Reference
- Great Smoky Mountainspart of the Appalachian system, on the N.C.–Tenn. border; highest range E of the Mississippi and one of the oldest uplands on earth. The mountains are named for the smokelike haze that envelops them. More than 25 peaks rise over 6,000 ft (1,829 m); Clingmans Dome, 6,642 ft (2,024 m), and Mt. Guyot, 6,621 ft (2,018 m), the highest points in Tennessee, were named after geologists T. L. Clingman and Arnold Guyot, who explored the mountains in the late 1800s. The Great Smokies are noted for their many species of trees and a great variety of flowering plants. Nearly 40% of the forest is virgin growth. Black bears are among the most well-known of the many animals and birds in the Great Smokies. Although the region's coves and valleys have been settled since pioneer times, they remained isolated and inaccessible until the 20th cent., when loggers began harvesting the virgin forest and significant tourism led to development of the area, such as the construction of scenic auto and hiking roads and routes. Increased industrialization in the surrounding states and acid rain there have caused vegetation damage and resulted in environmental protection and awareness efforts. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (521,621 acres/211,183 hectares) straddles the crest of the Great Smokies for 71 mi (114 km). The park includes c.600 mi (965 km) of trails through luxuriant forests (the Appalachian Trail follows the crest) and many streams and waterfalls. A number of former farmsteads with log cabins and barns and a grist mill have been preserved. Several museums are there. The park was authorized in 1926 and established in 1930.
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Perspectives
A Natural History Guide to Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of America's most beautiful and popular national parks. Located in the southern Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina, it is home to more than 100,000 species of plants and animals. The grandeur and sheer scale of the park has been captured in Donald W. Linzey's new book, Natural History Guide to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is the most extensive volume available on the park's natural history. Written from the perspective of a naturalist who has spent over fifty years conducting research in the park, this volume not only discusses the park's plant and animal life but also explores the impact that civilization has played in altering the area's landscape. Linzey, who has been a major contributor to the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, a concentrated effort to identify every species of plant and animal living within the park, draws from this deep reservoir of research. His book provides a thorough overview of everything a visitor to the park would need to know, without complex jargon. Both casual readers and those more interested in the ecology of the Great Smoky Mountains will find this book an enlightening and educational guide. Donald W. Linzey, a wildlife biologist and ecologist, is professor of biology at Wytheville Community College in Wytheville, Virginia. He is an authority on the mammals of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and its environs.
The Great Smoky Mountains
The Great Smoky Mountains incorporate the highest mountains in the entire Appalachian system. They offer scenic beauty and an abundance of opportunities for outdoor recreation. This adventure guide to the area discusses hiking in the Chattahoochee National Forest, rafting down the rivers, going shopping for crafts, boating, fishing, horse riding, and whitewater sports. Each section of the book provides useful tips, as well as background on key cities, parks and forests. There is information on camping and accommodation, together with maps and photographs.
Wildflowers of Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains
Whether its skunk cabbage blooming in the late winter chill, columbine and phlox bursting with color in the summer heat, or witch hazel blossoms patiently waiting for the cool of late fall, the flowers of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky mountains put on a spectacular show for all but the coldest months of the year. Whether on a dayhike in Great Smoky Mountains National Park or winding through 469 miles of mountain beauty along the Blue Ridge Parkway, appreciating the wildflowers along the way, using Wildflowers of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains as your guide, adds a level of enjoyment that has no price.
Great Smoky Mountains Folklife
The Great Smoky Mountains, at the border of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, are among the highest peaks of the southern Appalachian chain. Although this area shares much with the cultural traditions of all southern Appalachia, the folklife here has been uniquely shaped by historical events, including the Cherokee Removal of the 1830s and the creation of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park a century later. This book surveying the rich folklife of this special place in the American South offers a view of the culture as it has been defined and changed by scholars, missionaries, the federal government, tourists, and people of the region themselves. Here is an overview of the history of a beautiful landscape, one that examines the character typified by its early settlers, by the displacement of the people, and by the manner in which the folklife was discovered and defined during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Here also is an examination of various folk traditio
Trial by Trail
Nine million visitors come to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park each year, but few, unfortunately, have time to enjoy fully the challenges and pleasures, the opportunities for reflection and inner growth, that the park's wild and beautiful backcountry offers. Trial by Trail chronicles the odyssey of one man who, over time, discovered the deeper riches to be found within the park's boundaries. In fourteen lively personal essays, Johnny Molloy describes the adventures by which he came of age as a backpacker. Born a "flatlander" in Memphis, he first visited the Smokies while attending the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in the 1980s. Initially, he treated the park as a personal playground - a place to cut loose, break rules, and act irresponsibly. After many hiking excursions, however, he gained a more profound appreciation of the mountains, becoming an avid park volunteer intent on the protection and improvement of the area. He grew, as he puts it, both as an outdoor adventurer and as a human being. Interwoven throughout these pieces is a wealth of Smoky Mountains lore and history along with dozens of tips for novice backpackers. Molloy's stories encompass backpacking during all four seasons as well as accounts of solo hiking, off-trail hiking, and whitewater canoeing.
Day and Overnight Hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
One of the richest expanses of undeveloped land in the Southeast, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park attracts more than 9 million visitors a year. Even so, most people experience only a few of the most popular trails in the area. Day & Overnight Hikes: Great Smoky Mountains National Park takes hikers off the beaten track to the more secluded rambles, from highland meadows and open vistas to pristine mountain streams and pioneer farms. Designed to fit easily into a back pocket, the revised and updated third edition guides hikers to over 40 day and overnight hikes that lead to sites of exceptional beauty and solitude. So get outside, enjoy some peace of mind, and discover the best the Smokies has to offer. Book jacket.
Smokey Mountains
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
Broken man Horace Kephart went to start over in the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee which were so isolated, he noted, that some didn't have names.
George Masa in the Smokey Mountains
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new windowA Japanese immigrant ended up in the Smokey Mountains, changed his name to George Masa and worked at a hotel. He opened a photography business, promoting the beauty of the mountains.
Great Smoky Mountains and Hot Springs
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Survey some of the attractions that make the Great Smoky Mountains America's most visited national park. Investigate a related geological structure in the famous Hot Springs National Park, discovering why there are hot springs so far from volcanic activity.
Online Resources
- Everything to know about Great Smoky Mountains National ParkStraddling the Tennessee-North Carolina border sits a national park of stunning biodiversity and epic hikes...
- Geology and Ecology of National Parks-Great Smoky MountainsGreat Smoky Mountains National Park is situated on over 800 square miles of the Southern Appalachians between Tennessee and North Carolina. The Great Smoky Mountains, and the entire Southern Appalachians Mountains of which they are a part, are rich in geologic history, biodiversity, and beauty.
- Great Smoky MountainsRidge upon ridge of forest straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. World renowned for its diversity of plant and animal life, the beauty of its ancient mountains, and the quality of its remnants of Southern Appalachian mountain culture, this is America's most visited national park...
- National Parks Foundation-Great Smoky MountainsA truly living mountain range, the Great Smoky Mountains are constantly re-inventing themselves as wind, water, and erosion continuously shape these ageless mountains. Wander the tranquil woods and hills to appreciate what your support can do to protect our nation’s beauty.
Great Smoky Mountains
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new windowTake a journey through the colorful seasons of Great Smoky Mountains National Park to reveal captivating life and growth beyond the lookouts.