Pleistocene glaciation in the blue ridge province, southern appalachian mountains, north Carolina.

Glacial polish, grooves, and striations discovered at an elevation of 1370 meters in the headwaters of Boone Fork on Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina, indicate the former, existence of alpine glaciation at a latitude of 36 degrees 07'N. The Boone Fork glacier was located 890 kilometers south of the previously recognized southern limit of alpine glaciation in the Appalachian Mountains, and 350 kilometers southeast of the nearest point on the Laurentide ice sheet. This find has significant implications for studies of Pleistocene geomorphology, paleobiology, and paleoclimatology in the eastern United States.