Today, the Appalachian Mountains are one of the premier hiking destinations in the U.S. With incredible landscapes and dramatic peaks, it's easy to see why people love this scenic range. However, this beautiful range has a story that begins well before we humans began using it as a camping site.

About 340 million years ago, the Appalachian Mountains were as tall as the Himalayas.

The world looked very different back then than it does today. Continents that are currently separated by entire oceans were pressed up against each other. At the time, the Appalachian Mountains in modern North America connected the American Eastern Seaboard, the Scottish Highlands, and Morocco’s Atlas Mountains. Together, they formed what’s known as the Central Pangean Mountains.

They were part of Pangea, the

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