Tuesday, October 12, 2010

WNC mountains vs Spain's mountains



Blue Ridge Mountains

vs





The Pyrenees Mountains, Spain



Yo amo colores. En el oeste de Carolina del Norte, los arboles cambian sus colores en el otoño.  Los colores son muy brillante y hacen las montañas muy bonita. Estas montañas son mi hogar.


The Blue Ridge Mountains in Western North Carolina are the oldest in the world, starting to form around 400 million years ago. They are the epicenter for salamander evolution - there are more types of salamander in these mountains than any other place in the world. The mountains run about 469 miles; the Pyrenees, 491. The Pyrenees started to form much later than the Blue Ridge 150 to 100 million years ago. Being as young as they are, they're sharper in appearance and terrain, not having been worn down by time and weather. The snowcaps here to me look cold and grinch like, and the snowcapped Blue Ridge Mountains, to me, look like Santa could be sitting on top of one. It's because it's where I've been raised, and I know that, so it'd be cool explore what the mountains in Spain are actually like, rather than just facts.


The culture that originates from the mountains is just about as unique as you could imagine. That culture is preserved in the Pisgah National Forest, where I grew up. That culture is integral to who I am today, and I actually know only a little about it compared to those that have devoted their lives to studying the culture, as some park and forest rangers do (as do historians, obviously). The start of American Forestry took place not a half hour from my house; forest conservation is a belief that is second nature to me; a 'duh'. It represents life to me, so naturally, it is also a very, very precious thing.