Conventional geologic theory suggests that the Appalachian Mountains were formed about 420 million years ago when two pre-historic continents crashed into each other, causing the crust of the earth to be splintered, folded and uplifted into what became the Appalachian Range. Some of the oldest mountains on the planet, the Appalachians used to be much taller, perhaps more than three times as high in elevation as they are today. One can only imagine how rugged, desolate and majestic this remarkable range of mountains once appeared.
Likewise, it is difficult to comprehend what the ancient-complexions of specific places within the range itself must have once appeared, such as the phenomenal ‘Buckeye Falls’ on Rich Mountain, part of the Unaka Range. It is unimaginable to know just how tall and how sheer the cliff that these amazing waterfalls now navigate must have been like millions of years ago. Even today, at an estimated 600 feet tall, Buckeye Falls is technically the largest waterfall in North America east of the Rocky Mountains.
Buckeye Falls