[2] The region includes the Mountain Lake Biological Station that studies distinctive wildlife and ecology of the area.

[7] A tour through the cluster is obtained by continuing along Va 613 to the point where it begins to ascend Peters Mountain.

At this point, the road, called the Salt Sulphur Turnpike, deteriorates as it ascends Peters Mountain.

The area's diverse forests and freshwater ecosystems provide a home to these reptiles that have become adapted to cool highlands.

[16] The root system of blight-killed trees still produces sprouts but they do not get much larger than an inch in diameter before succumbing to the blight.

The province consists of a thick layer of sedimentary rock that has undergone folding and/or faulting to create a series of ridges and valleys.

During the sedimentation process fossils were formed leaving evidence of life existing millions of years ago.

Among the possibilities are the blocking of a stream by talus or slide-rock, a glacial cirque, a depression formed volcanic activity or the result of a meteoric impact.

[18] The lake is unique with its geology, hydrology, possession of a fault and colluvium, as well as high aquatic species diversity.

He observed that trees and shrubs were seen at considerable depth, attesting to the large fluctuations in lake level.

[18]: 11 Millions of years ago, the Mountain Lake area was a high valley draining to the southwest.

People built houses, opened farms and roads, elected officers and conducted a civil government without fear of Indian raids.

[24]: 44 Settlers continued to engage in small scale agriculture until 1892 when the Potts Valley Branch of the Norfolk and Western arrived.

The Forest Service has managed the land to minimize the effects of commercial operations, such as logging and mining, that would lead to environmental degradation.