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136-419: The organization was founded in 1986 by former President Emeritus Rick Middleton. For 30 years Jeff Gleason took his place as Executive Director and President of the organization. As of October 3, 2022, SELC is currently under the leadership of Executive Director DJ Gerken. It is supported by charitable gifts from individuals, families, and foundations. The purpose of SELC is to protect the physical environment of

272-403: A Jersey barrier as the freeway comes to an interchange with the southern terminus of SR 121 , where southbound US 52 splits from the concurrency to serve the unincorporated town of Fort Chiswell . Shortly afterward, southbound I-77 itself splits from I-81/US 11 at a trumpet interchange and heads south to serve Charlotte, North Carolina . Following the northern junction with I-77,

408-580: A trumpet interchange . At this point, I-77 joins I-81/US 52 in a wrong-way concurrency as the route expands to six lanes and deviates slightly to the southeast of its original heading, before picking up US 11 at another trumpet interchange, a short distance later. Northbound US 11 joins the extensive wrong-way concurrency as it crosses the Pulaski District line and zigzags away from Wytheville to an interchange with two state frontage roads, SR F042 / SR F043 . The median narrows to

544-525: A commercial area, south of the town of Glade Spring that also provides access to the town of Saltville in the north. Past SR 91, the freeway begins to closely parallel US 11 on its southeastern side, reaching an interchange with that route before it curves and enters Smyth County , after which it crosses the Middle Fork of the Holston River and comes to an interchange with SR 107 , within

680-487: A connection with the SR ;37 loop. I-81 interchanges with SR 672 in the unincorporated village of Clear Brook , before reaching its last exit in the commonwealth of Virginia with SR 669 , west of the unincorporated village of White Hall . Afterward, the freeway comes into the state of West Virginia and continues generally northeast toward the city of Martinsburg , the county seat of Berkeley County , which I-81

816-608: A country, it would be the seventh largest emitter of carbon dioxide." SELC has been a very effective defender for the region winning multiple court cases and protecting the region of its air, water, land, and people. In an unanimous decision, in April 2007 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled power companies could no longer continue to extend the lives of old, coal-burning power plants without installing modern pollution controls in

952-684: A distance to reach the next exit with SR 603 northeast of the unincorporated village of Ironto . From here, the freeway crosses Norfolk Southern Railway's Christiansburg District line and the North Fork of the Roanoke River to the west of the confluence with the South Fork of that river, that forms the Roanoke River, and then comes to a northbound rest area before the highway becomes dedicated to Andrew Lewis and crosses into Roanoke County . From this point, I-81 interchanges with SR 647 next to

1088-463: A fragile ecosystem known as the Southern Appalachian spruce–fir forest . Fraser fir rarely occurs below 5,500 ft (1,700 m), and becomes the dominant tree type at 6,200 ft (1,900 m). By contrast, balsam fir is found from near sea level to the tree line in the northern Appalachians, but ranges only as far south as Virginia and West Virginia in the central Appalachians, where it

1224-713: A great thickness of sediment accumulated. Eventually, the tectonic forces pulling the two continents apart became so strong that an ocean formed off the eastern coast of the Laurentian margin. This was called the Iapetus Ocean and was the precursor of the modern Atlantic Ocean. The rocks of the Valley and Ridge province formed over millions of years, in the Iapetus. Shells and other hard parts of ancient marine plants and animals accumulated to form limey deposits that later became limestone. This

1360-499: A name for the tribe and region spreading well inland to the north. Pánfilo de Narváez 's expedition first entered Apalachee territory on June 15, 1528, and applied the name. Now spelled "Appalachian", it is the fourth-oldest surviving European place-name in the US. After the 1540 expedition of Hernando de Soto , Spanish cartographers began to apply the name of the tribe to the mountains themselves. The first cartographic appearance of Apalchen

1496-656: A new ocean opened up, the Rheic Ocean , during the Middle to Late Devonian, and subsequently its closure would result in the formation of the Alleghanian orogeny . As the continental plates moved closer together, fragments of oceanic crust, islands, and other continental masses collided with the eastern margin of ancestral North America. By this time, plants had appeared on land, followed by scorpions, insects, and amphibians. The ocean continued to shrink until, about 270 million years ago,

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1632-402: A northbound truck rest area, before it passes along the southern edge of the town limits of Abingdon , the county seat of Washington County. South of Abingdon, the freeway interchanges with SR 140 , which provides access to US 19 and Virginia Highlands Community College . North of this point are interchanges with US 58 Alternate (US 58 Alt)/ SR 75 , providing access to

1768-504: A number of deciduous rhododendrons (azaleas), and smaller heaths such as teaberry ( Gaultheria procumbens ) and trailing arbutus ( Epigaea repens ). The evergreen great rhododendron ( Rhododendron maximum ) is characteristic of moist stream valleys. These occurrences are in line with the prevailing acidic character of most oak forest soils. In contrast, the much rarer chinquapin oak ( Quercus muehlenbergii ) demands alkaline soils and generally grows where limestone rock

1904-444: A number of serious insect and disease outbreaks. Among the most conspicuous is that of the introduced spongy moth ( Lymantria dispar ), which infests primarily oaks, causing severe defoliation and tree mortality. But it also has the benefit of eliminating weak individuals, and thus improving the genetic stock, as well as creating rich habitat of a type through accumulation of dead wood. Because hardwoods sprout so readily, this moth

2040-473: A plan to add tolls to I-81 in Virginia in order to fund improvements to I-81 and parallel routes that would reduce traffic jams. I-81 would have used all-electronic tolling , with toll gantries every 40 to 60 miles (64 to 97 km) and a toll rate of $ 0.11 per mile ($ 0.068/km) for cars and $ 0.17 per mile ($ 0.11/km) for trucks; an annual pass would have been available for $ 30. Tolls would have been discounted during

2176-554: A six-year campaign spearheaded by SELC, Dominion Energy and Duke Energy abandoned the Atlantic Coast Pipeline . SELC successfully challenged six key pipeline permits, halted construction, and secured a precedential ruling in favor of environmental justice in Virginia. The SELC is one of three environmental groups which filed suit against the United States Fish and Wildlife Service which "they say should have blocked

2312-554: A third climbing lane. The northbound climbing lane ends as the freeway prepares to interchange with US 60 between the independent cities of Lexington to the west and Buena Vista to the east and also provides access to Southern Virginia University , Washington and Lee University , and Virginia Military Institute campusses. Shortly past US 60, I-81 crosses the Maury River on a bridge dedicated to Master Trooper Jerry L. Hines, before coming to directional stack interchange at

2448-539: A variety of oaks ( Quercus spp.), hickories ( Carya spp.) and, in the past, by the American chestnut ( Castanea dentata ). The American chestnut was virtually eliminated as a canopy species by the introduced fungal chestnut blight ( Cryphonectaria parasitica ), but lives on as sapling-sized sprouts that originate from roots, which are not killed by the fungus. In present-day forest canopies, chestnut has been largely replaced by oaks. The oak forests of

2584-616: A variety of other destructive activities continue, albeit in diminished forms; and thus far only a few ecologically based management practices have taken hold. Appalachian bogs are boreal ecosystems , which occur in many places in the Appalachians, particularly the Allegheny and Blue Ridge subranges. Though popularly called bogs , many of them are technically fens . Interstate 81 in Virginia Interstate 81 ( I-81 )

2720-483: Is a boreal species that forms a few high elevation outliers as far south as West Virginia. All of these species except white pine tend to occupy sandy, rocky, poor soil sites, which are mostly acidic in character. White pine, a large species valued for its timber, tends to do best in rich, moist soil, either acidic or alkaline in character. Pitch pine is also at home in acidic, boggy soil, and Table Mountain pine may occasionally be found in this habitat as well. Shortleaf pine

2856-691: Is an 855.02-mile-long (1,376.02 km) Interstate Highway . In the US state of Virginia , I-81 runs for 324.92 miles (522.91 km), making the portion in Virginia longer than any other state's portion of the route. It is also the longest Interstate Highway within the borders of Virginia. It stretches from the Tennessee state line near Bristol to the West Virginia state line near Winchester . It enters Virginia from Bristol, Tennessee , and leaves Virginia into Berkeley County, West Virginia . The route passes through

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2992-481: Is completely within throughout its course in West Virginia. The state has proposed to widen its entire portion of I-81 to a minimum of three or four lanes in each direction to accommodate increased truck traffic and to toll nonpassenger vehicles. Some sections of the new widened highway may completely separate car and truck traffic. On January 8, 2019, Governor Ralph Northam and Republican lawmakers agreed to

3128-403: Is found at high elevations in the northern Appalachians, and in bogs as far south as Pennsylvania. The Appalachians are also home to two species of fir, the boreal balsam fir ( Abies balsamea ), and the southern high elevation endemic, Fraser fir ( Abies fraseri ). Fraser fir is endemic to the highest parts of the southern Appalachian Mountains, where along with red spruce it forms

3264-533: Is generally found in warmer habitats and at lower elevations than the other species. All the species listed do best in open or lightly shaded habitats, although white pine also thrives in shady coves, valleys, and on floodplains. The Appalachians are characterized by a wealth of large, beautiful deciduous broadleaf (hardwood) trees. Their occurrences are best summarized and described in E. Lucy Braun 's 1950 classic, Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America (Macmillan, New York). The most diverse and richest forests are

3400-414: Is near the surface. Hence no ericaceous shrubs are associated with it. The Appalachian flora also include a diverse assemblage of bryophytes (mosses and liverworts), as well as fungi . Some species are rare and/or endemic. As with vascular plants , these tend to be closely related to the character of the soils and the thermal environment in which they are found. Eastern deciduous forests are subject to

3536-519: Is not as harmful as the hemlock woolly adelgid . Perhaps more serious is the introduced beech bark disease complex, which includes both a scale insect ( Cryptococcus fagisuga ) and fungal components. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Appalachian forests were subject to severe and destructive logging and land clearing, which resulted in the designation of the national forests and parks as well many state-protected areas. However, these and

3672-517: Is now the southern United States, the Ococee Basin was formed. Seawater filled the basin. Rivers from the surrounding countryside carried clay, silt, sand, and gravel to the basin, much as rivers today carry sediment from the midcontinent region to the Gulf of Mexico. The sediment spread out in layers on the basin floor. The basin continued to subside, and over a long period of time, probably millions of years,

3808-469: Is on Diego Gutiérrez 's map of 1562; the first use for the mountain range is the map of Jacques le Moyne de Morgues in 1565. The name was not commonly used for the whole mountain range until the late 19th century. A competing and often more popular name was the "Allegheny Mountains", "Alleghenies", and even "Alleghania". In the early 19th century, Washington Irving proposed renaming the United States either Appalachia or Alleghania. In U.S. dialects in

3944-535: Is possible that the cratons of Kalahari , and Rio Plato , were also part of that early collision since they were present as Rodinia broke up). Mountain-building referred to as the Grenville Orogeny occurred along the boundaries of the cratons. The present Appalachian Mountains have at least two areas which are made from rock formations that were formed during this orogeny - the Blue Ridge Mountains and

4080-459: Is proposed to become part of I-73 in the future. Past I-581, northbound US 220 joins northbound I-81 in a concurrency, as the routes come to an interchange with SR 115 north of the unincorporated city of Hollins , that also provides access to Hollins University . From this interchange, the freeway comes into Botetourt County , where it becomes dedicated to Andrew Lewis once more, and reaches weigh stations serving both directions of

4216-638: Is sometimes termed the Appalachian orogeny , writing communities struggle to agree on an encyclopedic definition of the mountain range. However, each of the governments has an agency that informs the public about the major landforms that make up the countries, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC). The landforms are referred to as physiographic regions. The regions create precise boundaries from which maps can be drawn. The Appalachian Highlands

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4352-645: Is subject to the hemlock woolly adelgid ( Adelges tsugae ), an introduced insect, that is rapidly extirpating it as a forest tree. Less abundant, and restricted to the southern Appalachians, is Carolina hemlock ( Tsuga caroliniana ). Like Canada hemlock, this tree suffers severely from the hemlock woolly adelgid. Several species of pines characteristic of the Appalachians are eastern white pine ( Pinus strobus ), Virginia pine ( Pinus virginiana ), pitch pine ( Pinus rigida ), Table Mountain pine ( Pinus pungens ) and shortleaf pine ( Pinus echinata ). Red pine ( Pinus resinosa )

4488-456: Is the name of one of the eight physiographic regions of the contiguous 48 United States. The Appalachian Uplands is the name of one of seven physiographic regions of Canada. The second level in the physiographic classification schema for the USGS is "province", the same word as Canada uses to divide its political subdivisions, meaning that the terminology used by the two countries do not match below

4624-506: Is the same process by which limestone forms in modern oceans. The weathering of limestone, now exposed at the land surface, produces the lime-rich soils that are so prevalent in the fertile farmland of the Valley and Ridge province. During this continental break-up, around 600 million to 560 million years ago, volcanic activity was present along the tectonic margins. There is evidence of this activity in today's Blue Ridge Mountains. Mount Rogers , Whitetop Mountain , and Pine Mountain are all

4760-408: Is usually confined above 3,900 ft (1,200 m) asl, except in cold valleys. Curiously, it is associated with oaks in Virginia. The balsam fir of Virginia and West Virginia is thought by some to be a natural hybrid between the more northern variety and Fraser fir. While red spruce is common in both upland and bog habitats, balsam fir, as well as black spruce and tamarack, are more characteristic of

4896-611: The Adirondacks . After the Grenville orogeny, the direction of the continental drift reversed, and the single supercontinent Rodinia began to break up. The mountains formed during the Grenvillian era underwent erosion due to weathering, glaciation, and other natural processes, resulting in the leveling of the landscape. The eroded sediments from these mountains contributed to the formation of sedimentary basins and valleys. For example, in what

5032-509: The Alps and the Rockies before natural erosion occurred over the last 240 million years leading to what is present today. The Appalachian Mountains are a barrier to east–west travel, as they form a series of alternating ridgelines and valleys oriented in opposition to most highways and railroads running east–west. This barrier was extremely important in shaping the expansion of the United States in

5168-465: The Appalachians , are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America . The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain. The general definition used is one followed by the United States Geological Survey and the Geological Survey of Canada to describe the respective countries' physiographic regions. The U.S. uses

5304-581: The Coal Region of northeastern Pennsylvania . The bituminous coal fields of western Pennsylvania , western Maryland , southeastern Ohio, eastern Kentucky, southwestern Virginia , and West Virginia contain the sedimentary form of coal. The mountain top removal method of coal mining , in which entire mountain tops are removed, is currently threatening vast areas and ecosystems of the Appalachian Mountain region. The surface coal mining that started in

5440-460: The Dixie Caverns attraction, before it becomes the border between Roanoke County to the northwest and the independent city of Salem to the southeast. Northwest of Salem, the freeway has interchanges at SR 112 / SR 619 , after crossing an overpass dedicated to Trooper Ricky McCoy with SR 311 , that also provides access to Roanoke College , and SR 419 that provides access to

5576-504: The Environmental Defense v. Duke Energy Corp. case. This ruling led to the largest power plant cleanup in U.S. history. SELC attorneys then blocked or deferred companies’ plans to construct seven new coal-burning units across six states, helping to retire one-third of the existing coal plant capacity in the region. SELC’s years-long campaign to stop utilities from storing coal ash in unlined, leaking pits next to rivers has led to

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5712-667: The Gulf of Mexico . In the central section, north of the New River, the rivers, rising in or just beyond the Valley Ridges, flow through great gorges to the Great Valley, and then across the Blue Ridge to tidal estuaries penetrating the coastal plain via the Roanoke River, James River , Potomac River , and Susquehanna River . In the northern section the height of land lies on the inland side of

5848-704: The Iapetus Ocean , from the North America/Europe collision (See Caledonian orogeny ). By the end of the Mesozoic Era , the Appalachian Mountains had been eroded to an almost flat plain. It was not until the region was uplifted during the Cenozoic Era that the distinctive topography of the present formed. Uplift rejuvenated the streams, which rapidly responded by cutting downward into the ancient bedrock. Some streams flowed along weak layers that define

5984-464: The James River , CSX Transportation 's James River Subdivision , and SR 43, before reaching a southbound exit and northbound entrance to southbound US 11, northeast of the town of Buchanan . From here, northbound US 11 joins northbound I-81 in a concurrency to reach a full interchange with SR 614 , located west of the unincorporated village of Arcadia . Shortly after this point,

6120-625: The Lumber River community in North Carolina to maintain clean and safe water, the Pine Grove community working to preserve their endangered historic black school in Cumberland County, Virginia , local rural and predominantly black communities to help fight against the building of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline , and so much more. The organization also has a podcast called Broken Ground telling

6256-656: The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley . From here, the freeway passes through areas of mixed development along the eastern boundary of the independent city of Winchester , reaching its next interchange with US 17 , US 50, and US 522, providing access to the Stonewall Jackson's Headquarters Museum site, the campus of Shenandoah University , and the Apple Blossom Mall , the latter two of which are located at

6392-484: The North American craton . Volcanoes grew along the continental margin coincident with the initiation of subduction . Thrust faulting uplifted and warped older sedimentary rock laid down on the passive margin. As the mountains rose, erosion began to wear them down over time. Streams carried rock debris downslope to be deposited in nearby lowlands. The Taconic orogeny ended after about 60 million years, but built much of

6528-611: The North River and meets SR 257 / SR 682 at an interchange, east of the town of Mount Crawford that also provides access to Bridgewater College . From this point, I-81 enters commercial areas as it comes into the independent city of Harrisonburg and has its first interchange in that city with US 11 at a trumpet interchange. The freeway continues to cross over the Roanoke District's Chesapeake Western Branch rail line, interchange with SR 253 providing access to

6664-543: The Rocky Mountains of the west. Some of the outcrops in the Appalachians contain rocks formed during the Precambrian era. The geologic processes that led to the formation of the Appalachian Mountains started 1.1 billion years ago. The first mountain range in the region was created when the continents of Laurentia and Amazonia collided, creating a supercontinent called Rodinia . The collision of these continents caused

6800-525: The Trump administration announced its effort to gut clean water protections from wetlands and streams that feed drinking water sources for 200 million Americans (and 32 million people in the South), SELC responded with a federal lawsuit that more than a dozen other groups signed on to. SELC has prevented the construction of roadways and logging for 700,000 acres of land in the six-state region. For example, they prevented

6936-517: The Virginia Creeper Trail and Barter Theatre and with US 11, where eastbound US 58 splits from I-81 continuing east toward the town of Damascus . I-81 continues northeast from Abingdon along its own alignment, interchanging with SR 704 , SR 80 south of the unincorporated village of Meadowview , and SR 737 south of the unincorporated town of Emory . The highway then comes to an interchange with SR 91 in

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7072-792: The Virginia Museum of the Civil War . I-81 crosses the North Fork of the Shenandoah River before its interchange with SR 730 , that also provides access to US 11 and Shenandoah Caverns . The freeway passes through agricultural areas on the western edge of the town of Mount Jackson prior to crossing the Chesapeake Branch rail line, a tributary of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, and SR 263 , reaching an interchange with SR 292 / SR 703 also providing access to

7208-706: The eastern seaboard of the United States and the Midwest region of the country. The Eastern Continental Divide follows the Appalachian Mountains from Pennsylvania to Georgia. The Appalachians, particularly the Central and Southern regions, is one of the most biodiverse places in North America. The north–south orientation of the long ridges and valleys contributes to the high number of plant and animal species. Species were able to migrate through these from either direction during alternating periods of warming and cooling, settling in

7344-1546: The mixed-mesophytic or medium-moisture types, which are largely confined to rich, moist montane soils of the southern and central Appalachians, particularly in the Cumberland and Allegheny Mountains, but also thrive in the southern Appalachian coves. Characteristic canopy species are white basswood ( Tilia heterophylla ), yellow buckeye ( Aesculus octandra ), sugar maple ( Acer saccharum ), American beech ( Fagus grandifolia ), tuliptree ( Liriodendron tulipifera ), white ash ( Fraxinus americana ) and yellow birch ( Betula alleganiensis ). Other common trees are red maple ( Acer rubrum ), shagbark and bitternut hickories ( Carya ovata and C. cordiformis ) and black or sweet birch ( Betula lenta ). Small understory trees and shrubs include paw paw ( Asimina tribola ), flowering dogwood ( Cornus florida ), hophornbeam ( Ostrya virginiana ), witch-hazel ( Hamamelis virginiana ) and spicebush ( Lindera benzoin ). There are also hundreds of perennial and annual herbs, among them such herbal and medicinal plants as American ginseng ( Panax quinquefolius ), goldenseal ( Hydrastis canadensis ), bloodroot ( Sanguinaria canadensis ) and black cohosh ( Cimicifuga racemosa ). The foregoing trees, shrubs, and herbs are also more widely distributed in less rich mesic forests that generally occupy coves, stream valleys and flood plains throughout

7480-581: The 1940s has significantly impacted the central Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky , Tennessee , Virginia and West Virginia. Early mining methods were unregulated and mined land reclamation research, including acid base reaction , was led by the West Virginia University in the 1960s and 1970s. West Virginia developed rigorous mine reclamation standards for state coal mines in the late 1960s. Regulations were introduced by most federal states to protect

7616-553: The 96-square-mile (248.6 km ) archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon , an overseas collectivity of France , meaning it is technically in three countries. The highest peak of the mountain range is Mount Mitchell in North Carolina at 6,684 feet (2,037 m), which is also the highest point in the United States east of the Mississippi River . The range is older than the other major mountain range in North America,

7752-546: The Appalachian Basin. Some plateaus of the Appalachian Mountains contain metallic minerals such as iron and zinc . There are many geological issues concerning the rivers and streams of the Appalachians. In spite of the existence of the Great Appalachian Valley, many of the main rivers are transverse to the mountain system axis. The drainage divide of the Appalachians follows a tortuous course that crosses

7888-610: The Appalachian Mountains by the late 1960s. Social and political activism brought about the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 . The 1859 discovery of commercial quantities of petroleum in the Appalachian Mountains of western Pennsylvania started the modern United States petroleum industry . Recent discoveries of commercial natural gas deposits in the Marcellus Shale formation and Utica Shale formations have once again focused oil industry attention on

8024-588: The Appalachian range in New Brunswick and Quebec . While exploring inland along the northern coast of Florida in 1528, the members of the Narváez expedition , including Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca , found a Native American village near present-day Tallahassee, Florida whose name they transcribed as Apalchen or Apalachen [a.paˈla.tʃɛn] . The name was soon altered by the Spanish to Apalachee and used as

8160-536: The Blue Ridge again reaches 2,000 ft (600 m) and higher. In the Virginia Blue Ridge, the following are some of the highest peaks north of the Roanoke River : Stony Man 4,031 ft (1,229 m), Hawksbill Mountain 4,066 ft (1,239 m), Apple Orchard Mountain 4,225 ft (1,288 m) and Peaks of Otter 4,001 and 3,875 ft (1,220 and 1,181 m). South of the Roanoke River, along

8296-600: The Blue Ridge, are Virginia's highest peaks including Whitetop Mountain 5,520 ft (1,680 m) and Mount Rogers 5,729 ft (1,746 m), the highest point in the Commonwealth. Chief summits in the southern section of the Blue Ridge are located along two main crests, the Western or Unaka Front along the Tennessee - North Carolina border and the Eastern Front in North Carolina, or one of several "cross ridges" between

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8432-420: The Chesapeake Western Branch line again, before leaving Harrisonburg and reentering Rockingham County prior to reaching another trumpet interchange serving US 11. The freeway heads back into rural surroundings, where it meets another interchange with US 11, providing access to the southern terminus of SR 259 serving the towns of Broadway and Timberville , as well as the Endless Caverns site, in

8568-491: The Great Balsams. The Western Blue Ridge Front is subdivided into the Unaka Range , the Bald Mountains , the Great Smoky Mountains , and the Unicoi Mountains , and its major peaks include Roan Mountain 6,285 ft (1,916 m) in the Unakas, Big Bald 5,516 ft (1,681 m) and Max Patch 4,616 ft (1,407 m) in the Bald Mountains, Kuwohi 6,643 ft (2,025 m), Mount Le Conte 6,593 feet (2,010 m), and Mount Guyot 6,621 ft (2,018 m) in

8704-555: The Great Smokies, and Big Frog Mountain 4,224 ft (1,287 m) near the Tennessee- Georgia -North Carolina border. Prominent summits in the cross ridges include Waterrock Knob (6,292 ft (1,918 m)) in the Plott Balsams . Across northern Georgia, numerous peaks exceed 4,000 ft (1,200 m), including Brasstown Bald , the state's highest, at 4,784-and-4,696 ft (1,458-and-1,431 m) Rabun Bald . In north-central Alabama , Mount Cheaha rises prominently to 1,445 feet (440 m) over its surroundings, as part of

8840-418: The Montgomery Museum of Art & History and the Blue Ridge Parkway , before entering the town limits of Christiansburg . Shortly afterward, I-81 comes a large cloverleaf interchange for US 11, US 460 , and Parkway Drive, where it splits with the outer lanes becoming a collector–distributor road , which US 11/US 460 briefly run along; southbound US 11/westbound US 460 provides to

8976-488: The Salem Campus of American National University , the Salem VA Medical Center, and the Salem Fair grounds. Afterward, I-81 fully reenters Roanoke County and comes to a directional stack interchange with I-581 / US 220 which lead south to the downtown area of the independent city of Roanoke and Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport , as well as providing access to the Blue Ridge Parkway , Virginia Museum of Transportation , and Virginia Western Community College ; I-581

9112-426: The U.S./Canadian border, the St. Lawrence Valley area is handled differently in the physiographic classification schemas. The part of the St. Lawrence Valley in the United States is one of the second-level classifications, part of the Appalachian Highlands. In Canada, the area is part of the first-level classification, the St. Lawrence Lowlands . This includes the area around the city of Montreal, Anticosti Island , and

9248-412: The allowable impact on threatened and endangered species." An environmental justice lawsuit brought by SELC compelled a federal court to overturn a permit for a pipeline compressor station in Buckingham County , Virginia’s, historic community of Union Hill. The organization’s Protect Our Coast campaign helped persuade the Obama Administration to remove the South Atlantic from seismic exploration and

9384-463: The campusses of the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind and Mary Baldwin University . Past US 250, the freeway becomes dedicated to John Lewis and meets an interchange with the northern terminus of the SR 262 loop, that also provides access to the town of Monterey , the county seat of adjacent Highland County via US 250 to the west. From here, I-81 fully comes back into Augusta County, where it interchanges with SR 612 in

9520-461: The cities of Bristol , Roanoke , Salem , Lexington , Staunton , and Harrisonburg . I-81 enters Virginia from Tennessee , where the Interstate continues southwest toward Knoxville . After crossing the state line, the highway effectively becomes the border between Washington County to the northwest and the independent city of Bristol to the southeast. I-81 continues northeast as a six-lane freeway through sparsely populated residential areas on

9656-413: The colonial era. The range is the home of a very popular recreational feature, the Appalachian Trail . This is a 2,175-mile (3,500 km) hiking trail that runs all the way from Mount Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia , passing over or past a large part of the Appalachian range. The International Appalachian Trail is an extension of this hiking trail into the Canadian portion of

9792-457: The continent that are now exposed. The first mountain-building tectonic plate collision that initiated the construction of what are today the Appalachians occurred at least a billion years ago when the pre-North American craton called Laurentia collided with at least one other craton - Amazonia . All the other cratons of the earth also collided at about this time to form the supercontinent Rodinia and were surrounded by one single ocean. (It

9928-641: The continents that were ancestral to North America and Africa collided during the formation of the supercontinent Pangea . Because North America and Africa were once geographically connected, the Appalachians formed part of the same mountain chain as the Little Atlas in Morocco . This mountain range, known as the Central Pangean Mountains , extended into Scotland , before the Mesozoic Era opening of

10064-412: The deciduous needle-leaf conifer, the tamarack , or eastern larch ( Larix laricina ). The dominant northern and high elevation conifer is the red spruce ( Picea rubens ), which grows from near sea level to above 4,000 ft (1,200 m) above sea level (asl) in northern New England and southeastern Canada. It also grows southward along the Appalachian crest to the highest elevations of

10200-696: The doubling of Interstate 81 in Virginia , and continue to seek new sustainable land use strategies and funding public transit. Has been in partnership with multiple other non-profits supporting the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decision to shut down the Southeast Energy Exchange Market (SEEM) and overrule the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) decision to unlawfully approve

10336-760: The downtown area of Harrisonburg and the James Madison University Convocation Center , before it passes along the southern edge of the campus of James Madison University and reaches an interchange with US 33 that provides another outlet to Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park, as well as to the campusses of the Harrisonburg Campus of the American National University and the Eastern Mennonite University . Just after this interchange, I-81 crosses over

10472-529: The driest sites are dominated by chestnut oak, or sometimes by scarlet or northern red oaks. In the northern Appalachians the oaks, except for white and northern red, drop out, while the latter extends farthest north. The oak forests generally lack the diverse small tree, shrub and herb layers of mesic forests. Shrubs are generally ericaceous , and include the evergreen mountain laurel ( Kalmia latifolia ), various species of blueberries ( Vaccinium spp.), black huckleberry ( Gaylussacia baccata ),

10608-702: The extra northbound lane disappears. After interchanging with SR 606 in the unincorporated village of Raphine , that also provides access to the Cyrus McCormick Farm , I-64/I-81 comes into Augusta County and the Shenandoah Battlefields National Historic District, before reaching the next exit at US 11, which provides access to the southern terminus of US 340 northeast of the unincorporated town of Greenville . The freeway continues to interchanges with SR 654 east of unincorporated village of Mint Spring and

10744-464: The federal offshore leasing plan in 2016. SELC’s Solar Power Initiative is boosting solar growth in the South by removing disincentives and regulatory roadblocks. As of 2022, rates of solar are up to 23,000 megawatts, and homes with solar are up to 100,000. The benefits of using solar energy is lower electricity bills, creating new local jobs, and providing advancements towards a cleaner energy economy. When

10880-425: The folds and faults created many millions of years earlier. Other streams downcut so rapidly that they cut right across the resistant folded rocks of the mountain core, carving canyons across rock layers and geologic structures. The Appalachian Mountains contain major deposits of anthracite coal as well as bituminous coal . In the folded mountains the coal is in metamorphosed form as anthracite , represented by

11016-422: The freeway enters Rockbridge County , where northbound US 11 splits at an interchange to the west of the unincorporated village of Natural Bridge , which it also provides access to the town of Glasgow via SR 130 and Natural Bridge State Park . I-81 continues northeast on its own alignment, reaching another interchange for US 11 before entering a steep incline, where the northbound direction gains

11152-459: The freeway is dedicated to Representative William C. Wampler and passes through rural areas of agriculture and rolling hills, with scattered areas of residences and industry. In this area, I-81 has interchanges with US 11 in the unincorporated town of Atkins . It then crosses over US 11 and the Pulaski District rail line and passes a southbound rest area, with SR 683 near the unincorporated village of Groseclose , before passing to

11288-552: The freeway reaches a weigh station in both directions, before coming to an interchange with SR 277 on the eastern edge of the town of Stephens City , which also provides access to US 340. Soon, I-81 encounters the southern terminus of the SR ;37 loop which leads to Romney, West Virginia , and Berkeley Springs, West Virginia , via connections with westbound US 50 and northbound US 522 , respectively. SR 37 also provides access to US 11, SR 642 , and

11424-523: The freeway resumes its northeasterly course, regains its median, and reduces back to four lanes as it comes to an interchange with SR 619 north of the hamlet of Graham's Forge . From here, I-81/US 11 continues to an interchange with another pair of state frontage roads, SR F044 / SR F045 , before it crosses into Pulaski County . Past the Pulaski County line, the freeway reaches an interchange with SR 100 , which heads south toward

11560-423: The hamlet of Mauzy . Afterward, I-81 continues northeast to another bidirectional rest area and then leaves Rockingham County. The freeway comes into Shenandoah County and, a short distance later, interchanges with US 211 that provides an additional outlet to Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park, as well as the town of New Market , Luray Caverns , New Market Battlefield State Historical Park , and

11696-589: The highway. Beyond the weigh station, I-81/US 220 crosses the Cloverdale Branch of Norfolk Southern Railway's Roanoke District rail line, prior to reaching an interchange with US 11 and northern terminus of US 220 Alt , which heads south toward the unincorporated city of Cloverdale , also providing access to the city of Lynchburg and the National D-Day Memorial via US 460, where northbound US 220 splits and heads north toward

11832-678: The independent cities of Waynesboro and Charlottesville . Shortly past the split with I-64, I-81 becomes the eastern boundary of the independent city of Staunton , crosses over the Buckingham Branch Railroad 's North Mountain Subdivision rail line, and reaches an interchange with US 250 that provides access to the Frontier Culture Museum and the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library , as well as

11968-404: The independent city of Radford to the northwest, where it interchanges with SR 232 / SR 605 . From this point, I-81 fully enters Montgomery County, coming to rest areas in both directions prior to an interchange with SR 177 / SR 600 , which also provides access to Radford University . The freeway continues and meets an interchange with SR 8 that also provides access to

12104-480: The land mass that is now New England and southwestward to Pennsylvania. The Taconic Orogeny was the second of four mountain building plate collisions that contributed to the formation of the Appalachians, culminating in the collision of North America and Africa (see Alleghanian orogeny ). The third mountain-building event was the Acadian orogeny which occurred between 375 and 359 million years ago. The Acadian orogeny

12240-523: The largest ever cleanup of industrial pollution in the Southeast. The organization has reached agreements to store or recycle all coal ash in South Carolina. SELC’s work has prompted Duke Energy to clean up 8 of its 14 sites in North Carolina, with active cases at the rest. Its suit challenging TVA’s Gallatin plant resulted in the first time a federal court ordered a utility to excavate its coal ash. After

12376-450: The latter town is the county seat of neighboring Giles County . I-81 again continues by itself, coming to an interchange with SR 660 north of Claytor Lake State Park , before it crosses a bridge dedicated to Trooper Andrew Fox over the New River and leaves Pulaski County. Immediately past the New River, the freeway becomes the border between Montgomery County to the southeast and

12512-469: The latter. However, balsam fir also does well in soils with a pH as high as 6. Eastern or Canada hemlock ( Tsuga canadensis ) is another important evergreen needle-leaf conifer that grows along the Appalachian chain from north to south but is confined to lower elevations than red spruce and the firs. It generally occupies richer and less acidic soils than the spruce and firs and is characteristic of deep, shaded and moist mountain valleys and coves . It

12648-547: The main campus of Virginia Tech in the nearby town of Blacksburg . A short distance later, northbound US 11/eastbound US 460 split at another interchange and provide access to the communities of Shawsville and Elliston , while the freeway's collector–distributor carriageways ends and it enters widing alignments that heads toward the valley of the Roanoke River . I-81 crosses over Norfolk Southern Railway's Whitethorne District rail line as it continues through mountainous surroundings with no nearby exits, before it comes

12784-519: The market. SEEM was a proposal that was meant to facilitate bilateral trading allowing members to buy and sell energy close to the time most energy is consumed, which would utilize the unavailable unreserved transmissions. In reality, it was creating unequal terms between members and encouraged lucrative trading between utilities. SELC works alongside 300 local, state, national, and international partner organizations to help converse in ideas and knowledge of environmental activism. For example, they work with

12920-528: The microclimates that best suited them. The flora of the Appalachians are diverse and vary primarily in response to geology, latitude, elevation and moisture availability. Geobotanically, they constitute a floristic province of the North American Atlantic Region . The Appalachians consist primarily of deciduous broad-leaf trees and evergreen needle-leaf conifers, but also contain the evergreen broad-leaf American holly ( Ilex opaca ), and

13056-696: The more notable peaks in West Virginia. The Blue Ridge Mountains , rising in southern Pennsylvania and there known as South Mountain , attain elevations of about 2,000 ft (600 m) in Pennsylvania. South Mountain achieves its highest point just below the Mason-Dixon line in Maryland at Quirauk Mountain 2,145 ft (654 m) and then diminishes in height southward to the Potomac River . Once in Virginia ,

13192-694: The mountainous belt just north of the New River in Virginia. South of the New River, rivers head into the Blue Ridge, cross the higher Unakas, receive important tributaries from the Great Valley, and traversing the Cumberland Plateau in spreading gorges ( water gaps ), escape by way of the Cumberland River and the Tennessee River rivers to the Ohio River and the Mississippi River, and thence to

13328-538: The mountainous belt, and thus the main lines of drainage run from north to south, exemplified by the Hudson River . However, the valley through which the Hudson River flows was cut by the gigantic glaciers of the ice ages —the same glaciers that deposited their terminal moraines in southern New York and formed the east–west Long Island . The Appalachian region is generally considered the geographical divide between

13464-580: The northeast to its stack interchange with I-66 which heads east toward the town of Front Royal and Washington DC also providing access to the Virginia Inland Port , as well as additional access to Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park. Within the I-66 interchange, I-81 enters Frederick County and meets SR 627 west of the unincorporated town of Middletown , that also provides access to Lord Fairfax Community College . Past this interchange,

13600-652: The northern terminus of I-381 , an auxiliary Interstate Highway that serves downtown Bristol to the south. The freeway heads into a mix of commercial and residential areas where it has interchanges with US 11 / US 19 prior to crossing over the Norfolk Southern Railway 's Pulaski District , before the route fully enters Washington County. I-81/US 58 narrows to four lanes and heads into wooded rural areas with nearby development, coming to another interchange serving US 11/US 19 as well as an interchange with State Route 611 (SR 611) and

13736-531: The northwest coastline of Newfoundland. The dissected plateau area, while not actually made up of geological mountains, is popularly called "mountains", especially in eastern Kentucky and West Virginia, and while the ridges are not high, the terrain is extremely rugged. In Ohio and New York, some of the plateau has been glaciated , which has rounded off the sharp ridges and filled the valleys to some extent. The glaciated regions are usually referred to as hill country rather than mountains. The Appalachian belt includes

13872-607: The northwest of Mountain Empire Airport prior to coming into Wythe County . Upon entering Wythe County, I-81 continues to an interchange with the northern terminus of SR 90 north of the town of Rural Retreat , before reaching a northbound cars-only rest area and passing southeast of the Wythe Raceway. Past the racetrack, the freeway travels northeast to a northbound exit and southbound entrance with US 11, located west of

14008-424: The oceans, but there were no plants or animals on land. Then, during the middle Ordovician Period about 500 to 470 million years ago, the motion of the crustal plates changed, and the continents began to move back toward each other. The once-quiet Appalachian passive margin changed to a very active plate boundary when a neighboring Iapetus oceanic plate containing a volcanic arc collided with and began sinking beneath

14144-435: The outskirts of Bristol. The highway immediately comes to a northbound rest area that does not serve trucks, before it reaches an interchange with US Route 58 (US 58) and US 421 that also serve the town of Gate City , the county seat of neighboring Scott County to the west. Eastbound US 58 merges onto northbound I-81 to form a concurrency that continues northeast to a directional stack interchange with

14280-576: The planned extension of the N.C. 540 highway across southern Wake County" because it would "threaten the existence of two endangered species of mussels that live in a creek the road would cross." The Law Center argued the case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit where the court "vacated a key permit granted to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline," concluding "that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided no specific limits for

14416-704: The plateaus sloping southward to the Atlantic Ocean in New England , and southeastward to the border of the coastal plain through the central and southern Atlantic states; and on the northwest, the Allegheny and Cumberland plateaus declining toward the Great Lakes and the interior plains. A remarkable feature of the belt is the longitudinal chain of broad valleys, including the Great Appalachian Valley , which in

14552-652: The region level. The lowest level of classification is "section". The Appalachian Uplands are one of the seven physiographic divisions in Canada . Canada's GSC does not use the same classification system as the USGS below the division level. The agency does break the divisions of the Appalachian Uplands into 13 subsections that are in four different political provinces of Canada. While the Appalachian Highlands and Appalachian Uplands are generally continuous across

14688-454: The residents of the regions regarding the correct pronunciation. Elsewhere, a commonly accepted pronunciation for the adjective Appalachian is / ˌ æ p ə ˈ l æ tʃ i ə n / , with the last two syllables "-ian" pronounced as in the word "Romanian". Perhaps partly because the range runs through large portions of both the United States and Canada, and partly because the range was formed over numerous geologic time periods, one of which

14824-482: The result of volcanic activity that occurred around this time. Evidence of subsurface activity, dikes and sills intruding into the overlying rock, is present in the Blue Ridge as well. For instance, mafic rocks have been found along the Fries Fault in the central Blue Ridge area of Montgomery County, VA. The Iapetus continued to expand and during that time bacteria, algae, and many species of invertebrates flourished in

14960-466: The rocks to be folded and faulted, creating the first mountains in the region. Many of the rocks and minerals that were formed during that event can currently be seen at the surface of the present Appalachian range. Around 480 million years ago, geologic processes began that led to three distinct orogenic eras that created much of the surface structure seen in today's Appalachians. During this period, mountains once reached elevations similar to those of

15096-706: The same side of the Great Valley, south of the Potomac, are the Pinnacle 3,007 feet (917 m) and Pidgeon Roost 3,400 ft (1,000 m). In West Virginia, more than 150 peaks rise above 4,000 ft (1,200 m), including Spruce Knob 4,863 ft (1,482 m), the highest point in the Allegheny Mountains . A number of other points in the state rise above 4,800 ft (1,500 m). Cheat Mountain ( Snowshoe Mountain ) at Thorny Flat 4,848 ft (1,478 m) and Bald Knob 4,842 ft (1,476 m) are among

15232-409: The same trend as the system itself. None of the summits reaches the region of perpetual snow. In Pennsylvania , there are over sixty summits that rise over 2,500 ft (800 m); the summits of Mount Davis and Blue Knob rise over 3,000 ft (900 m). In Maryland, Eagle Rock and Dans Mountain are conspicuous points reaching 3,162 and 2,882 ft (964 and 878 m) respectively. On

15368-495: The score the organization was graded on four different categories: impacts and results, accountability and finance, culture and community, and leadership and adaptability. They also were awarded the Platinum level GuideStar Exchange that represents their commitment to transparency, meaning they are very open to their people and represent good leadership skills. Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains , often called

15504-576: The southeastern United States through environmental law. Areas such as the Appalachian Mountains , thousands of acres of National forest (United States) in southeast United States, and the Atlantic Coast are just some of the special places the non-profit organization is trying to protect. Energy Weekly News states, granted the publication is from 2011, "The South's energy choices aren't just affecting our own backyard. If our six states region were

15640-481: The southerly sections divides the mountain system into two unequal portions, but in the northernmost lies west of all the ranges possessing typical Appalachian features, and separates them from the Adirondack group. The mountain system has no axis of dominating altitudes, but in every portion, the summits rise to rather uniform heights, and, especially in the central section, the various ridges and intermontane valleys have

15776-416: The southern Appalachians, as in North Carolina and Tennessee . In the central Appalachians it is usually confined above 3,000 ft (900 m) asl, except for a few cold valleys in which it reaches lower elevations. In the southern Appalachians, it is restricted to higher elevations. Another species is the black spruce ( Picea mariana ), which extends farthest north of any conifer in North America,

15912-413: The southern and central Appalachians consist largely of black , northern red , white , chestnut and scarlet oaks ( Quercus velutina, Q. rubra, Q. alba, Q. prinus and Q. coccinea ) and hickories, such as the pignut ( Carya glabra ) in particular. The richest forests, which grade into mesic types, usually in coves and on gentle slopes, have predominantly white and northern red oaks, while

16048-511: The southern and central Appalachians at low and intermediate elevations. In the northern Appalachians and at higher elevations of the central and southern Appalachians these diverse mesic forests give way to less diverse northern hardwood forests with canopies dominated only by American beech, sugar maple, American basswood ( Tilia americana ) and yellow birch and with far fewer species of shrubs and herbs. Drier and rockier uplands and ridges are occupied by oak–chestnut forests dominated by

16184-434: The southern junction with I-64 , which heads west toward Charleston, West Virginia. Past this interchange, eastbound I-64 joins northbound I-81 in a concurrency, where the freeway soon meets an interchange with US 11, a short distance to the northeast. The freeway gains a third northbound lane, before reaching a southbound rest area and an interchange with SR 710 in the unincorporated village of Fairfield , where

16320-410: The southern regions of the Appalachians, the word is pronounced / ˌ æ p ə ˈ l æ tʃ ɪ n z / , with the third syllable sounding like "latch". In northern parts of the mountain range, it is pronounced / ˌ æ p ə ˈ l eɪ tʃ ɪ n z / or / ˌ æ p ə ˈ l eɪ ʃ ɪ n z / ; the third syllable is like "lay", and the fourth "chins" or "shins". There is often great debate between

16456-460: The southern terminus of SR 262 , which also provides access to US 11, before coming a direction stack interchange with the northern junction of I-64, where that eastbound route splits from northbound I-81 and heads toward Richmond , the capital of the commonwealth of Virginia, also providing access to the Blue Ridge Parkway, Skyline Drive , and Shenandoah National Park , as well as

16592-490: The southern terminus of SR 99 near a park and ride lot, before reaching the northern junction with SR 100, where that route splits and provides access to the Wilderness Road Regional Museum, Southwest Virginia Veterans' Cemetery, New River Community College , New River Valley Airport , and the unincorporated town of Newbern as the route heads north to serve the towns of Dublin and Pearisburg ;

16728-535: The southernmost spur of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Sources written prior to the recognition of the concept of physiographic regions divided the Appalachian Mountains into three major sections: Plate tectonics over the period dating back at least 1 billion years led to geological creation of the land that is now the Appalachian Mountain range. The continental movement led to collisions that built mountains and they later pulled apart creating oceans over parts of

16864-477: The southwest of the town of Marion , the county seat of Smyth County. Within Marion, I-81 interchanges with SR 16 that provides access to Mount Rogers National Recreation Area , Emory and Henry College 's School of Health Sciences, and Grayson Highlands State Park , before reaching another interchange for US 11 outside the city limits, that also provides access to Hungry Mother State Park . From this point,

17000-488: The stories of environmentally active people in the southeastern region either dealing with or conquering environmental injustices. SELC also has a magazine that tells the stories and experiences of their communities playing their part. The first issue came out during the Summer of 2023. SELC has a 100% score and the highest four-star rating from Charity Navigator, an independent charity assessment organization. In order to receive

17136-573: The term Appalachian Highlands and Canada uses the term Appalachian Uplands ; the Appalachian Mountains are not synonymous with the Appalachian Plateau , which is one of the provinces of the Appalachian Highlands. The Appalachian range runs from the Island of Newfoundland in Canada, 2,050 mi (3,300 km) southwestward to Central Alabama in the United States; south of Newfoundland, it crosses

17272-465: The town limits of Chilhowie . Northwest of Chilhowie, I-81 meets US 11/ SR 645 at an interchange, southwest of the unincorporated village of Seven Mile Ford , where US 11 parallels the highway closely on the southeast once more. The freeway crosses over US 11, where that route moves to the northwest side of the highway, before reaching a split interchange serving the US Route, located to

17408-465: The town of Fincastle , the county seat of Botetourt County, southwest of the town of Troutville . The freeway continues through wooded areas, where it has interchanges SR 640 that provides access to the parallel US 11, after a southbound rest area and passing under US 11, with that route that provides an additional outlet to the Blue Ridge Parkway via SR 43 , before crossing

17544-429: The town of Hillsville in adjacent Carroll County and where northbound US 11 splits from I-81, which heads north to serve the town of Pulaski , the county seat of Pulaski County. Past this interchange, northbound SR 100 joins I-81 in another concurrency and reaches another interchange with SR 658 in the unincorporated village of Draper . The freeway heads through areas of wooded hills interchanging with

17680-465: The town of Toms Brook , before it turns more east and passes north of the town of Strasburg . Within the Strasburg area, the freeway interchanges US 48 / SR 55 , as well as US 11, which provides access to Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park , before crossing over CSX Transportation's Shenandoah Subdivision rail line. I-81 then enters Warren County and turns back towards

17816-402: The town of Wytheville , the county seat of Wythe County. Inside the town limits of Wytheville, I-81 meets an interchange with the northern terminus of US 21 and US 52 , where southbound US 52 joins the freeway in a wrong-way concurrency , before it reaches its southern junction with I-77 , which heads north from the highway toward Bluefield and Charleston, West Virginia , at

17952-607: The two main crests. Major subranges of the Eastern Front include the Black Mountains , Great Craggy Mountains , and Great Balsam Mountains , and its chief summits include Grandfather Mountain 5,964 ft (1,818 m) near the Tennessee-North Carolina border, Mount Mitchell 6,684 ft (2,037 m) in the Blacks, and Black Balsam Knob 6,214 ft (1,894 m) and Cold Mountain 6,030 ft (1,840 m) in

18088-408: The two western corners of the interchange. On the northeastern edge of Winchester, I-81 interchanges with SR 7 , which leads east toward the town of Berryville , the county seat of neighboring Clarke County . At this point, the freeway fully reenters Frederick County, as it meets an interchange with US 11, providing an additional outlet to westbound US 50 and northbound US 522, via

18224-580: The unincorporated city of Basye to the west, via SR 614 and SR 263. I-81 soon interchanges with SR 614 without a southbound exit and northbound entrance in the unincorporated village of Bowmans Crossing , SR 185 / SR 675 near the town of Edinburg , providing access to Edinburg Mill , before interchanging with SR 42 within the town of Woodstock , the county seat of Shenandoah County, providing access to Massanutten Military Academy . I-81 continues northeast through wooded surroundings and interchanges with SR 651 northwest of

18360-514: The unincorporated city of Verona , providing access to the Augusta Military Academy , passes a bidirectional rest area, crosses over the Roanoke District line, and meets another interchange with SR 256 in the unincorporated town of Weyers Cave , that also provides access Blue Ridge Community College and Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport , before it leaves Augusta County. The freeway enters Rockingham County , where it crosses

18496-639: Was caused by a series of collisions of pieces of crust from the Avalonia Terrane, sections broken off from continent of Gondwana , with the North American Plate. The collision initiating this orogeny resulted in the closing of the southern Iapetus Ocean and the formation of a high mountain belt. After the Acadian collision took place, Gondwana began to retreat from Laurentia with the newly accreted Avalonian terranes left behind. As Gondwana moved away,

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