Ramps
The ramp or ramps are one of those regional plants that most visitors don’t get a chance to experience. Part onion, part garlic and full of pungent flavor the ramp is one of those vegetables that you either love or hate. This part of the wild leek family is celebrated in food and in events […]
Elk
Classification: Animalia – Chordata -0Mammalia – Artiodactyla – Ruminantia – Cervidae – Cervinae – Cervus – Canadensis The elk is the largest mammal in the Smokies. For thousands of years the elk roamed the valleys of the Smokies and though they were hunted by the Native Americans for food, they lived in large herds in […]
Otters in the Smokies
Classification – Animalia – Chordata – Mammalia – Carnivora – Mustelidae – Lutrinae – Lontra – Canadensis Who doesn’t love an otter? I am sure that we have all spent time at the zoo watching these delightful creatures cavorting in the water. There almost human reactions and interactions make them a joy to watch and […]
Cataloochee
Cataloochee is a lesser known auto tour in the GSMNP. Much like Cades Cove, it was a valley community in the mountains that was self-sufficient with churches, farms and clusters of mountain homes. When the park service came in and started to establish the Great Smoky Mountains National Park they people were forced to leave […]
Whitetail Deer
Classification: Animalia – Chordata – Mammalia – Artiodactyla – Cervidae – Capreolinae – Odocoileus – Virginianus The whitetail deer is a common sight along the roads and in the valleys of the Smoky Mountains. While they might not be as hard to find as the black bear or as large and imposing as the elk, […]
Black Bear
Classification: Animalia – Chordata – Mammalia – Carnivora – Ursidae – Ursus – Americanus The black Bear has long been the emblem of the Smoky Mountains. These large mammals roam the full elevation of the Smoky Mountains looking for food and places to sleep during the winter months. They are one of the most sought […]
Beavers in the Smokies
Classification – Animalia – Chordata – Mammalia – Rodentia – Castoridae – Castor – Canadensis The North American Beaver is a large rodent, one of the largest in the Smoky Mountains, that spends most of its time in the water, building dams to change the course of the water systems to establish homes for it […]
Chipmunks
When you walk trails in the lower elevations of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park you are bound to see Chipmunks. These furry, striped members of the squirrel family have fascinated people for thousands of years with their antics as the frisk about the Smoky Mountains. The term chipmunk comes from the Odawa word Ajidamoo […]
Plants in the Smokies
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is part of the International Biosphere Project. It houses thousands of species of plants from mosses that only grow at the top of the mountains to trees that tower over the surrounding country side. It is easy to see why this area was made a national park, the beauty […]
Old Growth Forest
One of the natural wonders in the Smoky Mountains are the sections of Old Growth Forest. Inside the 500,000+ acres of land lays 100,000 acres of old growth forest. Old Growth Forest in the GSMNP is defined as those areas that were not harvested for lumber during the heavy times of the lumber industry before […]