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#16580
01/24/2001 2:48 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 6
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 6 |
I am currently reading a book by Nevada Barr called "Deep South". In the story, she is a National Park Service ranger assigned to a new location in Mississippi. The area is called a "trace". Can any of you ecologists on board explain this term to me? I have never heard it applied to an area of land and wonder what exactly it defines?
I checked my own dictionary and there is nothing to relate it to topography at all. My own understanding of it seems to be that it is an ecologically sensitive area, trace meaning delicate/thin/fragile.
Thanks
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#16581
01/24/2001 3:40 PM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
In my boy scouting days some of the hikes we took were known as XXX Trace. I specifically remember the Tulip Tree Trace in southern Illinois or Kentucky.
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#16582
01/24/2001 3:47 PM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 544
addict
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addict
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 544 |
I believe it means a trail or path, and doesn't have a connotation of fragility . The example that comes to mind is the Natchez Trace, which was an early route of westward expansion in the US and is now a national park of some sort.
Just did a quick google on Natchez Trace - says its an old Indian trail from Nashville, Tennessee to Natchez, Mississippi.
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#16583
01/24/2001 4:13 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 6
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 6 |
And I answered my own question, as you were answering here probably! The Natchez Trace is what she describes in the book. However, she used it redundantly at times and called it the Trace trail. That's what confused me. I thought the Trace was an area. Trail trail just didn't make sense  Good book. I recommend it! She has also written "Firestorm" -- another good one!
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#16584
01/24/2001 4:35 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Dear ABC: I remember reading stories about early days in the south, when the routes taken by the pioneers and followed later by settlers were called "traces".My dictionary has definition supporting this.Perhaps it had something to do with the practice of cutting large pieces of bark called blazes off trees to mark the way. wwh
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#16585
01/24/2001 5:56 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289 |
I believe that trace is related to track, as you often see reference to the traces of animals, etc., clearly meaning their tracks.
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#16586
01/24/2001 6:37 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
'S'what I thought--here's what a site about the Natchez
Trace has:
"This historic route generally follows the old Indian trace, or trail, between Nashville, TN and Natchez, MS. Of the estimated 443 miles, 423 are completed as a parkway."
There are lots of Traces in KY.
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#16587
01/24/2001 11:07 PM
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891 |
Yup, we use trace to mean a trail or track.
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#16588
01/25/2001 6:17 AM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027 |
Just by way of confirmation: track and trace are both translated in German by "Spur", but the former sense is of interest to hunters, the latter to detectives.
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#16589
01/25/2001 5:00 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289 |
and no doubt the English word spoor is related to Spur.
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#16590
01/25/2001 5:59 PM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 130
member
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member
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 130 |
A coupe of observations...
Tracing anothers path through the wilderness. Looking for traces of past travellers to reinforce that you're on the right track. I'm guessing that a trace was an early track, navigated by one's wits. Before the track became an established route from A to B (or the unknown).
Nice word.
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