The Earth is comprised of many distinctive biomes that facilitate the evolution of a variety of different ecosystems. In eastern North America, the United States is comprised of several geologically different ecosystems. From East to West the provinces follow as stated: coastal plain, piedmont, Blue Ridge Mountains, valley and ridge, and the Appalachian plateau. Each province is characteristically unique when it comes to the biodiversity of flora and fauna. In the western Blue Ridge Mountains and the river and valley province, the biodiversity and topography are being destroyed by coal mining. After the American Civil War, coal mining boomed in the mountainous regions of West Virginia, Kentucky, southwestern Virginia, and Tennessee. The demand for coal rose exponentially throughout the United States during this period due to the Industrial Revolution and the expansion of the railroad system. Although coal mining brought jobs and economical stability to the poverty-stricken hills of Appalachia in the early times, it has now evolved into a jobless, destructive monster that some know as mountain top removal. This new technique of coal mining is completely destroying the ecosystems throughout the region. The need for coal throughout the United States has dropped slightly with new technology for green energy but mountain top removal still prevails to this day. The negative effects of mountain top removal coal mining not only affect the biodiversity of the Appalachian Basin, but also affect the residents that live within region.
The Appalachian Mountains run latitudinally from northern Alabama and extend to the state of Maine.The beginning formation of the Appalachians occurred billions of years ago when Earth's land masses were compiled together into an immense area of land known as a super-continent. What we know as the oceans of the world once surrounded the super-continent.
