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Cherokee National Forest

 
Cherokee National Forest

 
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Cherokee National Forest
 
 
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Cherokee 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 (2,600 kmē).

Location
The Cherokee National Forest headquarters are located in Cleveland, Tennessee
Cleveland, Tennessee

Cleveland is a city in Bradley County, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States. The population was 37,192 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bradley County, Tennessee....
.

The Cherokee National Forest is mostly lies within eastern Tennessee
Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
, along the border with North Carolina
North Carolina

North Carolina is a U.S. 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....
, and comprises nearly the entire border area except for the part of it within Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountains....
.






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Cherokee 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 (2,600 kmē).

Location


The Cherokee National Forest headquarters are located in Cleveland, Tennessee
Cleveland, Tennessee

Cleveland is a city in Bradley County, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States. The population was 37,192 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bradley County, Tennessee....
.

The Cherokee National Forest is mostly lies within eastern Tennessee
Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
, along the border with North Carolina
North Carolina

North Carolina is a U.S. 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....
, and comprises nearly the entire border area except for the part of it within Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountains....
. The Cherokee National Forest has two separate sections: a northern region with a smaller northern section extending into northwestern North Carolina directly north of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountains....
 and a southern section directly south of the Smokies.

The Cherokee National Forest contains such notable sites as the Ocoee River (site of the 1996 Olympic
1996 Summer Olympics

The 1996 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
 whitewater
Whitewater

Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's Stream gradient drops enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white....
 events); 150 miles (240 km) of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail; Citico Creek Wilderness
Citico Creek Wilderness

Citico Creek Wilderness is a wilderness area within the Cherokee National Forest in the United States state of Tennessee. The Wilderness contains the entire upper drainage of Citico Creek, which consists of the North and South Forks and at least eight tributaries....
; Big Frog Mountain
Big Frog Mountain

Big Frog Mountain is a mountain located in southeastern Tennessee in the Big Frog Wilderness, within the Cherokee National Forest. At tall, there is no higher point west of Big Frog Mountain until the Big Bend, Texas in Texas or the Black Hills of South Dakota....
 within Big Frog Wilderness
Big Frog Wilderness

The Big Frog Wilderness was designated in 1984 and currently consists of . Approximately are located in Georgia in the Chattahoochee National Forest and approximately are located in Tennessee in the Cherokee National Forest....
, and surrounds both the Tennessee Valley Authority Watauga Reservoir
Watauga Lake

Watauga Lake, located southeast of Elizabethton, Tennessee, was created by the Tennessee Valley Authority of the with completion of the TVA Watauga Dam and Reservoir....
 and Wilbur Reservoir in northeastern Tennessee.

The forest is located in parts of ten counties in Tennessee and one county in North Carolina. In descending order of forestland area they are Polk
Polk County, Tennessee

Polk County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The county had a population of 16,050 in 2000. Its county seat is Benton, Tennessee....
, Monroe
Monroe County, Tennessee

Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 38,961. Its county seat is Madisonville, Tennessee....
, Carter
Carter County, Tennessee

Carter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 56,742. The 2005 Census Estimate placed the population at 58,865....
, Unicoi
Unicoi County, Tennessee

Unicoi 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, Tennessee. Unicoi is a Cherokee Native Americans in the United States word meaning "white," "hazy," "fog-like," or "fog draped."...
, Cocke
Cocke County, Tennessee

Cocke 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, Tennessee-Sevierville, Tennessee-La Follette, Tennessee, TN Combined Statistical Area....
, Johnson
Johnson County, Tennessee

Johnson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 17,499. The 2005 Census Estimate placed the population at 18,116 ....
, Greene
Greene County, Tennessee

Greene 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 ....
, Sullivan
Sullivan County, Tennessee

Sullivan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 153,048. Its county seat is Blountville, Tennessee....
, Washington
Washington County, Tennessee

Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 107,198. Its county seat is Jonesborough, Tennessee....
, McMinn
McMinn County, Tennessee

McMinn County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 49,015. Its county seat is Athens, Tennessee....
, and Ashe
Ashe County, North Carolina

Ashe County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2000, the population was 24,384. Its county seat is Jefferson, North Carolina....
 counties. (Ashe County, with the smallest forestland area, is the only county that is in North Carolina; all the rest are in Tennessee.)

Recreation

The Cherokee National Forest surrounds both the Tennessee Valley Authority
Tennessee Valley Authority

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, Flood, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly impacted by the Great Depression....
 Watauga Reservoir
Watauga Lake

Watauga Lake, located southeast of Elizabethton, Tennessee, was created by the Tennessee Valley Authority of the with completion of the TVA Watauga Dam and Reservoir....
 and Wilbur Reservoir in an area near Hampton, Tennessee
Hampton, Tennessee

Hampton is an unincorporated area in Carter County, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States. Located a few miles southeast of Elizabethton, Tennessee and northeast of Roan Mountain, Tennessee, Hampton is surrounded on all sides by the Unaka Range....
 by what TVA describes as being located "...in some of the most beautiful country in the Tennessee River watershed."

Recreation opportunities in the Cherokee National Forest are diverse.

The forest's fast-flowing rivers support trout fishing
Fishing

Fishing is the activity of catching fish. Fishing techniques include Fish net, Fish trap, Spearfishing, angling and Gathering seafood by hand. The term fishing may be applied to catching other aquatic animals such as different types of shellfish, squid, octopus, turtles, Edible frog and some edible marine invertebrates....
. Rainbow trout
Rainbow trout

The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America as well as much of the central, western, eastern, and especially the northern portions of the United States....
 are stocked in many Cherokee streams and rivers. Brook trout
Brook trout

The brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is a species of fish in the Salmonidae family of order Salmoniformes. In many parts of its range, it is known as the speckled trout or squaretail....
 and brown trout
Brown trout

The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species.They are distinguished chiefly by the fact that the brown trout is largely a fresh water fish, while the sea trout shows anadromous reproduction, migrating to the oceans for much of its life and returning to freshwater only to Spawn ....
 are also present. Bass
Bass (fish)

Bass is a name shared by many different species of popular gamefish. The term encompasses both fresh water and sea water species. All belong to the large order Perciformes, or perch-like fishes, and in fact the word bass comes from Middle English bars, meaning "perch." These are some of the best known species of bass:...
, bluegill
Bluegill

The Bluegill is a species of freshwaterfish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family of order Perciformes....
 and crappie
Crappie

Pomoxis is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is P. annularis, the white crappie....
 are found in the forest's lakes, which are also open to wind sailing, water skiing
Water skiing

Water skiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a motor boat or a Cable skiing on a body of water wearing one or more skis. The surface area of the ski keeps the person skimming on the surface of the water allowing the skier to stand upright while holding the tow rope....
 and boating
Boating

Boating, the leisurely activity of traveling by boat typically refers to the recreational use of boats whether power boats, Sailing, or yachts , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or waterskiing....
.

Trails criss-cross the Forest. In addition to the Appalachian Trail, these include the John Muir Recreation trail
John Muir Trail (Tennessee)

The John Muir National Recreation Trail is a 20.7 mile trail in eastern Tennessee along the north side of Hiwassee River in the Cherokee National Forest....
, other hiking trails, and some trails designed for equestrian use. Bicycle trails are being developed.

Camping is available in RV campgrounds and tent
Tent

A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of textile or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope....
-only camping areas.

See also


External links