What is Appalachian Mountains?
[[File:Appalachian Mountains of North America.jpg|thumb|upright=2|Appalachian Mountains of North America, which includes the Appalachian Highlands in the United States and the Appalachian Uplands of Canada (USGS and CGS definitions).]] The '''Appalachian Mountains''' ([[French language|French]]: les Appalaches) are a large group of [[North America]]n [[mountains]]. They are partly in [[Canada]] but mostly in the [[United States]]. They stretch {{convert|2050|mi|km|abbr=on}} southwestward from the Island of [[Newfoundland]], in Canada, to central [[Alabama]], in the [[United States]].{{efn|measured from Montgomery, Alabama which is at the southwestern end of the Coosa Valley, to Belle Island, Newfoundland and Labrador which is the northeastern-most extent of Newfoundland }} The individual mountains have an average height if around 3,000 [[foot (unit of length)|ft]] (900 [[metre|m]]). The highest is Mount Mitchel,l in [[North Carolina]] (6,684&nbsp;ft or 2,037&nbsp;m), which is also the highest point in the United States east of the [[Mississippi River]] and is the highest point in eastern [[North America]]. The Appalachians are a barrier to east–west travel. Ridgelines and valleys run north–south, and travelers must climb them again and again. Only a few [[mountain pass]]es run east–west. The [[Erie Canal]] was built through one of them. In most places, the Appalachians are the [[watershed]] between the [[drainage basin]]s of the Mississippi River and the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. [[File:Appalachians NC BLRI9242.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina]] The term '''Appalachia''' is used to refer to the mountain range and the hills and the [[plateau]] region around it. The term is often used to refer to areas in the central and the southern but not the northern Appalachian Mountains. Those areas usually include all of [[West Virginia]] and parts of the [[U.S. state|states]] of [[Kentucky]], [[Tennessee]], [[Virginia]], and [[North Carolina]] and sometimes extend as far south as northern [[Geo