- Great Smoky Mountains
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a range of the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee; most of the range is included in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 720 sq. mi. (1865 sq. km). Highest peak, Clingman's Dome, 6642 ft. (2024 m). Also called Smoky Mountains, Great Smokies.
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West range of the Appalachian Mountains in the U.S. It extends along the North Carolina–Tennessee boundary and blends into the Blue Ridge to the east.The highest part lies within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and includes Clingmans Dome, which at 6,643 ft (2,025 m) is the highest peak. Covered by forests, it was originally the domain of the Cherokee, and the area includes the Cherokee Indian Reservation and parts of the Pisgah and Cherokee national forests. The mountains form a popular resort area that includes part of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway.* * *
▪ mountains, North Carolina-Tennessee, United Stateswestern segment of the high Appalachian Mountains, U.S., lying between Asheville, western North Carolina, and Knoxville, eastern Tennessee, and blending into the Blue Ridge escarpment to the east. They are sometimes considered a division of the Unaka Mountains. The loftiest portion lies within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and includes Clingmans Dome (6,643 feet [2,025 m]; the highest point in Tennessee) and Mounts Guyot, Chapman, Collins, LeConte, and Kephart—all more than 6,000 feet (1,830 m). The mountains form a popular resort area that includes the national park, a segment of the Appalachian Trail (for hikers), and the Blue Ridge Parkway (a motor route). A transmountain highway crosses at Newfound Gap (5,046 feet [1,538 m]).Covered by forests, of which about 40 percent is virgin growth, the Great Smokies support an abundance of rhododendron, mountain laurel, wildflowers, and animal life. Originally the domain of the Cherokee Indians, the mountains embrace the Cherokee Indian Reservation and parts of the Pisgah and Cherokee national forests. They were explored in the mid-19th century by the geologists Thomas L. Clingman (a U.S. senator from North Carolina) and Arnold Guyot and were named for the haze characteristic of the region.* * *
Universalium. 2010.