Читать книгу Carolina Whitewater. A Paddler's Guide to the Western Carolinas онлайн

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The Carolinas are alive with beautiful and diverse flora and fauna. Because of their diverse climate and soil, they have the greatest variety of plant life of any area in the Eastern United States. Longleaf pine dominates the upper Coastal Plain along with water oaks and hickories. In the Piedmont, pine remains plentiful but hardwood forests are the order of the day, with deciduous oak being most prevalent, followed by beech, birch, ash, maple, black walnut, sycamore, and yellow poplar. On the mountains the forest is generally comprised of oak, chestnut, laurel, white pine, and hemlock. Wildlife is abundant and varied, especially birds, many of which winter and breed in the coastal marshes.

The climate in the Carolinas is equable and pleasant, being cool in the mountains and almost subtropical on the Coastal Plain with the Piedmont representing the middle of the spectrum. Temperatures average approximately 10° cooler in the mountains than in the low country. The mean annual temperature for North Carolina is about 59° F and for South Carolina 63° F, with January being the coldest month and July the warmest. North Carolina receives more rain than South Carolina owing to its larger mountain region. Averages for both states approximate 54 inches on the mountains, 47 inches on the Piedmont, and 48 inches on the Coastal Plain. On the east slope of some of the mountains the precipitation is exceptionally heavy. Heavy snow is unusual except in the mountains. Winds are variable and seldom violent except during autumn storms along the coast.