While there are a few thousands of years of human settlement here (the Monacan Nation and other indigenous communities) the Blue Ridge Mountains, forming the eastern front range of the Appalachians, date back roughly 460 million years and stretch about 550 miles from southern Pennsylvania down through Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and into northern Georgia.
Elderly and mellowed with a big dose of pastoral compared to the youngsters that are the Rockies and Sangre de Cristos, the Blue Ridge is actually one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world, with some rocks dating back over a billion years. In Virginia, where we are, the Blue Ridge runs along the western edge of the Piedmont plateau and forms much of Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway corridor.
I know these mountains well from all my visits to NC growing up! I had no idea they were some of the oldest. Some of my best memories from childhood come from running around in these mountains and splashing through the streams. Hope you are enjoying!
It is beautiful country. I can see that it’d be great fun as a kid!