Sods is a term used in the Allegheny Mountains

Allegheny Mountains

The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...

 of eastern West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

 for a mountain top meadow

Meadow

A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...

 or bog

Bog

A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....

, in an area that is otherwise generally forested. The term is similar (perhaps identical) to that of a "grass bald", a more widespread designation applied throughout the central and southern Appalachian region

Appalachia

Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...

.

The best known example of a sods is Dolly Sods, a federally-designated wilderness area

National Wilderness Preservation System

The National Wilderness Preservation System of the United States protects federally managed land areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. It was established by the Wilderness Act upon the signature of President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 3, 1964...

 in Tucker County, West Virginia

Tucker County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,321 people, 3,052 households, and 2,121 families residing in the county. The population density was 18 people per square mile . There were 4,634 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile...

 and popular destination for recreationalists. Other examples include Nelson Sods

North Fork Mountain

North Fork Mountain is a quartzite-capped mountain ridge in the Ridge and Valley physiographic province of the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA...

 (Pendleton County

Pendleton County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,196 people, 3,350 households, and 2,355 families residing in the county. The population density was 12 people per square mile . There were 5,102 housing units at an average density of 7 per square mile...

) and Baker Sods (Randolph County

Randolph County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 28,262 people, 11,072 households, and 7,661 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile . There were 13,478 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...

).

Ecology

West Virginia University

West Virginia University

West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...

 botanist Earl L. Core addressed the origin of the "sods" in 1973:

How did it happen that these grassy tracts were originally [prior to white settlement] treeless, when all the surrounding areas were covered with trees? No one really knows. Although the "sods" and "balds" have been the subject of much speculation, discussion, and research, no generally-accepted explanation has yet been proposed for their existence. Perhaps there is not really any one cause; the treelessness may be the result of a complex situation which may vary from place to place. Factors suggested may be classified as natural or artificial. Among the natural have been listed climatic, edaphic (soil), topographic, biotic and pyric (fire).

The dominant grass is Allegheny flyback (Danthonia compressa)

Danthonia

Danthonia is a genus of grass species. Grasses of this genus are sometimes referred to as oatgrass, but that common name is not restricted to this genus.Species include:*Danthonia alpina Vest*Danthonia cachemyriana Jaub. & Spach...

, a grass so light in weight that it would "fly back" against the scythe of the mower.