| Tamassee
Knob |
Jess |
| May
09, 2002 20:44 PDT |
Tamassee
Knob is an approximately 1800' peak in the northwestern
corner of South Carolina. The peak is connected to the
plateau-like
Station Mountain. The ridge and Station Mountain rise 300 to
500' above
the adjacent lowlands to the east. A set of very steep slopes at
the top
of the ridge and the upper slopes of the mountain mark the edge
of the
Brevard Fault Zone. The Brevard Fault Zone is underlain several
types of
carbonate rich rocks, included narrow marble outcrops. In the
vicinity of
Tamassee knob actinolite is probably the most prominent bedrock.
These
calcium laden rocks are a major factor influencing the species
present in
the area and the exceptional growing conditions. This fact is
particularly
noticeable on the exposed east facing slopes approximately half
a mile
south of the ridge. The canopy is composed of tuliptree with
scattered
northern red oak, white ash, bitternut hickory, and either
pignut or red
hickory. Black walnut is common in the area as a sum canopy.
Below the
walnuts, red bud forms an occasionally thick understory and
herbaceous
plants form a thick groundcover. Where the slope turns to face
partially
to the south, tuliptree loses dominance and white oak, black
oak, and
chestnut oak become more common.
The wetness of Saturday and the
density of the summer time canopy
restricted my visit to the east facing slopes primarily to
reconnaissance.
The only trees I was able to get good numbers on were a
9'6" cbh, 108.8'
tall black oak and an 8'0" cbh, 119.3' tall black oak. In
the immediate
vicinity of the taller oak are two other black oaks that are
probably
around 120' tall. Several of the second growth tuliptrees in the
area
probably reach 150', some of which are also 10' cbh. The most
impressive
trees I saw in the area were two chestnut oaks in adjacent north
facing
coves. Both trees exceed 130', and are easily the tallest known
individuals of the species in South Carolina. More thorough
measurements
of the area will have to wait until winter.
Jess Riddle
|
| Tamassee
Knob |
Jess |
| Mar
15, 2003 13:03 PST |
Late
in February, I returned to the area around Tamassee Knob and
further explored some coves I had previously seen. The density
of exceptional trees in some of the coves, especially the
largest northeast facing cove, allows many trees to escape
notice on a cursory review of the area; consequently, most of
the trees listed below are near trees that I had previously
measured, but were not themselves measured. Other interesting
aspects of the area include the unusually weak correlations
between species composition and topographic position species
composition and aspect. While chestnut oak and red maple occupy
much of the top of the main ridge that the coves have developed
around, white oak, northern red oak, and white ash form a canopy
over 100' high on one section of the ridge top. Nearby east
facing, exposed slopes are dominated by tuliptree with scattered
bitternut hickory, white ash, northern red oak and black walnuts
with some individual tuliptrees that will exceed 150' this
decade.
Species Cbh Height Cove aspect Comment
Basswood, White NA 127.3' NE 2nd tallest known in SC
Hickory, Pignut 8'3.5" 143.5' NE 7th tallest known in SC
Oak, Black 7'2" 121.3' NW 8th tallest known in SC
Oak, Black 6'9" 126.4' S 3rd tallest known in SC
Oak, Black 7'9" 129.2' NE tallest known in SC
Oak, Northern Red NA 120.9' NE
Oak, White 9'10" 119.8' NE
Oak, White 8'1" 130.8' S tied 5th tallest known in SC
Oak, White 8'1" 132.8' S 4th tallest known in SC
Pine, Shortleaf 5'9.5" 133.1' NE 4th tallest known in SC
Pine, Shortleaf 6'3" 139.4' SE tallest known in SC
Sweetgum 6'2" 129.3' NE
Sweetgum 8'2.5" 139.3' NE tallest known in SC outside of
CSNM
Tuliptree NA 142.6' SE
Tuliptree NA 157.1' S
The 130.8' white oak was measured last year at 129.7', and the
tree grows
within sight of a 8'5" x 134.6' white oak that was measured
last year.
The taller shortleaf pine was previously measured as being
140.3' tall. I
had an excellent view of the top and partially obscured view of
the base
this time, but I think going with the more recent measurement is
fair
until a better vantage point for measuring the tree is found. A
dense
stand of sweetgums grows in the alluvial soils at the mouth of
two coves,
but the largest sweetgum grows in a small flat within the
largest cove.
The tree has a broad crown of upturned twigs and shows no signs
of storm
damage.
Jess Riddle |
| Re:
RE: Tamassee Knob |
Jess |
| Mar
16, 2003 20:41 PST |
The
coves lie at the intersection of the Blue Ridge and Piedmont.
The
top of Tamassee Knob is around 1780'. The exceptional tree
growing
conditions are concentrated between 1200 and 1500'. The rich
soils of
Station Cove, a couple of miles to the south, extend down to
1100', and
large black oaks dominate one bench around 1700' within site of
the top of
the top of the knob. The low elevations and southerly latitude
probably
contribute to yellow buckeye's inability to grow above the
midstory in the
area.
Jess Riddle |
|