Great smoky Mountains National Park: South Side
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is America’s most visited national park and the first national park created in the eastern United States. There are 800 miles of trails and numerous streams and waterfalls in the park. It’s rugged forested terrain supports a diversity of plant and animal life (including lots of bears).
Another feature of the park are buildings from the Southern Appalachian mountain culture which some find quite interesting. I was less interested in the history of the park as it doesn’t seem that long ago to me. My grand parents grew up in similar conditions in Missouri. I also know people in Massachusetts who live in houses older than these. I did include a picture of the Grist Mill because it did not use an undershot or overshot wheel. It used a cast iron hydro turbine powered by water falling in the wooden tower close to the building. These were replacing the wheels as early as 1820.
The origin of the The Great Smoky Mountains was over 400 million years ago.
Geology of Great Smoky Mountains
