Clingmans Dome
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Clingmans Dome | |
|---|---|
 Clingmans Dome, with Fraser Fir forest |
|
| Elevation | 6,643 feet (2,025 m) |
| Location | Sevier County, Tennessee and Swain County, North Carolina, USA |
| Range | Great Smoky Mountains |
| Prominence | 4,513 ft (1,376 m) [1] |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Topo map | USGS Clingmans Dome |
| First ascent | unknown |
| Easiest route | Drive along Clingmans Dome Road, then ascend 0.5 mile paved trail to summit. |
Clingmans Dome (or Clingman's Dome) is, at an elevation of 6,643 feet (2,025 metres), the highest point both in the state of Tennessee and along the Appalachian Trail.
It is located on the Tennessee and North Carolina state line, within the borders of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and is the tallest mountain in the park. A paved road, closed in winter (November through March), connects it to U.S. Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road) near Newfound Gap. A concrete observation tower was built on the site in 1959, offering a panoramic view of the mountains in each direction and helping to promote the site as a major tourist destination. The area is developed with picnic tables and running-water restrooms. The Environmental Protection Agency operates an air quality monitoring station on the summit, the second highest in eastern North America. Like most peaks in the Great Smoky Mountains, Clingmans Dome climbs prominently above the surrounding terrain, rising nearly 5,000 feet (1,525 meters) from base to summit.
Contents |
[edit] History
Reputedly known as "Kuwahi" (the mulberry place) by the Cherokee Indians, the mountain was originally dubbed "Smoky Dome" by local Scots-Irish inhabitants. In 1859, the mountain was henceforth renamed by Arnold Guyot for compatriot Thomas Lanier Clingman who extensively explored the area in the 1850s and spent many years thereafter promoting it. Guyot named the mountain for Clingman because of an argument between Clingman and a professor at the University of North Carolina, Elisha Mitchell, over which mountain was actually the highest in the region. Mitchell contended that a peak by the name of Black Dome (now known as Mount Mitchell) was the highest, while Clingman asserted that Smoky Dome was instead the true highest peak. Guyot determined that Smoky Dome was 39 feet (12 m) shorter than Black Dome.
[edit] Geology
Clingman's Dome, like the other mountains of the region, was created from fractured, faulted Precambrian rocks, overlayed with the ancient Ocoee Supergroup of partially metamorphosed sedimentary rock. The actual age of the mountains is somewhat speculatory, but they are among the oldest in the world, likely somewhere from 200-300 million years old.
[edit] Access
Clingman's Dome is the most easily accessible mountain top in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Open from April 1 through November 30 [2], a seven mile road just past Newfound Gap leads up the mountain to a parking area just ½ mile from the observation tower, at the top of the mountain. In addition to this, the short jaunt to the tower is paved, although steep, and provides public restrooms, garbage cans, and numerous benches to the side of the path. Though not quite the outdoor adventure, it does provide the casual visitor with an excellent glimpse of the often hostile environment of highland Appalachia, and the fifty-foot high observation tower allows spectators a 360 degree panorama of the surrounding mountains, on the infrequent occasion of a clear, sunny day. Cantilevered signs, hanging from the rails of the tower, point out the various peaks that can be viewed in the distance.
For the more hardy hiker, the Appalachian Trail also crosses Clingman's Dome, passing a very short distance behind the observation tower. The trail can be picked up from Newfound Gap and hiked for approximately 7½ miles to the tower, which offers the only opportunity to actually hike Clingman's Dome. This is also the only way to access the tower in the winter months. Clingman's Dome is the base for several additional hiking trails, including the: Forney Ridge Trail (to Andrews Bald); Forney Creek Trail (to Fontana Lake); and Silers Bald and Mount Collins, via the Appalachian Trail.
[edit] 1946 Aircraft Crash
In the early morning hours of June 12, 1946, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress crashed at the summit of Clingmans Dome, killing all twelve aboard.[1]
[edit] See also
|
|||||
[edit] References
- ^ Mayday! Mayday! Aircraft Crashes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park 1920-2000 by Jeff Wadley and Dwight McCarter
