The Limestone Oak - Hickory Forest is found in the southwest corner of the park. This area is in the Ridge and Valley ecoregion , whose bedrock originated as sedimentary rock deposited in shallow seas. These rocks, principally limestone and dolomite, are high in calcium carbonate, which contributes calcium to soil as it weathers. Calcium creates a fertile soil that supports plants such as chinquapin oak that require a lot of nutrients.

In contrast, most of the rest of the park is in the Blue Ridge ecoregion and is underlain by rock such as quartzite, metasiltstone, and other metamorphic rocks, which don’t contain as much calcium as limestone and dolomite.

The Limestone Oak - Hickory Forest is an illustration of the profound impact that underground bedrock geology can have on the combination of plant species you see at the surface.