Unaka Range
The Unaka Range is a mountain range on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. It is a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains and is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains physiographic province. The Unakas stretch approximately from the Nolichucky River to the south to the Watauga River to the north. The Unakas include the prominent Roan Highlands, where several summits rise above 6,000 feet. The Iron Mountains border the Unakas to the north, and the Bald Mountains border the Unakas opposite the Nolichucky to the south.[1] The name unaka is rooted in the Cherokee term unega, meaning "white".[2]
The Cherokee National Forest and the Pisgah National Forest protect large sections of the Unaka Mountains. The Appalachian Trail traverses the Unaka crest.
In some geological and in historical sources, the term "Unaka Range" is used to identify the entire crest of the Appalachian Mountains along the Tennessee-North Carolina border, including the Unakas, the Great Smoky Mountains, the Bald Mountains, the Unicoi Mountains, and the mountains in the Big Frog Wilderness and Little Frog Mountain Wilderness.
Unakite was first discovered in the Unaka Range, and was thus named after it.
Notable peaks
The highest point in the Unaka Range is Roan High Knob, which rises to an elevation of 6,285 feet (1,916 m).
| Peak Name | Elevation (ft) | Land |  |
 |
Prominence | Isolation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roan High Knob | 6,285 | Cherokee/Pisgah | Mitchell | Carter | 3,485 | 18.81 |
| Roan High Bluff | 6,178 | Pisgah | Mitchell | 187 | 1.54 | |
| Cloudland Mountain | 6,267 | Cherokee/Pisgah | Mitchell | Carter | ||
| Grassy Ridge Bald | 6,189 | Pisgah | Avery, Mitchell | 688 | 2.35 | |
| Round Bald | 5,807 | Cherokee/Pisgah | Mitchell | Carter | ||
| Jane Bald | 5,807 | Cherokee/Pisgah | Mitchell | Carter | ||
| Hump Mountain | 5,587 | Pisgah | Avery | |||
| Little Yellow Mountain | 5,504 | Pisgah | Avery, Mitchell | |||
| Hawk Mountain | 5,443 | Pisgah | Mitchell | |||
| Big Yellow Mountain | 5,440 | Pisgah | Avery | |||
References
- ↑ "Topographical Map of Chestoa, TN". TopoQuest. Retrieved 2011-06-07.. Retrieved: 25 July 2008.
- ↑ Mooney, James (1972). Myths of the Cherokee and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokee. Nashville, Tennessee: C and R Elder Publishers. p. 542. OCLC 729245899.
- "Unaka Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
- "Bald Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
- Summerlin, Vernon; Cathy Summerlin. "Upper Unaka Mountains". Longstreet Highroad Guide to the Tennessee Mountains. Sherpa Guides. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
External links
- "Roan-Unaka Mountains". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
Coordinates: 36°6′10″N 82°21′47″W / 36.10278°N 82.36306°W