Currahee Mountain

Currahee Mountain

Currahee Mountain
Elevation 1,735 ft (529 m) NAVD 88[1]
Location
Location Stephens County, Georgia, U.S.
Range Blue Ridge Mountains
Coordinates 34°31′45.21″N 83°22′33.18″W / 34.5292250°N 83.3758833°WCoordinates: 34°31′45.21″N 83°22′33.18″W / 34.5292250°N 83.3758833°W[1]
Topo map USGS Ayersville 34083-E

Currahee Mountain is a mountain located in Stephens County, Georgia near Toccoa. The name appears to be derived from the Cherokee word ᏊᏩᎯ (quu-wa-hi) meaning "stand alone."[2][3] Technically a part of the Georgia Piedmont or "foothill" province, Currahee Mountain rises abruptly about 800 vertical feet (240 m) above the local topography and is the highest peak in Stephens County. Part of the mountain is in the Chattahoochee National Forest. On clear days, the peak's 1,735-foot (529 m) summit is visible for many miles and is a prominent landmark to the southeast of Georgia's Blue Ridge Mountain crest.

The mountain was made famous internationally by Tom Hanks' and Steven Spielberg's television miniseries Band of Brothers, in which it was featured as a training site of the American Paratroopers at Camp Toccoa,[4] Georgia where they ran up and down Currahee. The name of the mountain became the motto for these paratroopers including the famous quote: "3 Miles up, 3 Miles down". The nickname of the 506th Infantry Regiment, of which Easy Company was a part, is "Currahee".

Currahee is currently the site of the Annual Currahee Challenge, a three and six mile race on the mountain that occurs in the fall.[5] It is also a popular destination for rock climbing and rappelling.

One of the radio towers at the top holds NOAA Weather Radio station WWH24, serving parts of northeast Georgia and upstate South Carolina from NWS Greer.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Currahee RM 4". NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  2. ↑ Krakow, Kenneth K. (2002). Georgia Place-names. Macon, Ga: Winship Press. ISBN 0-915430-00-2. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  3. ↑ "The Names Stayed". Calhoun Times and Gordon County News. August 29, 1990. p. 64. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Currahee Mountain". Georgia.org. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  5. ↑ "Currahee Challenge". Retrieved 2015-02-06.

External links