Shenandoah, Virginia is part of the mid-Appalachian region and thus shares the ecological characteristics of the Mid-Atlantic woodland area. Shenandoah's rich tapestry of ecosystems connect a systems of hillsides and elevations of the Appalachian mountains, delicately concocted mixtures soils, a patchwork of grasslands and a network of waterways that race and pool throughout the region. Though not identical, other global ecosystems possess some of the same elements as those that make Shenandoah so vital.
Shenandoah is made of vast forests, thanks mostly to the 79,579 acre Shenandoah National Park, 95 percent of which is covered in forest. The forest is predominantly made up of yellow poplar, grove hardwoods, maple, beech, birch and several types of oak - all species that thrive in a consistently moist environment. As part of the Eastern Forests network, Shenandoah share the same ecosystem characteristics with Maine, the Adirondacks in New York, the Mississippi River and parts of Florida.
Though the mountains of Shenandoah once resembled those of the Andes or Himalayas 300 million years ago, the peaks have eroded to reveal what is the now the Blue Ridge Mountain section of the Appalachians. The ecosystem of the mountains is characterized by Igneous and metamorphic rocks, ancient lava flows and quartz sandstone, Eastern forests and an abundance of larger animal species, such as whitetail deer, black bear, timber wolf and cougar. Shenandoah's mountains are characteristically close to New York's Catskills, The Ouachita Mountains in Arkansas and Oklahoma, as well as Chic-Choc Mountains and Notre Dame Range in Eastern Canada.
The most prominent water feature of Shenandoah is the Shenandoah River, though a legion of streams, ponds and watersheds gather runoff from precipitation. Shenandoah's waterways support deciduous trees, many species of seaweeds, mosses and algae. Animals include thousands of freshwater fish species, frogs, salamanders, snakes (including the Eastern rattlesnake), turtles, squirrels, mice, bats, foxes and rabbits. This waterway ecosystem is a close match to that surrounding North America's Great Lakes, interior areas of Washington state, the waterways within Germany's Eifel National Park and the Ticino Canton area of Switzerland.
The soil in Shenandoah typically remains moist throughout the year due to consistent (not constant) precipitation, high organic soil content and the protective coverage offered by the dense forest canopy. Shenandoah is classified as predominantly Ultisols (red clay soil) and sub-classified as Udults (older and more moist). Other ecosystems that produce these soil conditions are found around the Panama canal, throughout most of Indonesia and the entire Eastern coast of Australia.
