Please
have patience – loading pictures). BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY (This scenic parkway ranges
in elevation from 649 to 6047 feet above sea level). A drive down the Blue Ridge
Parkway is meant to be slow paced and relaxing. A stop at almost any overlook or trail
will reveal much of the natural and cultural history here. The Parkway meanders
469 miles between Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks, so
explore the many communities along the way that make our region so special.
NORTH CAROLINA.
Experiencing “America’s Favorite
Drive”
Enjoy the view, but watch the road!
The Cherokee Indians of North Carolina, and
the Monacan, Saponi, and Tutelo Indians of western Virginia, were among the
earliest inhabitants of the Blue Ridge, leaving artifacts and changes in the
landscape as evidence of their existence. Many of the fields still visible at
the base of the mountains date back centuries to ancient American Indian
agricultural methods of burning and deadening the trees and underbrush to
provide needed grazing and crop land. Mountain and river names along the Parkway
also reflect the American Indian influence.
BACK TO INDEX PICTURE GALLERY - USA - 2007
BACK TO INDEX PICTURE GALLERY