Unlike most summits in the Appalachians, which are heavily forested or culminate in jagged peaks, grassy balds are covered by a thick layer of wild grass.
22.
Grassy balds & mdash; a type of highland meadow consisting of fields of thick grass and sparse tree coverage & mdash; are not uncommon in the higher elevations.
23.
Throughout the 19th century and early 20th century, Cades Cove residents used this road to drive cattle back and forth between markets in grassy balds atop the western Smokies.
24.
Balds include grassy balds, which are highland meadows covered primarily by thick grasses, and heath balds, which are dense thickets of rhododendron and mountain laurel typically occurring on narrow ridges.
25.
While there is some evidence that grassy balds have natural origins, the forest quickly started to reclaim the balds once large-scale livestock grazing was eliminated by the creation of national parks and national forests.
26.
The crest of the range forms the county's border with Swain County, North Carolina, and includes Blount's highest point, Thunderhead Mountain, and the Gregory Bald, a prominent grassy bald.
27.
The mountain is clad in a dense stand of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest, and includes the world's largest natural rhododendron garden, and the longest stretch of grassy bald in the Appalachian range.
28.
The second section of Roan Mountain known as Grassy Ridge is east of Carver's Gap, and is the longest stretch ( appx . 7 miles ) of grassy bald in the Appalachian Mountains.
29.
Grassy balds such as Gregory Bald and Andrews Bald in the Great Smokies and the balds in the Roan Highlands are currently maintained as bald areas by the National Park Service and U . S . Forest Service.
30.
After traversing the Bald Mountains, the Appalachian Trail crosses the Nolichucky River and enters the grassy bald in the Appalachians, the trail descends to the Laurel Fork Valley, where it turns west away from the state boundary.
