Appalachian Highlands Major Division

Blue Ridge Province

Southern Blue Ridge Section

Blue Ridge Mountains District

A mass of rugged mountains and ridges ranging in elevation from 3500-4700 feet in the north and east to 3000-3500 feet in the southwest is the dominant topographic feature of the Blue Ridge Mountains District. Differing rates of erosion upon the Great Smoky Group by the headwater tributary streams, that eventually drain to either the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico, have produced valleys that are 1500-2000 feet below the adjacent summits. The southern boundary of the Blue Ridge abuts the Piedmont Province at approximately the 1700 foot elevation where a sharp change in regional slope occurs.

Source: William Z. Clark, Jr. and Arnold C. Zisa, Physiographic Map of Georgia (Atlanta: Georgia Department of Natural Resources, 1976).

Map scan and annotated text keystroking by Carl Vinson Institute of Government, The University of Georgia

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