The Man writes...here is a view of Mount Greylock. I was part of an Anglo-American team that conquered this mighty 3491 foot peak on Sunday. Note there are lots of trees.
Here is a typical view on the 2 hour ascent. Trees of course. At the risk of showing my ignorance, why is it that a 3000 foot peak here is covered in trees, right up to the very summit (where in this case the trees have been conveniently felled to make a large car park) whereas a similar peak in the UK would be almost completely bare? Is it because all the trees in Britain have been cleared? Is it the latitude? Soil? Wind?
The 2000 mile long Appalachian Trail passes over the summit, and the views are supposed to encompass five states. However, on this Veterans Day, or Remembrance Day in the UK, it is appropriate to highlight the summit's most prominent feature: the 90 foot Veterans War Memorial Tower.
All of the above. There are thick academic books debating _exactly_ why uplands in England & Wales are typically moorland rather than forest. Consensus is a combination of climate (high rainfall/ wind is a bigger factor than the winter temperatures), latitude (short growing season), soil (eroded away and turned into bog/moor) & humans (no virgin forest to chop down in Britain - people arrived at the same time as the trees at the end of the ice age)
ReplyDeleteOur local big hill is covered in trees right to the top, of course...
Thanks Jon for your excellent answer.
ReplyDeleteSince you mention the local big hill can you comment on the "tallest on this latitude west of Urals" story. Is it a rural myth?