Appalachian Mountains

Mountain system in eastern North America, stretching about 2,400 km/1,500 mi from Alabama to Québec. The chain, composed of ancient eroded rocks and rounded peaks, includes the Allegheny, Catskill, and Blue Ridge mountains. Its width in some parts reaches 500 km/311 mi. Mount Mitchell, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, is the highest peak at 2,037 m/6,684 ft, and is the highest point in North America east of the Mississippi River. The eastern edge of the system has a fall line to the Coastal Plain where Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington stand. The Appalachians are heavily forested and have deposits of coal and other minerals.