The
Bald Mountains are a mountain range rising along the border between
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
and
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
in the southeastern United States. They are part of the
Blue Ridge Mountain ProvinceThe Blue Ridge, or Blue Ridge Mountains, is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at...
of the Southern
Appalachian MountainsThe Appalachian Mountains , often called the Appalachians, are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. Definitions vary on the precise boundaries of the Appalachians...
. The Bald Mountains stretch from the
Pigeon RiverThe Pigeon River of western North Carolina and east Tennessee rises above Canton, North Carolina. Below this, it flows roughly parallel to Interstate 40 for many miles and is impounded by a dam belonging to Progress Energy before entering Tennessee, where it flows into the French Broad River.The...
in the south to the
Nolichucky RiverThe Nolichucky River is a major stream draining the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina and East Tennessee.-Hydrography:The Nolichucky River rises as the confluence of the North Toe River and the Cane River near the community of Huntdale, North Carolina. The stream succeeds the North Toe...
in the north, and comprise parts of
Cocke CountyCocke County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The county forms the Newport, Tennessee, Micropolitan Statistical Area which is, as of December 2005, considered a component of the Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN Combined Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population was...
,
Greene CountyGreene County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 62,909. The 2005 Census Estimate placed the population at 65,318 . Its county seat is Greeneville, and the current county mayor is Alan Broyles .-Geography:...
, and
Unicoi CountyUnicoi County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 17,667. Its county seat is Erwin. Unicoi is a Cherokee Native American word meaning "white," "hazy," "fog-like," or "fog draped."...
in Tennessee and parts of
Madison CountyMadison County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is part of the Asheville, North Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population was 19,635. Its county seat is Marshall.- History :...
and
Yancey CountyYancey County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2000, the population was 17,774. Its county seat is Burnsville. Yancey County is one of the two dry counties in North Carolina along with Graham.-History:...
in North Carolina. The
Great Smoky MountainsThe Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee-North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains or the...
border the range to the south, and the
UnakasThe 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...
rise opposite the Nolichucky to the north.
The
Bald Mountains are a mountain range rising along the border between
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
and
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
in the southeastern United States. They are part of the
Blue Ridge Mountain ProvinceThe Blue Ridge, or Blue Ridge Mountains, is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at...
of the Southern
Appalachian MountainsThe Appalachian Mountains , often called the Appalachians, are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. Definitions vary on the precise boundaries of the Appalachians...
. The Bald Mountains stretch from the
Pigeon RiverThe Pigeon River of western North Carolina and east Tennessee rises above Canton, North Carolina. Below this, it flows roughly parallel to Interstate 40 for many miles and is impounded by a dam belonging to Progress Energy before entering Tennessee, where it flows into the French Broad River.The...
in the south to the
Nolichucky RiverThe Nolichucky River is a major stream draining the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina and East Tennessee.-Hydrography:The Nolichucky River rises as the confluence of the North Toe River and the Cane River near the community of Huntdale, North Carolina. The stream succeeds the North Toe...
in the north, and comprise parts of
Cocke CountyCocke County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The county forms the Newport, Tennessee, Micropolitan Statistical Area which is, as of December 2005, considered a component of the Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN Combined Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population was...
,
Greene CountyGreene County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 62,909. The 2005 Census Estimate placed the population at 65,318 . Its county seat is Greeneville, and the current county mayor is Alan Broyles .-Geography:...
, and
Unicoi CountyUnicoi County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 17,667. Its county seat is Erwin. Unicoi is a Cherokee Native American word meaning "white," "hazy," "fog-like," or "fog draped."...
in Tennessee and parts of
Madison CountyMadison County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is part of the Asheville, North Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population was 19,635. Its county seat is Marshall.- History :...
and
Yancey CountyYancey County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2000, the population was 17,774. Its county seat is Burnsville. Yancey County is one of the two dry counties in North Carolina along with Graham.-History:...
in North Carolina. The
Great Smoky MountainsThe Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee-North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains or the...
border the range to the south, and the
UnakasThe 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...
rise opposite the Nolichucky to the north. The range gets its name from the relatively frequent occurrence of
grassy baldsIn the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States, balds are mountain summits or crests covered primarily by thick vegetation of native grasses or shrubs occurring in areas where heavy forest growth would be expected....
atop the more prominent summits.
The
Cherokee National ForestCherokee National Forest, created on July 19, 1936, by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, is a large National Forest operated by the U.S. Forest Service and encompassing some 640,000 acres .-Location:...
and the
Pisgah National ForestPisgah National Forest is a National Forest in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. It is administered by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. The Pisgah National Forest is completely contained within the state of North Carolina...
protect substantial sections of the Bald Mountains. The
Appalachian TrailThe Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply The A.T., is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States, extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long. The path is maintained by thirty trail...
traverses the crest of the range. Populated areas within the range include
ErwinErwin is a town in and the county seat of Unicoi County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 5,610 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area...
and
Del RioDel Rio is an unincorporated community in Cocke County, Tennessee, United States. Although it is not a census-designated place, the ZIP Code Tabulation Area for the ZIP Code that serves Del Rio had a population of 2,138, according to the 2000 census....
in Tennessee and
Hot SpringsHot Springs is a town in Madison County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 645 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Hot Springs is located at ....
in North Carolina. The highest summit in the Bald Mountains is Big Bald, which rises to an elevation of .
External links