GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS Our 61st Park in our 24th State

A Wondrous Diversity of Life

Ridge upon ridge of forest straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. World renowned for its diversity of plant and animal life, the beauty of its ancient mountains, and the quality of its remnants of Southern Appalachian mountain culture, this is America's most visited national park.

 The Cherokee described these mountains as "shaconage" meaning "blue, like smoke."

No place this size in temperate climate can match the Great Smoky Mountains National Park's variety of plant and animal species.  Here are more tree species than in northern Europe, 1,500 flowering plants, dozens of native fish, and over 200 species of birds and 60 mammals.