By Ethan Godsey
Appalachia is an ancient place that predates countless things we take for granted in the modern
day. Everyday we live in the shadow of mountains that are so old it boggles the mind. Be it the
rings of Saturn, trees, or even the aligning of the north star, the mountains are older and more
ancient. The history of these mountains are astounding and date back to even the early life of
our very planet.
History of the Appalachian mountains dates back over one billion years ago, 500 million
years before even Pangea, when two tectonic plates collided and began the range’s formation.
These violent collisions that formed the mountains was the formation of a super continent called
Rodinia. This was the first instance of mountains in these regions, and the rocks from this
formation are still found in the Appalachians to this day. After surviving the separation of Rodinia the Appalachians were slammed back together 500 million years later into the formation of Pangea. During this time many other mountain ranges were formed that connected with the
“Young” Appalachia. These mountains would eventually be spread through France, central Europe, and even Scotland when pangea broke into pieces. This is why there are many similarities to the stone of mountain ranges that are far and seem unrelated. It is astounding to know that our home is one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world.
It can be hard to truly understand the age of the Appalachian mountains as saying 500
million is just as incomprehensive as saying 1 billion. To help truly show how ancient our home
is, there are three good examples to help understand. Yes, like the song says the mountains are
older than the trees. Trees evolved around 400 million years ago, this makes the Appalachians
over twice as old as the beautiful green scenery we see everyday. Another is The North star.
While the star itself is over twice the age of the mountains it was not actually true north until the
middle age that it lined itself north. For most of history it was the constellation itself that was
north and not the star itself. And to me the most astounding thing is that the mountains are older
than the rings of Saturn. Similar to the north star the planet itself is much older than the
mountains. However, the rings themselves only first formed some 100 million years ago. It is
astounding to think that these rings are relatively recent in the eyes of our beloved home.
While being in no way scientific I believe that anyone sitting and enjoying a quiet
moment far from the bustle of human life can feel these ancient bones of our home. The most
early humans arrived only around 16 thousand years ago, it is strange to think we are new
strangers in the mountains’ eyes. In the little time we have called this place our home we have
carved out the innards and decapitated these ancient beings. And that is why it is so important
to sit and enjoy our home, and learn its history. It is good to know that no matter the damage we
have done to them these mountains are older than the trees and will likely outlast all of us. Our
forever home.
