Field Guide to the Piedmont

Book excerpt: America's most populous region is also home to some of the nation's most serenely beautiful country. Tracing a gentle, thousand-mile curve from New York City southwestward to Montgomery, Alabama, the Piedmont connects an arc of urban centers which includes five state capitals, America's largest city, and the national capital. Between the Atlantic coastal plain and the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Piedmont's rolling hills span miles of farmland and forest. Michael Godfrey's Field Guide to the Piedmont--originally published by Sierra Club Books and here newly revised and updated--is an informative and entertaining guide to the entire region's habitats, ecosystems, and rich botanical communities. Focusing on plant succession, geology, soils, climate, and the plants and animals with which we share the land, Field Guide to the Piedmont also features 180 illustrations for easy identification of the Piedmont's principal flora and fauna. A chapter describing and providing directions to over fifty sites of special interest will inspire Piedmont residents to take this field guide in hand and explore their natural surroundings. Southern Gateways Guide is a registered trademark of the University of North Carolina Press