Shenandoah National Park Wildlife Nature Study at Shenandoah Several biologically diverse environments lie within Shenandoah National Park. Though heavily settled, there are stands of old growth forest in places like Limberlost, where huge hemlocks stand together, shading dark woods. Other areas, like Big Meadows, are wide open, thanks to both Indians and settlers who roamed this location. Here is a high country wetland, with unique flora and fauna. The power of floods is demonstrated on Moormans River, on its long-term recovery from a 1995 flood.
Wildflowers are abundant on many trails, coursing through fertile valleys.
On rocky ridges, white quartz outcrops reveal the underlying story in rock, that makes the mountains of Shenandoah. The following destinations will help you understand the nature of this national park. Enter a woodland of 350-400 year old hemlocks. This is the largest area of old growth forest in the park, which was preserved by a fellow named George Pollack. He named the area Limberlost after a forest described in a novel by Gene Porter, entitled Girl of the Limberlost.