Unit 10: Scenic America

The Northeast

The Blue Ridge Mountains extend up through North Carolina to Virginia, but most visitors will stay along the Eastern seaboard to enjoy the Outer Banks, where deep sea fishing is a major attraction. Kitty Hawk, where the Wright brothers(Wilbur Wright and) flew their first airplane, is also located in the Outer Banks. Along the coast from here to New York City are many beach communities where summer residents enjoy swimming in the moderate temperatures of the Atlantic and indulge in beach activities from lazy sunbathing to volleyball. One such beach community deserves special mention: Atlantic City , NJ. This used to be a sedate town where elderly folks would promenade on the Boardwalk, a platform of boards supported by pillars in the sand, which paralleled the shoreline right on the beach itself. Today however it is the site of legalized gambling, and many garish casinos crowd up against the Boardwalk, which is now the main path of gamblers going from one place to another.

North of the island on which New York City is located, the beach communities continue northward to Cape Cod, the enormous peninsula

Cape Cod

shaped like a flexed arm that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. The entire Cape is ringed with swimming beaches and docks for fishing boats and pleasure craft. Inland there are forests and fresh water ponds ideal for swimming and boating. The Cape is dotted with little towns that try to maintain a quaint, fishing village atmosphere. During the summer it is quite crowded with families fleeing the hot and stuffy cities, but in the spring and fall there are few tourists, and days on the Cape are very relaxing. Here the colorful sky, the reds and golds of a sun just below the horizon, are to be found in the east at dawn, a time for quiet walks on the beach, or calm half hour of casting a fishing line into the surf.

Farther north of the Cape, beaches are few and far between, as the coast becomes more precipitous and rocky along the Maine coast to Canada. It is farther inland to the west that one encounters the famous mountain ranges of the Northeast, far older than the relatively recent Rocky Mountains of the Far West.

The Green Mountains, one range of the Appalachian chain of mountains,

The Green Mountains

runs from central Massachusetts through Vermont to Canada. Few roads or pathways lead to the tops of mountains here. Between the sharply rising peaks are deep gorges, where public roads weave around the towering hills. Yet there is a wonderful and challenging footpath stretching for 3450 km from Maine all the way back down to Georgia called the Appalachian Trail. (The full name is: The Appalachian National Scenic Trail.) Hikers, or just robust walkers, may join this trail at any point and proceed as far as desired. The trail is maintained by the National Park Service, and access is possible all along its length.

Unlike the Blue Ridge Mountains in the South and the Rocky Mountains of the Far West, the mountain system of the Northeast has several distinct chains. Close to the Green Mountains of Vermont lies, to the west, the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Here the glaciers of 10 000 years ago rounded

The White Mountains

off the mountain peaks and created many lakes. The stark granite outcroppings, and the rocks and boulders left by the retreating glaciers, have led to this state's being called The Granite State. A trip up a cog railway passing above the tree line to the top of Mount Washington, the highest peak in New England at 1917 m, is a delightful journey. More adventuresome travelers can drive an automobile on a winding road to the peak.

Driving through the deep glacially carved valleys, one is presented by constantly shifting views of the various peaks. Occasionally, a peculiar formation in the gap between two peaks can be spotted. These gaps are called 'notches' and frequently have distinctive names identifying them.

A Covered Bridge

Vermont and New Hampshire are also famous for their covered bridges, remnants of the nineteenth century, which are bridges covered by a roof that is slanted to avoid the crushing weight of accumulated snow. The snowfall in winter is usually several meters, so these states also have a large skiing industry, matching that of Colorado. Large cabins, and even apartment buildings, next to a restaurant and recreation building huddle together at the base of a ski slope, where huge ski lifts carry people to the top so that they may ski down to the base. During the summer, one can frequently ride to the top of the slope and stroll down paths in the woods, a relaxing activity not as strenuous as winter skiing.

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