Cassius CashW
Cassius Cash

Cassius Cash is currently serving as the 16th superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park encompassing the eponymous mountain range in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina.

Great Smoky Mountains National ParkW
Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an American national park in the southeastern United States, with parts in Tennessee and North Carolina. The park straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The park contains some of the highest mountains in eastern North America, including Clingmans Dome, Mount Guyot, and Mount Le Conte. The border between the two states runs northeast to southwest through the center of the park. The Appalachian Trail passes through the center of the park on its route from Georgia to Maine. With 12.5 million visitors in 2019, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the United States.

Abrams Falls TrailW
Abrams Falls Trail

The Abrams Falls Trail is an American hiking trail, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of Blount County, Tennessee. The trail runs parallel to Abrams Creek and passes Abrams Falls, one of the most voluminous waterfalls in the national park, before terminating at a junction with the Hatcher and Hannah Mountain trails.

Alum Cave TrailW
Alum Cave Trail

The Alum Cave Trail is an American hiking trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in Sevier County, Tennessee. The trail ascends Mount Le Conte, the sixth highest mountain east of the Mississippi River, and passes by many notable landmarks, such as Arch Rock, Inspiration Point, the Duckhawk Peaks, and Cliff Top, before merging with Rainbow Falls Trail near the summit.

Appalachian MountainsW
Appalachian Mountains

The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They once reached elevations similar to those of the Alps and the Rocky Mountains before experiencing natural erosion. The Appalachian chain is a barrier to east–west travel, as it forms a series of alternating ridgelines and valleys oriented in opposition to most highways and railroads running east–west.

Arrowmont School of Arts and CraftsW
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts is an Arts and Crafts center in the U.S. city of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The oldest craft school in Tennessee, Arrowmont offers workshops in arts and crafts such as painting, woodworking, drawing, glass, photography, basket weaving, ceramics, fiber arts, book arts and metalworking. The School has an 11-month Artists-in-Residence program for early career artists. Arrowmont's campus contains the oldest buildings in Gatlinburg and comprises two historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Boulevard TrailW
The Boulevard Trail

The Boulevard Trail is an American hiking trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in Sevier County, Tennessee. The trail ascends Mount Le Conte, the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi River and offers high-elevation views before terminating near the LeConte Lodge.

Bullhead TrailW
Bullhead Trail

The Bullhead Trail is an American hiking trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in Sevier County, Tennessee. The trail ascends Mount Le Conte, the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi River and offers outstanding views before joining the Rainbow Falls Trail before terminating near the LeConte Lodge.

Cataloochee (Great Smoky Mountains)W
Cataloochee (Great Smoky Mountains)

Cataloochee is a valley in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, located in the Southeastern United States. Now a recreational and historic area within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cataloochee was once home to a substantial Appalachian community and Cherokee hunting ground.

David C. ChapmanW
David C. Chapman

David Carpenter Chapman was an American soldier, politician, and business leader from Knoxville, Tennessee who led the effort to establish the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the 1920s and 1930s. Mount Chapman and Chapman Highway, are named in his honor.

Clingmans DomeW
Clingmans Dome

Clingmans Dome is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. At an elevation of 6,643 feet (2,025 m), it is the highest mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the highest point in the state of Tennessee, and the highest point along the 2,192-mile (3,528 km) Appalachian Trail. It is also the third highest point in mainland Eastern North America, after the nearby Mount Mitchell and Mount Craig.

Fontana LakeW
Fontana Lake

Fontana Lake is a reservoir impounded by Fontana Dam on the Little Tennessee River located in Graham and Swain counties in North Carolina. The lake forms part of the southern border of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the northern border of part of the Nantahala National Forest. Depending on water levels, the lake is about 17 miles (27 km) long. The eastern end is the Tuckasegee River near Bryson City. It has an average depth of 135 feet (41 m) and reaches a maximum depth of 440 feet (130 m), making it the deepest lake in North Carolina. The lake has many inlets into coves and many islands formed from former mountain peaks, especially near the eastern end. As with most dam-impounded lakes, the steep banks are exposed when water levels are low. Many towns were submerged shortly after the creation of Fontana Lake, such as Proctor and Judson.

Great Smoky Mountains Heritage CenterW
Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center

The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center is a private non-profit museum located in Townsend, Tennessee, United States, near the city's entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Its mission is to preserve the heritage and culture of the inhabitants of the Great Smoky Mountains, including both the region's Native American inhabitants and the pioneers and residents of the region's Appalachian communities. The center was organized in the early 2000s, and officially opened in February 2006.

2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfiresW
2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires

The 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires, also known as the Gatlinburg wildfires, were a complex of wildfires which began in late November 2016. Some of the towns most impacted were Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, both near Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The fires claimed at least 14 lives, injured 190, and is one of the largest natural disasters in the history of Tennessee.

Greenbrier (Great Smoky Mountains)W
Greenbrier (Great Smoky Mountains)

Greenbrier is a valley in the northern Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, located in the Southeastern United States. Now a recreational area, Greenbrier was once home to a string of Appalachian communities.

Hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National ParkW
Hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park located in a region of the Appalachian Mountains referred to as the Great Smoky Mountains, in a portion of east-central Tennessee and southwest North Carolina. With over 150 hiking trails extending for more than 850 miles (1,370 km), within its boundaries, including a seventy-mile segment of the Appalachian Trail, hiking is the most popular activity in the national park.

Ben W. HooperW
Ben W. Hooper

Ben Walter Hooper, was an American politician who served two terms as Governor of Tennessee from 1911 to 1915. Elected as a Fusionist candidate, he was one of just three Republicans to hold the office from the end of Reconstruction to the last quarter of the 20th century. His success was due to divisions in the state Democratic Party over prohibition; he received support from some of the party. During his two terms, Hooper signed several prohibition laws, enacted a measure requiring mandatory school attendance, and signed a law requiring direct pay for women workers.

January 2013 Southeastern United States floodsW
January 2013 Southeastern United States floods

The January 2013 Southeastern United States floods occurred from January 14 to 17, and resulted in mudslides and washouts throughout the southern Appalachian Mountains region. At the height of the flooding, 50 roads were declared impassable in Greene County, Tennessee alone. A similar storm system brought more flooding rain to the region from January 27 to 31.

Horace KephartW
Horace Kephart

Horace Sowers Kephart was an American travel writer and librarian, best known as the author of Our Southern Highlanders about his life in the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina and the classic outdoors guide Camping and Woodcraft.

Lakeview DriveW
Lakeview Drive

The Lakeview Drive is a 6.5-mile-long (10.5 km) road, split in two segments, located along the north shore of Fontana Lake, wholly within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The scenic road, which was never completed, features an unused road tunnel and connects to various hiking and horse riding trails in the area.

Little Pigeon River (Tennessee)W
Little Pigeon River (Tennessee)

The Little Pigeon River is a river located entirely within Sevier County, Tennessee. It rises from a series of streams which flow together on the dividing ridge between the states of Tennessee and North Carolina inside the boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The river is subdivided with three separate tributaries: East, Middle, and West.

Little River (Tennessee)W
Little River (Tennessee)

Little River is a 60-mile (97 km) river in Tennessee which drains a 380-square-mile (980 km2) area containing some of the most spectacular scenery in the southeastern United States. The first 18 miles (29 km) of the river are all located within the borders of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The remaining 42 miles (68 km) flow out of the mountains through Blount County to join the Tennessee River at Fort Loudon Lake in Knox County.

Little River Railroad (Tennessee)W
Little River Railroad (Tennessee)

The Little River Railroad is a historic class III railroad that operated between Maryville and Elkmont, Tennessee, during the period 1901 to 1939.

George MasaW
George Masa

George Masa, born Masahara Izuka, in Osaka, Japan, was a businessman and professional large-format photographer.

Newfound GapW
Newfound Gap

Newfound Gap is a mountain pass located near the center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States of America. Situated along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the state line crosses the gap, as does Newfound Gap Road. The Appalachian Trail also traverses the gap, as do a small number of other hiking trails.

Newfound GapW
Newfound Gap

Newfound Gap is a mountain pass located near the center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States of America. Situated along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the state line crosses the gap, as does Newfound Gap Road. The Appalachian Trail also traverses the gap, as do a small number of other hiking trails.

Overhill CherokeeW
Overhill Cherokee

Overhill Cherokee was the term for the Cherokee people located in their historic settlements in what is now the U.S. state of Tennessee in the Southeastern United States, on the west side of the Appalachian Mountains. This name was used by 18th-century European traders and explorers from British colonies along the Atlantic coast, as they had to cross the mountains to reach these settlements.

Rainbow Falls TrailW
Rainbow Falls Trail

The Rainbow Falls Trail is an American hiking trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in Sevier County, Tennessee. The trail ascends Mount Le Conte, the third tallest in the park mountain east of the Mississippi River, and passes Rainbow Falls before absorbing the Alum Cave Trail and terminating near the LeConte Lodge. REF USNPS and GSMNP

Southern Appalachian spruce–fir forestW
Southern Appalachian spruce–fir forest

The southern Appalachian spruce–fir forest is an ecoregion of the temperate coniferous forests biome, a type of montane coniferous forest that grows in the highest elevations in the southern Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States.

Spence FieldW
Spence Field

Spence Field is a mountain highland meadow in the Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. It has an elevation of 4,920 feet above sea level. The Appalachian Trail traverses the field, and a backcountry shelter just off the trail provides an overnight stopover for through-hikers.

The SugarlandsW
The Sugarlands

The Sugarlands is a valley in the north-central Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. Formerly home to a string of small Appalachian communities, the valley is now the location of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park headquarters and the Sugarlands Visitor Center. Lying just south of Gatlinburg, the Sugarlands is one of the park's most popular access points.

U.S. Route 441W
U.S. Route 441

U.S. Route 441 (US 441) is a 939-mile-long (1,511 km) auxiliary route of U.S. Route 41. It extends from US 41 in Miami, Florida to US 25W in Rocky Top, Tennessee. Between its termini, US 441 travels through the states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The highway acts as a connector between several major urban areas, including Miami, Orlando, Ocala, Gainesville, Athens, and Knoxville. It also crosses the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where it meets the southwestern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and where no trucks or other commercial traffic are allowed.

Wonderland HotelW
Wonderland Hotel

The Wonderland Hotel was a hotel built in 1911 at Elkmont, Sevier County, Tennessee by the Wonderland Club Company and was dismantled and partially preserved in 2005 by the National Park Service. It burned down in early 2016.