The Great Smoky Mountains

Barbara and I have spent most of the past week exploring the Great Smoky Mountains. This is the most visited of all of the national parks. It welcomes approximately 9 million visitors a year. Last week we visited the two visitor centers in Tennessee to determine the best places to go. On Friday we drove the Cades Cove 11 mile loop. Today we drove up to Clingmans Dome and I hiked up to the top. This is the highest point in the state of Tennessee at 6,643 feet above sea level. Tomorrow I am going to hike to Laurel Falls. This is the highest waterfall in the park at 80 feet.

The Smoky Mountains are part of the Appalachians Mountain chain which began to rise approximately 300 million years ago due to the collision of the north American plate and the African plate. This was during the assemblage of the super continent, Pangea. It is believed that at their peak, the Appalachians Mountains were as tall as the modern day Rockies. However, after 300 million years of erosion they are barely what would be considered hills. They may be old but they are very beautiful. Take a look!