the watershed contains nationally significant forests, with some of the highest biological diversity east of the mississippi river and rivaling that of the great smoky mountains. it has significant areas of temperate deciduous forest as well as longleaf pine landscapes and flatwoods. flooded areas have significant tracts of floodplain forest. all of these southeastern forest types were devastated by logging between 1880 and 1920, and the apalachiola contains some of the finest remaining examples of old growth forest in the southeast. the endangered tree species florida torreya is endemic to the region; it clings to forested slopes and bluffs in torreya state park along the east bank of the river. the highest point within the watershed is blood mountain at , near the headwaters of the chattahoochee river.