Some 500 million years ago, the Uwharrie Mountains emerged from the soils of North Carolina's central piedmont, making them the oldest mountain range in North America. While the dinosaurs that roamed those 20,000-foot summits are long since extinct, the Uwharries yet remain, though somewhat diminished in stature. The same forces of erosion that wore the Appalachians down from their former Rocky-Mountain-like heights also took their toll on the Uwharries, which now top out at around 1,000 feet. Read More »