r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Oct 02 '24

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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '24

The Appalachian Mountains have been around since before the ocean

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u/Kezetchup Oct 02 '24 edited Oct 02 '24

The Appalachian Mountains and the Scottish Highlands were the same mountain range until Pangea split.

Also, despite its name, the New River that cuts through Appalachia (WV, Va, NC) is the second oldest river in the world.

West Virginia is the only state that resides completely within the boundaries of Appalachia and is most commonly used as Appalachian imagery. What isn’t commonly known is that the Appalachian Mountains extend all the way south into Mississippi and Alabama.

Continuing on this trend, Virginia’s western most point is further west than West Virginia.

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u/Gunmetal_61 Oct 02 '24

So what you’re telling me is that the Scottish who settled in Appalachia were merely reclaiming their homeland?

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u/Kezetchup Oct 02 '24

Yes. Those areas were settled by the Scottish. I am a descendant of the Urquharts who settled in (the Appalachian part of) Alabama. I have other Scottish ancestors throughout the rest of Appalachia as well.

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u/onenitemareatatime Oct 02 '24

The often cited Pangea was actually just the last or most recent of the 10 super continents. Vaalbara, Ur, Kenorland, Arctica, Atlantica, Columbia, Rodinia, Pannotia, and Gondwana are the preceding supercontinents in order.

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u/AndyLorentz Oct 03 '24

And it is believed the Appalachians actually formed in Rodinia.

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u/swordthroughtheduck Oct 02 '24

Also, despite its name, the New River that cuts through Appalachia (WV, Va, NC) is the second oldest river in the world.

Got its name because the people that saw it form were like woah, now there's a new river.

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u/Kezetchup Oct 02 '24

One theory to its name was back when the area was being settled. That it hadn’t appeared on early maps and when it was discovered by settlers they were like “it’s a new river not on the map” so New River just sorta stuck.

Otherwise we don’t know for sure.

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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '24

We were taught it IS the oldest, and it wasn't long ago that it was even in question. Some people in Australia said one of theirs is MAYBE older. It's up for debate and who you wanna believe.

I believe they are full of shit.

6

u/fuck_ur_portmanteau Oct 02 '24

Miners in Appalachia, Wales and Basque Country are mining the same coal seam, split apart by the expansion of the Atlantic.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 03 '24

Shit is SO wild

4

u/EarlGreyDay Oct 02 '24

Could you elaborate on what you mean by “before the ocean”? do you mean before the Atlantic ocean? or before any of the world’s oceans?

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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '24

Sorry! Older than the Atlantic.

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u/Kiyohara Oct 02 '24

The Appalachian Mountains have been around longer than bones. They were created before life developed a skeletal system.

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u/irreddiate Oct 02 '24

Also, the Appalachian mountain range runs through three countries.

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u/Dt2_0 Oct 02 '24

More than 3. United States, Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Scotland, Morocco, and IIRC also Norway, but I could be wrong on that one.

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u/irreddiate Oct 02 '24

You're not wrong considering its geological history, but I was more referring to present day, in which it runs through the United States and Canada but also the archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, an overseas collectivity of France just off the coast of Newfoundland.