The top of this drystone retaining wall runs level as the bottom rises along a slope. This wall features a mix of several varieties of sedimentary sandstone, mostly from Tennessee.

Granitic gneiss, a metamorphic stone, is common to the mountains of western North Carolina. The mountain building process compressed and twisted granite into this hard and sharp stone, much of which was quarried in Fletcher, North Carolina.

This wall features Corinthian granite mixed with locally quarried stone. The white granite upright is quarry waste from South Carolina. This is a mortared, freestanding structure built on a substantial footing. It hides a section of an unsightly interlocking block wall and frames the front entrance of an upscale Asheville home.

This low drystone retaining wall, here decked out in fresh snow, is built of a mixture of stones native to the North Carolina mountains. Drystone retaining walls last longer than their mortared cousins because they are flexible and they drain rainwater effectively.

This huge retaining wall is built of several varieties of stone, including white granite quarry scraps from South Carolina.

This drystone retaining wall is built of Maggie Valley fieldstone. The black and white layered cake look indicates gneiss.