Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Newfound Gap
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trailhound1
N 35° 36.644 W 083° 25.478
17S E 280383 N 3943481
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a major North American refuge of temperate zone flora and fauna with exceptional natural beauty with undisturbed, virgin forest including the largest block of virgin red spruce remaining on earth.
Waymark Code: WMAZVH
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 03/17/2011
Views: 44
Inscription:
THROUGH THE COLLECTIVE RECOGNITION OF THE COMMUNITY OF NATIONS
EXPRESSED WITHIN THE PRINCIPLES OF THE
CONVENTION CONCERNING PROTECTION OF THE WORLD
CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
HAS BEEN DESIGNATED A
WORLD HERITAGE SIRE
AND JOINS A SELECT LIST OF PROTECTED AREAS
AROUND THE WORLD WHOSES OUTSTANDING NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES
FORM THE COMMON INHERITANCE OF ALL MANKIND
DECEMBER 6, 1983
Stretching over more than 200,000 ha, this exceptionally beautiful park is home to more than 3,500 plant species, including almost as many trees (130 natural species) as in all of Europe. Many endangered animal species are also found there, including what is probably the greatest variety of salamanders in the world. Since the park is relatively untouched, it gives an idea of temperate flora before the influence of humankind. This World Heritage site includes the counties of Cocke, Blount, and Sevier in the State of Tennessee; and the counties of Swain and Haywood in the state of North Carolina.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most important natural area in the eastern United States and is of world importance as an example of temperate deciduous hardwood forest. It is large enough to allow the continuing biological evolution of this natural system, and its biological diversity exceeds that of other temperate-zone protected areas of comparable size.
Heavy precipitation and numerous streams make the mountains ideal for a wide variety of amphibian species; the park also contains a diversity of invertebrates, over 70 species of native fish, spiders, insects and other arthropods, and over 100 species of caddisfly and stonefly.
Archaeological sites support the theory that prehistoric people (15,000 years ago) were hunters and gatherers. The park contains evidence of four pre-Columbian Indian cultures: Mississippian, Woodland, Archaic and palaeo-Indian.
Ciriteria for selection as a World Heritage Site:
vii) The site is of exceptional natural beauty with scenic vistas of characteristic mist-shrouded (“smoky”) mountains, vast stretches of virgin timber, and clear running streams.
(viii) Great Smoky Mountains National Park is of world importance as the outstanding example of the diverse Arcto-Tertiary geoflora era, providing an indication of what the late Pleistocene flora looked like before recent human impacts.
(ix) The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the largest remaining remnants of the diverse Arcto-Tertiary geoflora era in the world. It is large enough to be a significant example of continuing biological evolution of this natural system.
(x) The Great Smoky Mountains is of the one of the most ecologically rich and diverse temperate zone protected areas in the world. There are over 1300 native vascular plant species, including 105 native tree species, plus nearly 500 species of non-vascular plants - a level of floristic diversity that rivals or exceeds other temperate zone protected areas of similar size. The park is also home to the world’s greatest diversity of salamander species (31) - an important indicator of overall ecosystem health - and is the center of diversity for lungless salamanders, with 24 species.
Type: Natural
Reference number: 259
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