They consist primarily of metamorphic gneiss, granite, and schist. Don't miss the opportunity to check out this mountain-themed, world-class family indoor/outdoor water park, which is ideally located at Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort & Water Park in Gatlinburg. Other reptiles include the eastern box turtle, the eastern fence lizard, the black rat snake, and the northern water snake. Encompassing over 800 square miles in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, no other area of equal size in a temperate climate can match Great Smoky Mountains National Park in number and variety of animals, plants, fungi, and other organisms. Owl species residing in the Smokies include the barred owl, eastern screech-owl, and northern saw-whet owl. 107 Park Headquarters Road Kate re-avowed her scorn and disapproval about Betsy Bells upcoming marriage, says Fitzhugh. So are the Moon-Eyed People another Appalachian Mountain scary story, or just early European settlers who never received their due credit? The land for Great Smoky Mountains National Park was acquired in large part through small-scale grassroots fundraising rather than donations from wealthy stakeholders, despite much of the area already being broken up into small family farms and parcels earmarked by loggers. Unlike other Appalachian monsters, the Moon-Eyed People were considered to be a distinctively separate race of people, rather than supernatural beings. In the Late Precambrian period, this ocean expanded, and the more recent Ocoee Supergroup rocks formed from accumulations of the eroding land mass onto the ocean's continental shelf. The Great Smoky Mountains stretch from the Pigeon River in the northeast to the Little Tennessee River in the southeast. Smith of Gate City, Virginia, is co-founder of the Blue Ridge Monsters and Legends Facebook Group where members come to share their stories of unexplained encounters with the hairy bi-pedal. When Smith was a boy, he says he had his own run-in with Bigfoot. The event made local and national news, and even prompted an official U.S. Air Force inquiry! The soapstone statue is 37-inches tall and weighs 300 pounds. For an inexpensive vacation, the Smokies are hard to beat. [82][83][84], Innovations in logging railroads and band saw technology in the late 19th century made large-scale logging possible in the mountainous areas of Southern Appalachia. One such account came from volunteer firefighters Captain Paul Yoder and Benjamin Enochs. Mixed oak-pine forests are found on dry ridges, especially on the south-facing North Carolina side of the range. [49], Two other speciesthe southern gray-cheeked salamander and the Southern Appalachian salamanderoccur only in the general region. The beech trees are often twisted and contorted by the high winds that occur in these gaps. One notable Civil War incident in the Smokies was the murder of long-time Cades Cove resident Russell Gregory (for whom Gregory Bald is named), which was carried out by bushwhackers in 1864 shortly after Gregory had led an ambush that routed a band of Confederates seeking to wreak havoc in the cove. However you choose to explore the Smokies, you can visit the well-preserved log cabins, grist mills and one-room school houses built by early settlers to the area. The larger rainbow and brown trout outcompete the native brook trout for food and habitat at lower elevations. If you want to spend some time exploring the Smokies without camping or renting a cabin, there are numerous RV rental companies in Knoxville, Gatlinburg, and Pigeon Forge the later being two towns that are unofficial gateways to the Smokies and home to attractions like Dollywood. Wolf packs do not roam this region due to extirpation. In the middle of the night, a brilliant flash of light burst into the cabin and knocked Trulie Jane right out of bed. Skeptics accused the Bell family of doing it by knowing how to act and using ventriloquism. You may also like:National and state parks are reopening in the US in phases - heres what we know7 reasons staycations are going to be our saviour in 2020This corner of northeastern Utah is the wilderness only locals know about, This article was first published August 2018 and updated May 2020. To punish him, the witch set her sights on the man, giving him a beating that had Jacksons men begging to leave. As head of the Great Smoky Mountains Park Commission, Chapman was largely responsible for raising funds for land purchases and coordinating park efforts between local, state, and federal entities.[90]. [12] These mountain wave winds are strongest in a narrow area along the foothills, and can create extensive areas of fallen trees and roof damage, especially around Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Camp Creek community. Dont let a pregnant woman see a dead person or the baby will have a birth mark. But what makes the legend so shocking is that it dates back hundreds of years before Christopher Columbus discovered America. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Otter. Basil pledged to follow Maviss wishes. The lights, claim the legend, are the ghosts of grieving women still searching the mountainside for the bodies of fallen warriors. These colorful stories may not stick strictly to the facts, but they are always entertaining! All hosted affiliate links follow our editorial & privacy policies. Three days later, two young couples were driving together near an abandoned World War II TNT plant about five miles north of Point Pleasant when they saw a large flying man with 10-foot wings, and eyes that glowed red. They tried to flee the unidentified animal, speeding down the road at a reported 100 miles per hour, but the creature followed them back to Point Pleasant city limits. There's plenty to see and do in the park! [28] About 28,600 acres (116km2) of the northern hardwood forest are old-growth. Known around the world as Sasquatch or Yeti and locally as Wood Booger or Boojum, Bigfoot is an ape-like creature that conceals itself in the deep, dark forest, leaving behind footprints so large they could not belong to any man. The Pardo expedition followed a trail across the flanks of Chilhowee Mountain to the Mississippian-period villages at Chilhowee and Citico (Pardo's notary called them by their Muskogean names, "Chalahume" and "Satapo"). The Great Smokies are also home to over 450 species of non-vascular plants, and 2,000 species of fungi.[21][22]. The results are predictions of where the species might likely be found in the park. Today. As with much of the southern Blue Ridge, the area qualifies as part of the Appalachian Rainforest. After Johnston experienced the spirit first-hand, word quickly began to spread. Nevertheless, the soldiers sighting of a booger gave the town its memorable name. The name was also used for a mythical creature in J.K. Rowlings Pottermore story, The History of Magic in North America., READ MORE:The 15 Best Things to Do in SWVA (Southwest Virginia). Pinterest. Visibility now is dramatically reduced by smog from both the Southeastern United States and the Midwest, and smog forecasts are prepared daily by the Environmental Protection Agency for both nearby Knoxville, Tennessee and Asheville, North Carolina. READ MORE: The 7 Best Caves & Caverns in North Carolina. [51] The legendary hellbender inhabits the range's swifter streams. [68], The Cherokee Middle towns included the village of Kittowa (which the Cherokee believed to be their oldest village) along the Tuckasegee River near Bryson City. The Bell Witch (who is thought to be a woman named Kate Batts) was supposedly cheated in a land purchase by John Bell, the patriarch of the Bell family. The park also has some matchless scenic drives, including ridgeline roads where you can gaze out at the seemingly endless expanse of undulating peaks. Legend tells of a brutal battle betweenCherokee and Catawba warriorson Brown Mountain,which left many dead on the battlefield. Jerry Crew, a logging company employee, discovered a set of extra-large footprints in Six Rivers National Forest. From ancient mountain ranges and remote islands to historic forts, Virginia's national parks call out to modern-day explorers. Mount Le Conte is the tallest (i.e., from immediate base to summit) mountain in the range, rising 5,301 feet (1,616m) from its base in Gatlinburg to its 6,593-foot (2,010m) summit. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains and the name is commonly shortened to the Smokies. The herbaceous and litter layers of the spruce-fir forests are poorly lit year-round, and are thus dominated by shade-tolerant plants such as ferns, namely mountain wood fern and northern lady fern, and over 280 species of mosses.[32]. Last but not least, the Blue Ridge Parkways southern terminus links the Smokies to Shenandoah, in case you want to get the most out of your national parks pass. Some of the red spruce trees in the Smokies are believed to be 300 years old, and the tallest rise to over 100 feet (30m). Have you ever stopped yourself before walking under a ladder? The main gateways to Great Smoky Mountains are the Sugarlands Visitor Center, near Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and the Oconaluftee Visitor Center near Cherokee, North Carolina. Plan your visit today! Salamanders hear through their feet! And while the areas bears and fireflies get most of the publicity, the Cataloochee Valley is a prime spot to see elk, reintroduced to the Smokies back in 2001. Camp under the stars. If youve spent any time in the Smoky Mountains, youve likely heard a tall tale or two. [61][62], Most of these villages were part of a minor chiefdom centered on a large village known as Chiaha, which was located on an island now submerged by Douglas Lake. Appalachian culture is known for superstitions and legends like these. Other major streams include Hazel Creek and Eagle Creek in the southwest, Raven Fork near Oconaluftee, Cosby Creek near Cosby, and Roaring Fork near Gatlinburg. For the canoeing crowd, Fontana Lake - in Bryson, North Carolina - is loaded with turns without rocky hindrances. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. The Mesozoic era saw the rapid erosion of the softer sedimentary rocks from the new mountains, re-exposing the older Ocoee Supergroup formations. Prior to the 20th century, Bigfoot was known by names like Sasquatch (a Salish word meaning wild-men) or Yeti (in Himalayan folklore). Another unique quality of the Smokys development was that it was one of the first parks designed with cars in mind. And there are many places in the park that can send a chill down your spine if you're in wrong place at the wrong time. Eat black eyed peas or collard greens with hog jaw on New Years Day. [54], The lightning-bug firefly Photinus carolinus, whose synchronized flashing light displays occur in mid-June, is native to the Smoky Mountains with a population epicenter near Elkmont, Tennessee. Whether a small, blue-eyed race of sun-blind white men once inhabited the Blue Ridge long before the Europeans are known to have discovered America remains unknown, but the legend continues to live on. After John Bells death, things began to return to normal on the Bell farm until Betsy Bell, the Bells youngest daughter, became engaged to a local man named Joshua Gardner. [3], In the Smokies, the northern hardwood canopies are dominated by yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) and American beech (Fagus grandifolia). Want to know where to go to see fall in all its finery? Wild Bear Falls Water Park - Gatlinburg. Biological diversity, or 'biodiversity', means the number and variety of different types of animals, plants, fungi, and other organisms in a location or habitat. [45], Timber rattlesnakesone of two venomous snake species in the Smokiesare found at all elevations in the range. As the legend goes, the Moon-Eyed People eventually abandoned their homeor were driven from itand traveled west, never to be seen again. Smith says that what makes the Flatwoods Monster so interesting is that there werent many UFO sightings back in the 1950s. The Wampus Cat (a.k.a. The highest point in the Smokies is Clingmans Dome, the tallest mountain in Tennessee, which rises to an elevation of 6,643 feet (2,025m). One reason is because they are standing, not sitting or kneeling. Ancient physicians erroneously thought the tooth-like projections on the white rhizome of the Toothwort meant that it could cure a toothache. Feel the cool spray of a waterfall. If your nose is itching, it means company is coming. The orange- to sometimes red-flowered and deciduous flame azalea closely follows along with the Catawbas. If a bad storm is coming, put a 2-edged axe into a stump facing the storm to ensure the storm goes around you. In the Smokies, the average annual rainfall varies from approximately 55 inches in the valleys to over 85 inches on some peaks. [53], Fish inhabiting the streams of the Smokies include trout, lamprey, darter, shiner, bass, and sucker. Lonely Planets Great Smoky Mountains National Park is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. When they arrived at the site of the lights crash, they saw a pulsing red light and a 10-foot-tall creature with twisted hands and a glowing green face that seemed to levitate off the ground.