My Zoo ~ Appalachian Orb: The Design

The fourth orb is another North American habitat: Appalachia. A familiar idea and yet an elusive concept, Appalachia runs from New York to Georgia along the eastern coast of the United States. This orb seeks to capture the essential experience of the deciduous forests that blanket those ancient mountains.

There are two Study Centers: 1) The Center for the Study of Deciduous Trees, and 2) The Center for the Study of North American Song Birds.

Technically, the Appalachian Orb has a diameter of 500 meters, and a height of 118 meters.

The major waterfall feature is patterned after Black Water Falls in West Virginia.

The experience of the environments encompassed in the orb should look like these images. The trees are overall deciduous including Yellow Poplar, Northern Red Oak, Sweet Gum, Beech, Sugar Maple, Hickory, White Ash, Purple Ash, Sassafras, Redbud, Dogwood, and Chestnut. Additional trees include American Holly, White Pine, and Tamarack. Boulders help to define the landscape throughout the orb. A flatland meadow and wetland completes the biome-diversity of the orb.

The Appalachian Orb is located directly south of the Prairie-Western Mountain/Orb, in the southwestern quadrant of the zoo.