Few places in North America sustain a greater variety of life than the Great Smoky Mountains. Its forests, streams, and meadows support more than 100 types of native trees, some 50 kinds of fish, some 1,500 flowering plants, more than 240 bird species, and mammals including black bear, squirrel, and gray fox. This abundance reflects the region’s topography and climate: varying elevations create countless combinations of moisture, temperature, wind, sunlight, and soil types. As a result, most plant species of eastern North America can find a niche among the slopes and coves of the Smokies, and some plants and animals found there occur nowhere else.