Smoke Hole Canyon

Smoke Hole Canyon, frequently known known just as Smoke Hole, is a rugged convert|20|mi long gorge carved by the South Branch Potomac River in eastern West Virginia, USA. It has been part of the Monongahela National Forest's Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area since 1965, although some of the Canyon is still private land.

Geography and description

Smoke Hole is situated in southern Grant and northern Pendleton Counties. It is bordered by North Fork Mountain to the west and Cave Mountain to the east.

Narrow and winding secondary roads snake through the gorge. Two roads provide access into the Smoke Hole: Pendleton County Route 2 enters the Smoke Hole near Upper Tract a small community located convert|18|mi southwest of Petersburg along US Route 220. CR 2 follows the river into the Canyon and parallels it downstream for about convert|8|mi. The first convert|5.5|mi are paved but narrow.

At places the Canyon is over convert|1000|ft deep with nearly vertical walls. (The riverbed is at about convert|1100|ft above sea level and the summit of nearby Cave Mountain is convert|2470|ft.) Spectacular views of the Canyon can be had along the convert|24|mi|adj=on long North Fork Mountain Trail to the west where sods and cedar barrens can be visited. Caves are common in the Canyon slopes. Some are home to the endangered Virginia big-eared bat and are therefore closed to visitors during critical nesting or hibernation periods.

History

Smoke Hole Canyon was settled in the years after the Revolution by war veteran Colonel William Eagle who is buried near the towering rock that bears his name.

The origin of the name “Smoke Hole” is uncertain. Popular (and plausible) explanations include the claim that Native Americans used the caves of the gorge for smoking meat (some old timers used to call the canyon "Smoke Holes”). It has also been noted that a misty fog often lies along the river and ascends, thus evoking a "smoky hole". Another story is that the fires of moonshiner's stills gave the gorge its name.

During the Great Depression, the few people in the Canyon started leaving to find better jobs and their homesteads were consolidated among a smaller number of landholders. The trend continued through World War II. The network of mountain roads formerly connecting homesteads and farms throughout the Canyon waslargely abandoned.

The Smoke Hole region has become a primary project of The Nature Conservancy, which purchased an convert|1126|acre|adj=on easement in there in April 2004.

Under the " [http://www.wvhighlands.org/mnf_fp/Land_and_Resource_Management_Plan.pdf Monongahela National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan] " (2006), over convert|3000|acre in the Smoke Hole area were set aside for non-motorized, primitive recreation and remote wildlife habitat.

Ecology

Smoke Hole is a biologically diverse area classified as an upland limestone-based ecosystem. It is believed that the Canyon is the largest area of limestone forest left in this region of the country. Most of the forest soil in West Virginia is naturally acidic, only growing a certain range of plants. But limestone soil is not acidic and tends to be richer in certain nutrients than are other soils, thus supporting a different type of plant life. The plant species mix is unique: common Appalachian plants along with prairie species such as prairie rocket, Indian grass and little bluestem.

The dry, prairie-like areas along the upper knobs and ridges of the Canyon are home to a variety of typically western plants such as prairie flax and redroot. These plants are more commonly found west of the Mississippi River. Due to the protective effect of surrounding mountains, rainfall in SHC is unusually light -- only about 30-32 inches per year. This relatively low precipitation permits a small haven for these unusual species.

About a dozen species of plants and animals in Smoke Hole Canyon are considered to be “globally-rare”.

Flora

The prairie-like regions and associated cedar glades around the Canyon are the largest groupings of such plant life in the Central Appalachians. There are also a number of other species that are restricted to this part of the Appalachian range. Smoke Hole bergamot, a member of the mint family, grows only in the area.

The prairie flax is an especially uncommon species in the east. It was originally discovered during the Lewis and Clark expedition (it is sometimes called "Lewis flax") and today is typically found in places like Minnesota and Montana. It was not thought to exist in the east at all until found in SHC. Virginia nailwort is another unusual, grass-like plant that is only known in twelve places around the world. This species is so uncommon that the small patches found among the rocks of the SHC walls are thought to be the largest population in the world.

Fauna

The Canyon is home to about 40 percent of the world's Virginia big-eared bat population and the largest single colony of Indiana bats, another endangered animal in the eastern US. The big-eared bat is highly sensitive and needs exacting conditions to hibernate. Its caves are therefore protected during critical months.

The Canyon is a prime area for neotropical migrants birds -- those that spend their summers in the US but migrate to South America for the winter. Wood thrushes, scarlet tanagers and various warblers have all been in decline recently because of habitat loss on both continents, but can find sanctuary within the secluded Canyon. Bald eagles also nest in the surrounding mountainsides.

Rare species of butterfly (Columbine duskywing, cobweb skipper) live in the open, grassy, limestone habitats of the Canyon. A variety of tiger beetle lives in the sandy, cobblestone habitats along the banks of the South Branch. The Canyon also has a significant black bear and bobcat population, and is known for its large number of timber rattlesnakes, a species now scarce elsewhere in the state. The Allegheny woodrat, which lives in rocky terrain in the Canyon, has been declining throughout much of its range due to an epidemic of roundworm infestation (acquired from raccoons), among other causes.

Invasive species

An Asian grass known as Japanese stiltgrass was accidentally introduced into the U.S. during the last half of the 20th century and has become a major conservation nuisance nationwide. In recent years, the Canyon has been overwhelmed with this invasive species, first introduced into the state in 1980. The 1996 flood in the Eastern Panhandle of the West Virginia spread the seed throughout Smoke Hole, and now it is the most abundantly growing plant in the area. When introduced into a new area, stiltgrass blankets the ground and suffocates other plant life that would ordinarily grow close to the ground. Unchecked, the plant can spread in a manner almost impossible to abate.

Another biological threat to the Canyon is the insect known as hemlock woolly adelgid. Also from Asia and just recently introduced into the Canyon ecosystem, it has been attacking the stands of eastern hemlock there. The bug coats and then kills the tree branches. The Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy are coordinating to find ways to stop the spread of both stiltgrass and the adelgid. A species of Asian beetle known to survive entirely by eating the adelgid is being considered for the Canyon, while a solution to the stiltgrass problem remains as yet unidentified.

Recreation

Popular activities in Smoke Hole Canyon include fishing (rainbow and golden trout; largemouth and smallmouth bass), hunting (squirrel, grouse, turkey, deer, rabbit and bear), hiking, rock climbing, canoeing and camping (Big Bend Campground). Kayaking and whitewater canoing provide the best ways to see the Canyon, particularly the lower section where there are no roads or trails. (The entire Smoke Hole river run — from US 220 to Petersburg — is about convert|25|mi long.)

References

*"This article contains information that originally came from US Government publications and websites and is in the public domain."
**United States Department of Agriculture, "Smoke Hole Area Guide: Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area, Monongahela National Forest" (SuDoc A 13.36/2:SM 7/2).

*Local history:
**Shreve, D. Bardon, with Estyl C. Shreve (1997), "A Place Called Smoke Hole", Fredericksburg, Virginia: Fredericksburg Press.
**Shreve, D. Bardon, with Estyl C. Shreve (2000), "More About Smoke Hole", Fredericksburg, Virginia: Fredericksburg Press.

ee also

*Smoke Hole Caverns, located just outside the Canyon

External links

* [http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/mnf/sp/smoke_hole.html MNF Webpage on Smoke Hole Canyon]