Prior to the arrival of European American settlers and explorers, the Allegheny Mountain Range of the Appalachian Mountains was overlaid with old-growth forests consisting predominantly of deciduous hardwood trees, which were characterized by individual trees of enormous size and girth. The American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) was one of the species of trees that proliferated throughout these old-growth forests. American sycamores can grow at least in height and the species is distributed throughout the Eastern United States. It usually thrives in moist soils along streams, especially in sandy loam soils. American sycamores are a dominant species in bottomland and riparian forests. The species is present throughout every county in West Virginia, and is most abundant along the state's streams.