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| 1474 Tennessee / North Carolina - Map of Great Smoky Mountains National Park |
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Posted on 01.03.2015, 18.05.2015
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited national park in the United States, straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the Appalachian Mountain chain. The border between Tennessee and North Carolina runs northeast to southwest through the centerline of the park. Before the arrival of European settlers, the region was part of the homeland of the Cherokees. President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, beginning the process that resulted in the forced removal of all Indian tribes east of the Mississippi River. Many of the Cherokee left, but some hid out in the area that is now the park. Some of their descendants now live in the Qualla Boundary.
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| 1592 Tennessee / North Carolina - Great Smoky Mountains National Park |
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The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a major refuge of temperate zone flora and fauna that survived the Pleistocene glaciations. The park includes the largest remnant of the diverse Arcto-Tertiary geoflora era left in the world, and provides an indication of the appearance of late Pleistocene flora. It is large enough to allow the continuing biological evolution of this system, and its biological diversity exceeds that of other temperate-zone protected areas. The park is of exceptional beauty with virgin forest including the largest block of virgin red spruce remaining on earth. It is home to more than 3,500 plant species, including almost as many trees (130 natural species) as in all of Europe. Many endangered animal species are also found there, including what is probably the greatest variety of salamanders in the world.
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