Georgia Natural Wonder #83 - Arabia Mountain. 1,085

[Top Row Dawg]

Georgia Natural Wonder #83 - Arabia Mountain

Arabia Mountain is the northern of two peaks in the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. A low saddle separates it from Bradley Mountain, several hundred feet to its south. The two form a monadnock. The peak is 955 feet above sea level, rising 172 feet above Arabia Lake reservoir. Bradley Mountain is closer to the visitor trails than Arabia Mountain and is often mis-identified by visitors as Arabia Mountain.


View at top.

Arabia Mountain is one of Metro Atlanta's three monadnocks, which also include Stone Mountain (GNW #7) and Panola Mountain (GNW #55). The unique topography and geology of this monadnock allows for unusual plant and animal species to thrive. Arabia Mountain has five species that are listed as both state and federally endangered, including the bright-red diamorpha plant that lives in small pools of water (known as vernal pools or solution pits) that form on the monadnock.


Red Diamorpha on Arabia Mountain

Panola Mountain is 3.63 miles to the southwest. While designated as one peak on USGS maps, most users familiar with the area consider the rock formation to be two peaks: Arabia Mountain to the northeast, and Bradley Mountain to the southeast, connected by a low saddle.


Cairn on Arabia Mountain.

Arabia Mountain appears to be composed of granite, like other nearby peaks such as Stone Mountain and Panola Mountain. Although made of metamorphic rock, the mountain is actually composed of migmatite, metamorphosed at higher temperatures than gneiss but not sufficiently melted to become granite. The resulting swirl pattern made the rock a popular building stone and many buildings in the region were constructed with stone quarried from the Lithonia district quarries.


Quarry 1910

Like Stone Mountain, Arabia Mountain was quarried for decades before the property was turned over to the DeKalb park system. Structures and excavations from the quarry operations can be seen throughout the park. The stone quarried from Arabia Mountain, officially called "Tidal Grey", was prized for its high structural density and compressive strength as well as its "swirl" pattern. Tidal Grey Arabia Mountain can be seen in the construction of buildings for the U.S. Naval Academy, the Brooklyn Bridge, and street curbing in Atlanta as well as many other Georgia cities.



Prior to 1880, the stone was hand quarried but starting in 1879, workers used drills, dynamite and air compressors to “raise a ledge” or sever a large block of stone from the mass. That allowed more control over the size of the stone and large stones could be used for dimensional or building construction. The proximity to the rail road meant that the Tidal Grey could be easily transported across the country.



Another advancement to the quarrying industry at Arabia Mountain was the discovery that adding granite grit to chicken feed helped with the birds’ digestion. The Davidson family, which owned several quarries in the area, became the largest supplier of poultry grit in the world. They claimed that the sparkling particles of mica in the Stonemo grit attracted the eye and helped the chicken’s gizzard break down food. The company was so successful in distributing their feed additive, a TIME Magazine article from 1941 reported the U.S. government allowed them to continue to operate during WWII in the name of national defense. In 1949, the Lithonia district produced nearly 1.5 million tons of granite valued at the time at $3 million.



Botany and endangered plants

The seemingly barren landscape of Arabia Mountain is teeming with plant life specially adapted to live in the mountain's harsh environment. Arabia Mountain is one of five locations in the US where black-spored quillwort are found.


Colony of Black-spored Quillwort in a granite pool on top of Arabia Mountain.

It is one of 44 locations in the US where little amphianthus is found.



These are endangered species protected by Georgia and Federal law. The largest and most important population of black-spored quillwort and one of the largest Amphianthus populations occur here. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's five-year review of these species, completed in 2008, states that "enforcement to protect sensitive areas needs improvement" in the Arabia Mountain area.



Arabia Mountain is one of a small number of locations in the southeastern United States where Small's stonecrop thrives (this plant is not listed as an endangered species in Georgia or the US, but is in Tennessee).


Stonecrop

When granite and similar stone outcrops are exposed to erosion, over time, small depressions, called solution pools, form where weaker rock wears away faster than surrounding rock (often assisted by lichen). Over time, these depressions fill with sand washed down from higher locations, which accumulates a small amount of organic content from decaying dead leaves and other detritus, as well as rain water. Small's stonecrop then takes hold in these sandy hollows.



Arabia Mountain Hike

Look for a split rail fence at the east end of the South parking lot. A trail head kiosk contains a one-page map produced by the Arabia Alliance, which also offers it in a download from its site in pdf format.


I guess I have only ever been on the G trail to the mountain top.

Cairns, tall cemented piles of rock, mark the trail in this rock-dominated landscape. Please protect Arabia’s unique ecology and stay on the cairn-marked trail: many tiny, fragile lichen and plants thrive on the mountain, and they crush easily underfoot.



The trail is mostly on solid rock with a few low areas where pine trees now grow. It is marked to the top of the first peak by knee-high circular cairns, then an unmarked trail circles Arabia Mountain. Bradley Mountain is designated as Arabia Mountain on the USGS maps, but we have chosen to use the Arabia Alliance names. Initially the trail is mostly level, through an area with many vernal pools (small indentations caused by erosion that hold water after a rain).



As the cairns make a sweeping curve to the right they pass a stunted growth pine forest on the left until the trail curves left at 0.2 miles, dips into a normally moist area then breaks out into full sun as it begins climbing to the top of Bradley Mountain. Note the interpretive sign talking about the omnipresent red moss (in season).



Small clusters of wind-swept trees and scattered clusters of wildflowers and grasses dot the rocky landscape. The mountain’s barren surface is weather-worn and wide open, with rutted channels left by millennia of water erosion and runoff.



Easily climbing the 140 feet to the top of Bradley Mountain, by the time you reach the halfway point it should be apparent why we love this trail. Like its neighbor to the north, the unimpeded 360 degree views are simply stunning.



Normally, you will be able to see black vultures circling in the air, but sometimes red-shouldered hawks and Coopers hawks can be spotted.



Hike the trail after a rain shower to see the barren granite mountaintop transform into a beautiful array of shallow, water-filled pools. These water-filled craters reflect the wide, open cloudscape above and feed moisture to the otherwise barren landscape of grasses and vibrant plant life on Arabia’s slopes.



Once at the top look for a major river valley to the south. Known as the South River, Archaic Indian villages here are the earliest evidence of man in the area. Later villages, including some from the Woodland Indian Era have been found within the nearly 2,000 acre Arabia Mountain Heritage Area. Later Creek Indian sites have also been discovered.



Facing Arabia Mountain from Bradley Mountain, look down at about the 10 o'clock position for a rock trail with trees on both sides. This will bring you to the hiking path through a small wooded area. If you can't see this, don't worry. Just head for the tree line and follow it to the right, looking for an interpretive sign similar to the red moss sign you noted at the start of the climb to Bradley Mountain.


Rock Trail.

A nearby path quickly leads to an old road at a four-way intersection. If you want to hike the Arabia Lake portion of the hike, turn left and cross Klondike Road.



Otherwise, turn right and walk out near an old quarry operation on Arabia Mountain. Two six-foot high ledges with sharp edges show the lasting work of the quarrymen.



The Lithonia gneiss was used extensively in Atlanta and beyond, as blocks, bricks and aggregate for the building industry.



Turn around and return to the four-way intersection, where you turn right and continue around the base of Arabia and Bradley Mountain. Walk 20 to 30 feet to the right of the tree line to find the paths through the occasional forested sections. A private lake, visible on the left should help orient you to the location on the map.



As you pass the top of Bradley Mountain on the right, watch for the cairns coming down the mountain, joining the trail at the interpretive sign.



Please stay near the cairns. This is a fragile environment.

Preservation

In the 1970s, the Davidson family donated over 500 acres including Arabia Mountain and surrounding lands to DeKalb County as a nature preserve for local residents to enjoy.



Since then, the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve has been expanded several times and now includes 2,550 acres, several granite outcrops and two lakes.



On October 12, 2006, the mountain and Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve were designated as nationally significant as a part of the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area in recognition of its cultural, historical and natural features.



Bicycle trail

The PATH Foundation has completed more than 30 miles of a 12-foot-wide concrete road for pedestrian and bicycle use running from downtown Lithonia to Stonecrest Mall and thence through the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve to Panola Mountain State Park, ending at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers.



This includes a spur to a parking area on Klondike Road and a spur to the DeKalb County School System's Murphey Candler Elementary School and Arabia Mountain High School.

Events

Arabia Mountain as a DeKalb County, Georgia park is free to visitors and open seven days a week from dawn to dusk.



Arabia, along with Stone Mountain and Panola Mountain, is also one of the mountains featured in the annual event, Monadnock Madness, which includes guided hikes of all three Metro-Atlanta monadnocks.



In addition to year-round guided hikes, the mountain also hosts arts events such as Monadnock Muse.



Top Row Dawg addendum......Arabia Mountain was pretty much abandoned back in the 1970's and 1980's when I was growing up. It was pretty raw with graffiti painted everywhere and broken glass from Red Neck beer parties at night. There was even talk of Devil Worship and Sacrifice at this one big pit on top.


Peace Pit now.

I could do tangents on DeKalb County or the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers. I am going to reserve them for future wonders in the area. Today’s GNW gals are brought to us by the Black Lips and Friends and their album, Arabia Mountain.

Shadows