Buffalo Mountain Natural Area Preserve
| Buffalo Mountain Natural Area Preserve | |
| Virginia Natural Area Preserve | |
 Near Buffalo Mountain's treeless summit | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Virginia |
| County | Floyd County |
| Coordinates | 36°47′45″N 80°28′37″W / 36.79583°N 80.47694°WCoordinates: 36°47′45″N 80°28′37″W / 36.79583°N 80.47694°W |
| Area | 1,140 acres (461 ha) |
| Owner | Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation |
  Location of Buffalo Mountain Natural Area Preserve in Virginia
| |
Buffalo Mountain Natural Area Preserve is a 1,140-acre (4.6 km2) Natural Area Preserve located in Floyd County, Virginia.[1]
The preserve covers the summit and slopes of Buffalo Mountain, a 3,960-foot (1,210 m) peak in southwest Virginia.[2] It is open to the public and includes a small parking area from which an approximately one-mile-long (1.6 km) trail may be traversed to reach the summit.[1]
The treeless summit is home to rare plant species including three-toothed cinquefoil and Rocky Mountain woodsia; other rare plants, such as bog bluegrass and large-leaved grass-of-Parnassus, are found at seeps along the mountain's base. In total, the preserve protects thirteen rare plant occurrences, three rare animal occurrences, and six significant natural communities.[1] Buffalo Mountain is also the only place in the world where the mealybug Puto kosztarabi is known to live.[3]
References
- 1 2 3 "Buffalo Mountain Natural Area Preserve". Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
- ↑ "Buffalo Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
- ↑ Miller, Douglass R.; Miller, Gary L. (October 30, 1993). "A new species of Puto and a preliminary analysis of the phylogenetic position of the Puto group within the Coccoidea (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae)" (PDF). Jeffersonia (4): 9. ISSN 1061-1878. Retrieved July 3, 2016.