Great Smoky Mountains

The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains.The Great Smokies are best known as the home of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which with over 9 million visits per year, it is the most-visited national park in the United States.

The Great Smokies are part of an International Biosphere Reserve and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The range is home to an estimated 187,000 acres (76,000 ha) of old growth forest, constituting the largest such stand east of the Mississippi River.The cove hardwood forests in the range’s lower elevations are among the most diverse ecosystems in North America, and the Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest that coats the range’s upper elevations is the largest of its kind. The Great Smokies are also home to the densest black bear population in the Eastern United States and the most diverse salamander population outside of the tropics.