Something astonishing to see are the lands that make up what is now Talladega National Forest. When the United States bought those lands they were completely devastated by poor logging and poor farming techniques and most of that land looked like something out of the duct bowl in Oklahoma. Difficult to imagine looking at it now, but it was bad. The land was virtually worthless for anything.

Some other interesting pictures to search for is the landscape around Chattanooga after the "Battle Above the Clouds" on Lookout Mountain.