Moonshine, hillbillies, and a unique dialect are what come to mind when most people think of the Appalachian Mountains and the Appalachian people in the eastern United States. Long identified by the population and commerce present in the area, the Appalachians also represent an interesting geological feature. Running north to south, the Appalachian Mountain Range is one of the oldest mountain ranges on planet Earth. Beginning to form nearly a billion years ago, the Appalachian Range extends from Alabama to Newfoundland. This article will discuss the formation of the mountain range in the Paleozoic era. The different geological features and patterns found in the northern and southern areas of the range. Finally, the people of Appalachia, a unique ecosystem and precious resources present in the region. The Appalachian Mountains offer a unique place to study geological features and processes. The Appalachian Mountains are one of the oldest mountain ranges on Earth. The Appalachians were formed during a series of mountain-building events that occurred during the Paleozoic era. The first was even the formation of the Grenville Mountains during the formation of the supercontinent Rodinia (Jamestown). The Grenville Mountains were heavily eroded and became the foundation of the first Appalachians. About 450 million years ago, uplift and folding created the Taconic Mountain Range that would later become the Northern Appalachian Mountains. Ongoing collisions continued to create mountains to the north in present-day Canada and to the south, the southern Appalachian Mountains and to the southwest, the Ozark Plateau and mountain range. The last mountain-building event occurred 300 million years ago during the collision of the plates that formed the supercontinent Pangea....... center of map...... mountains and New England - Visitor information of Jamestown RI." Geological History of Jamestown, Rhode Island. Jamestown RI - Rhode Island Visitor Information, nd Web. April 20, 2014.Clark, Sandra HB "Birth of Moutains." Marianne. "Good Gas, Bad Gas." National Geographic, December 2012. Web. 20 April 2014. Lew, Alan A. “The Eastern Highlands: USA.” 2014. Martin, M. and Elizabeth Knowles. “Appalachians.” 2014. Pickering, John, Roland Kays, Albert Meier, Susan Andrew, and Kay Yatskievych. “Appalachian Mountains Wilderness – The Last Wild Places on Earth (2002): Web 20 April 2014, Yan, Sophia 2010. Web. 20 April. 2014.