🇺🇸 WEEKLY AMERICAN HERITAGE: Lookout Mountain and Little River Canyon

(Explore the history and landscape of the United States as we approach the 250th anniversary of American Independence. Get out your atlas and almanac and follow along!)

Alabama is our homeschool state-of-the-week, so why not spend a few minutes today with your students learning about one of Alabama’s important historical places: the Lookout Mountain and Little River Canyon National Preserve, which protects the important scenic landscapes of northeastern Alabama.

“Little River is unique because it flows for most of its length atop Lookout Mountain in northeast Alabama. Forested uplands, waterfalls, canyon rims and bluffs, pools, boulders, and sandstone cliffs offer settings for a variety of recreational activities. Natural resources and cultural heritage come together to tell the story of the Preserve, a special place in the Southern Appalachians.”

The Little River Canyon area together with the whole of Lookout Mountain (Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia) has long been recognized as an area with important natural and cultural resources. Together the Little River and the Little River Canyon area form one of the extraordinary natural features of Alabama. Little River flows unimpeded through five minor impoundments. Little River, its canyon and surrounding environment, comprise an outstanding and rare natural phenomenon of immeasurable wealth to residents, national visitors and to future generations.

The preserve is a place where visitors seek the invigoration of whitewater boating, the challenge of sheer wall climbing, and the solitude of hiking into the depths of the canyon; visitors seek a type of recreation and discover rejuvenation that only nature can provide.

The preserve provides niche habitats for ecological communities such as Appalachian bogs and Cumberland sandstone glades, and is a home for rare plants and animals to survive.

Visitors are inspired by stories of survival and great adversity as they discover and explore the artifacts and history of native peoples and early settlers who have lived on the lands, used the water from Little River, and enjoyed the beauty of the canyon.

The wildness of the backcountry area allows visitors to interact with the landscape and develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of the natural scenery, forests, and habitats of northeastern Alabama. (nps.gov)

You can find a wealth of additional information about the Preserve’s history, landscape, location(s), and visitor facilities on the webpage for the Little River Canyon National Preserve from the National Park Service, and also on the Preserve’s page on Wikipedia.

Explore America’s National Parks, National Historical Parks, National Historic Sites, National Monuments, and more via Wikipedia and via the U.S. National Park Service’s website today.

What American treasures have you and your students been exploring in your homeschool this Orion Term? 🇺🇸

❡ The great globe itself: This is one of our regular Homeschool Geography posts featuring important natural and historical sites in the United States. Print your own copy of our River Houses American Heritage Calendar and follow along with us, and add your name to our weekly mailing list to get great homeschool teaching ideas delivered right to your mailbox all through the year. 🌎

❡ We set to-day a votive stone: If you want a great long-term history and geography project for your homeschool, explore the Historical Marker Database online (hmdb.org) and make a plan to find all the markers that are listed in your local area. Add any new ones you know of that are missing, and add new photos or descriptions for the ones already included. Your students will gain a better appreciation for your local community and will learn a wealth of new information about history and geography. 🏛️

❡ Print this little lesson: Down at the bottom of this post you’ll find a special “Print” button that will let you create a neat and easy-to-read copy of this little lesson, and it will even let you edit and delete sections you don’t want or need (such as individual images or footnotes). Give it a try today! 🖨️

❡ Books in the running brooks: You can always turn to your River Houses atlas and almanac for more information about any of our homeschool states-of-the-week. The almanac has detailed profiles of all the U.S. states and territories, and the endpapers of the atlas are indexes that will show you where all of the individual national and regional maps may be found. 📚

❡ Homeschool calendars: We have a whole collection of free, printable, educational homeschool calendars and planners available on our main River Houses calendar page. They will help you create a light and easy structure for your homeschool year. Give them a try today! 🗓️

❡ Support our work: If you enjoy our educational materials, please support us by starting your regular Amazon shopping from our very own homeschool teaching supplies page. When you click through from our page, any purchase you make earns us a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for helping us to keep going and growing! 🛒