Appalachian balds facts for kids

Grassy Ridge Bald in the Roan Highlands

In the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States, balds are special mountain tops. They are covered mostly by thick native grasses or shrubs. This is unusual because you would expect to see dense forests growing there.

Balds are mostly found in the Southern Appalachians. Even at the highest points, the weather is too warm for an alpine zone. An alpine zone is a place where trees cannot grow because the growing season is too short or doesn't exist. For example, Mount Washington in New Hampshire is an alpine summit. It's normal for trees not to grow there because of the cold.

But a bald, like Gregory Bald in the Great Smoky Mountains, is different. It's strange for trees not to grow there because the climate is warmer. For instance, at Roan Mountain, Roan High Knob (6,285 feet/1,915 m) is covered in thick spruce-fir trees. But right next to it, Round Bald (5,826 feet/1,776 m) has almost no trees. Why some mountain tops are bald and others are not is still a mystery. Scientists have a few ideas.

Types of Appalachian Balds

Clear views make grassy balds popular for hikers.

There are two main types of balds in the Appalachians:

Grassy Balds: Mountain Meadows

Grassy balds are mountain tops that are quite flat and covered with thick native grasses. There are two kinds of grassy balds. Some are completely covered by grasses. Others have scattered hardwood trees with a layer of grass underneath. You usually find grassy balds at the very top of hills. They can also be on wide upper slopes of mountains.

Some plants you might find here include mountain oat-grass and different types of sedges. You can also see flowers like three-toothed cinquefoil and Blue Ridge St. Johns-wort.

Heath Balds: Shrubby Ridges

Heath balds are usually found along narrow mountain ridges and crests. They are covered with dense evergreen shrubs. While grassy balds are a mystery, heath balds are often in places where the soil drains water very quickly. The soil can also be very acidic. These conditions make it hard for large trees to grow.

You can find four general types of plants on heath balds:

• Evergreen shrubs like Catawba rhododendron.
• Mixed shrubs including Catawba rhododendron, mountain-laurel, and black huckleberry.
• Deciduous shrubs (plants that lose their leaves) like American mountain-ash, minniebush, and southern mountain-cranberry.
• Deciduous shrubs of smooth blackberry.

How Balds Formed and Changed

The way Appalachian balds looked stayed the same for a long time. This was true until rules about farming changed. Before, local cattle would graze on them every year. How and why a mountain top becomes a grassy bald is still unknown. They are seen as an "ecological enigma," meaning a puzzle for nature.

Scientists think that large plant-eating animals from the Pleistocene Ice Age might have helped keep these areas open. This was when the Wisconsin glaciation (a big ice sheet) moved north. After early humans arrived and the giant animals disappeared, deer and elk continued to graze. Later, European settlers brought their own grazing animals.

Some studies have looked at the soil to learn about the history of plants on balds. Grasses leave a special mark in the soil. There is some proof that grassy balds started naturally. However, forests quickly began to grow back on the balds. This happened when large-scale livestock grazing stopped. This was due to the creation of national parks and national forests.

Today, places like Gregory Bald and Andrews Bald in the Great Smokies are kept bald on purpose. The National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service manage them. The mountain top meadows, called the Southern Balds, are a unique part of the Appalachian Trail for hikers.

List of Major Appalachian Balds