UPCOUNTRY DEFINITIONS: Blue Ridge Escarpment /blo͞o / rij/ əˈskärpmənt/ noun, landscape feature The area on the horizon that appears as a hazy, indigo color, which presents the sharp transition between the high-altitude Blue Ridge Mountains and the rolling hills of the Piedmont. This is where the forested hillside quickly drops 2,500 vertical feet in elevation.
Jocassee Gorges /jō/ ‘cas/ē/ ɡôrj/ es/ noun, topography A series of steepsided gorges carrying mountain rivers and streams from the Blue Ridge Escarpment to the Piedmont. The Jocassee Gorges tract contains about 43,500 acres, which National Geographic called a “destination of a lifetime,” and one of the “world’s last great places.”
Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area mount(ə)n/ ‘brij/ ‘wildərnəs/ ˈerēə/ noun, place More than 11,000 acres of pristine, mountain woodlands that encompass the Blue Ridge Escarpment, as well as Jones Gap and Caesars Head State Parks. Wildlife includes black bears, red foxes, bobcats, beavers, coyotes, and fairly recently, the first elk in hundreds of years.
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