View North from Glassy Mountain - Pickens County, SC by Mosley Hardy

Canon Powershot G9

The Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve was acquired on May 8, 1990. The Preserve covers 65 acres and is located near Pickens, South Carolina. One of only a few Piedmont Monadnocks in South Carolina, this unusual land form provides a spectacular view and harbors several rare plant species.

Glassy Mountain is a relatively undisturbed Piedmont Monadnock (an isolated mountain in the Piedmont). This type of landform is rare in South Carolina. Glassy Mountain's north face has extensive bare rock areas with steep inclines that drop nearly 400 feet in places. Granitic dome plant communities with associated plants (Yucca, Crotonopsis, and Talinum) occur there. A regionally threatened plant, thousand-leaf groundsel (Packera millefolium) also grows on the dome. The rare landform, plant community, and plant types make Glassy Mountain a worth-while addition to the state's Heritage Preserve system.

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