Clingmans Dome

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, which are a boon to the casual tourist, but do not make it a wilderness experience. The Environmental Protection Agency operates an air quality monitoring station on the summit, the second highest in eastern North America.

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 for Thomas Lanier Clingman (1812-1897), who extensively explored the area in the 1850's and spent many years thereafter promoting it and was also a lawyer, member of the U.S. Congress (House and Senate), and a brigadier general for the Confederate States of America, by compatriot Arnold Guyot. Guyot named the mountain for Clingman due to an argument between the U.S. Senator 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 put the dispute to rest when finding that Smoky Dome was 39 feet (12 m) shorter than Black Dome.

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.

Access

Clingman's Dome is the most easily accessible mountain top in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Open from March 1 through November 31 ^*, a seven mile road just past Newfound Gap leads up the mountain to a parking area just 1/2 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 7.5 miles to the tower, which offers the only opportunity to actually hike Clingman's Dome. The entire distance is above 5,000 ft (1,524 m), and is perfumed with the fragrant scent of spruce. This is also the only way to access the tower in the winter months, when the Clingman's Dome road is closed for the season.

Clingman's Dome is the base for several additional hiking trails, including the: Forney Ridge Trail (to Andrew's Bald); Forney Creek Trail (to Fontana Lake); and Silers Bald, via the Appalachian and Welch Ridge Trails.

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History

Geology

Access

See also