Cove Forest

Cove Forest is a living recreation of a Southern Appalachian mountain forest, complete with native salamanders, turtles, and songbirds in a lush, humid environment. The exhibit begins River Journey's story at the headwaters, where clean mountain springs feed the streams that eventually become great rivers.

The Southern Appalachian mountains harbor extraordinary biodiversity, including the world's greatest diversity of salamanders. These ancient forests are threatened by development, air pollution, invasive pests like the hemlock woolly adelgid, and climate change that is shifting species ranges upslope.