Great Smoky Mountains National Park - North Carolina, USA - 1000 Places to See Before You Die on Waymarking.com

Great Smoky Mountains National Park has 800 square miles, boasting 16 peaks that rise above 6,000 feet. This creates deep valleys and steep cliffs, providing a diversity of terrains and climates due to the quick altitude changes.

These valleys also caused the evaporation and transpiration of the forest's trees to cling to the mountains, creating a "smoke" that covers like fog. Thus, the Cherokee named the area "Shaconage" ("mountains of blue smoke") and the now aptly named park.

The tempurate changes also provide a diversity of trees and and flora. 120 tree species and 1,600 flowering plants offers visitors endless beauty.

The Blue Ridge Parkway will take you for a whirly, curvy tour of view after view after view, as the road winds along the climbs through the Smokey Mountains.

The Swag Country Inn sits at an elevation of 5,000 feet, claiming to be the highest country inn in the eastern US. Cabins here reflect the country nature of the woods, and even has its own hiking trailheads.

Name of Source Book: 1,000 Places to See Before You Die - A Traveler's Life List Page Location in Source Book: 690 Type of Waymark: Scenic, Trail/Route Location of Coordinates: Tennessee/North Carolina Line on US 441 Cost of Admission (Parks, Museums, etc.): 0.00 (listed in local currency) List Available Hours, Dates, Season: Because of the variety of flowering plants, the spring (May) covers the mountains in splashes of color. And the variety of trees makes October a leaf viewing heaven. Official Tourism Website: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
Because of the vastness of many of the "non-localized" sites (Gobi Desert, Great Wall of China), waymark owners are encouraged to allow visits that reflect different perspectives and experiences.
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