Lone Mountain State Forest and Lamance Falls
Pine beetles have killed a lot of trees in the forest. This is the inside of a piece of bark from a dead tree. The tiny bark beetles burrow into the bark of a live pine tree and lay their eggs in little grooves. The larvae eat the cambium cells under the bark, which kills the tree. These marks are made from the larvae.
On the evening of November 10, 2002 a devastating F3 tornado roared down from Lone Mountain severely damaging or completely destroying many homes and businesses in Mossy Grove. Several lives were lost to the freak storm. It is quite rare for tornadoes to hit in the mountains of East Tennessee; people will no longer feel protected by their beautiful mountains. These trees show the beginning of the storm's devastating path.
. The falls are down a very rough backroad, a vehicle with high clearance or 4-wheel drive is recommended. We had last been to this waterfall in 1982, with our then 2-year old son. I was in awe of the waterfall, but a nervous wreck having an active toddler in that area! I would love to know the story behind how that huge rock downstream ended up standing in a vertical position! It must have been one heck of a flood to move it from the top of the falls!