The Appalachian temperate rainforest or Appalachian cloud forest is located in the southern Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States and is among the most biodiverse temperate regions in the world. Centered primarily around Southern Appalachian spruce–fir forests between southwestern Virginia and southwestern North Carolina, it has a cool, mild climate with highly variable temperature and precipitation patterns linked to elevation. The temperate rainforest as a whole has a mean annual temperature near 7 °C (45 °F) and annual precipitation exceeding 140 centimeters (55 in), though the highest peaks can reach more than 200 centimeters (79 in) and are frequently shrouded in fog.
Due to variable microclimates across different elevations, the rainforest is able to support both southern and northern species, including some which were forced south during the Last Ice Age. Dominated by evergreen spruce and fir forests at higher elevations and deciduous cove forests at lower elevations, the ecosystem contains thousands of plant species, including epiphytes, orchids, and numerous mosses and ferns. It is also home to many animals and fungi, including endangered and endemic species, reaching the highest diversities of mushrooms, salamanders, land snails, and millipedes in the world.