The Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park in western North Carolina and Tennessee covers 520,269 acres of densely forested ranges in the Appalachian Mountains, including several of the highest peaks east of the Mississippi River. During the last ice age these highlands were a refuge for northern plant species displaced by the continental ice sheet, and the forests still retain a remnant of these, largely red spruce and Fraser fir, at higher elevations 5,000 feet. Several mountains within the park are more than 6,000 feet high; the highest is Clingmans Dome (6,643 feet).