lush and green in the summer, many dead Fraser fir trunks can be seen due to these serious problems.

Wildflowers are abundant all summer long. Young fir and spruce trees do well in the subalpine climate, and their cones feed the birds along with wild blueberry and blackberry shrubs.

The second highest point in eastern North America, Mount Craig at 6,647 feet (2,026 m), is roughly a mile to the north of Mount Mitchell.

Climate

The summit area of Mount Mitchell is marked by a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb), with mild summers and long, moderately cold winters, being more similar to southeastern Canada than the southeastern U.S. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 25.1 °F (−3.8 °C) in January to 59.6 °F (15.3 °C) in July. The coldest temperature ever recorded in the state occurred there on January 21, 1985, when it fell to −34 °F (−36.7 °C), during a severe cold spell. It is also the coldest average reporting station in the state at 42.9 °F (6.1 °C), well below any other station.

Unlike the lower elevations in the surrounding regions, heavy snows often fall from December to March, with 50 inches (1.27 m) accumulating in the Great Blizzard of 1993 and 33 inches (0.84 m) in the January 2016 blizzard. Due to the high elevation, precipitation is heavy and reliable year-round, averaging 81.09 inches (2,060 mm) for the year, with no month receiving less than 5 in (127 mm) of average precipitation. The summit is often windy, with recorded gusts of up to 178 mph (286 km/h).

Mount Mitchell recorded a new state record of 139.94 inches (3,554.5 mm) of precipitation in 2018, which is also the highest total rainfall recorded during a calendar year anywhere east of the Cascade Range in the Contiguous United States.

Fauna

Leuctra are found in abundance in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States of America. The eastern Nearctic is a region these Leuctra are located, therefore identified as Nearctic Leuctra. Nearctic Leuctra are aquatic organisms; distinguishing each organism part of a species is essential to understanding water quality levels and biodiversity. Adult male species of the Nearctic Leuctra are easier to recognize, mainly due to their genitalia. However, female species are often difficult to discern or identify by appearance and anatomical traits. A study was done and published in the Canadian Entomologist Journal where researchers began a method of gene sequencing data to integrate both morphology and molecular information into the qualification the Nearctic Leuctra. Using Mount Mitchell as their area of interest, researchers sampled stonefly fauna. Stoneflies are part of the order, Plecoptera, which includes species of the genus Leuctra. Researchers collected 477 females, but most could not be distinguished into species due to the similarity between sub genital plate features across females. They began to extract DNA and sequence genetic information for 39 males and 239 females. They then created a phylogenetic tree to pair males with females. They confidently classified groups of males and females into nine species of Leuctra. This, then allowed for 235 females to be named. Definitive classification of females and larvae is necessary to understand the ecology of the region, further being able to conserve these species of Mount Mitchell.

Another study done by the Department of Biology and Center of Biodiversity Studies at Western Kentucky University sampled the more general stonefly species of Mount Mitchell State Park. Wide scale stonefly diversity is most often found in streams of mountain ranges. These freshwater areas are vulnerable to environmental disturbances such as climate change, pollution, urbanization, and deforestation. Stoneflies are ideal organisms to study when identifying current and future environmental changes. They are highly sensitive to environmental alterations and are normally the first aquatic insects to disperse from an affected habitat. Researchers collected stonefly organisms and most of them were identified to a given species using stereo microscopes. However, as discussed earlier females of the not only the Leuctra, but Isoperla and Remenus genera were classified using an integrated molecular approach. 3128 adult stonefly and larvae were collected from 43 distinct locations within Mount Mitchell. From this study, 58 species were collected, which added to the prior 140 known species inhabiting the area. Species richness values were estimated to range from 63 to 65 (there was between 63 and 65 different species suspected to be in this area based on data). This data gathered from the study can be used as a baseline to determine the extent of future environmental changes of Mount Mitchell due to the sensitivity of stonefly species.

The Southern Appalachian Mountains are known to be a hotspot for organism biodiversity. An initiative was performed by five separate researchers from several institutions to update the lichen inventory of Mount Mitchell State Park. Previously, a study performed in 2017 found 171 species of lichen and reported 27 species as missing, where they failed to discover them. These five researchers updated this list, discovering and reporting 72 lichen taxa for an updated total 243 taxa documented for all time points. Additionally, they rediscovered 13 of the 27 species the 2017 study reported as missing. This updated list was integral to understanding the impacts of pollution and invasive insects on lichen; it contained a surprisingly high level of cyanolichen diversity, suggesting that that impacts were not as substantial as formerly thought. Cyanolichen is a species of lichen that is extremely vulnerable to pollution and disturbance. This shows that the increased level of environmental stressors such as acid rain and hemlock woolly adelgid are not impacting diversity significantly. This helps us understand the severity of environmental conditions in Mount Mitchell. Additionally, from this research study, five rare lichens were proposed to be conserved at the state level. These include the Alectoria fallacina, Hypotrachyna densirhizinata, Lobarina scrobiculata, Nephroma parile, and Parmelia neodiscrodans. This study helped with expanding conservation efforts, giving data-based evidence for why specific species should be protected on Mount Mitchell.