Blue Ridge Mountains

The Black Mountains are a mountain range in western North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. They are part of the Blue Ridge Province of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Black Mountains are the highest mountains in the Eastern United States. The range takes its name from the dark appearance of the red spruce and Fraser fir trees that form a spruce-fir forest on the upper slopes which contrasts with the brown (during winter) or lighter green (during the growing season) appearance of the deciduous trees at lower elevations. The Eastern Continental Divide, which runs along the eastern Blue Ridge crest, intersects the southern tip of the Black Mountain range. The Black Mountains are home to Mount Mitchell State Park, which protects the range's highest summits in the central section of the range. Much of the range is also protected by the Pisgah National Forest. The Blue Ridge Parkway passes along the range's southern section, and is connected to the summit of Mount Mitchell by North Carolina Highway 128. The Black Mountains are mostly located in Yancey County, although the range's southern and western extremes run along the Buncombe County line.

Mount Mitchell, known in Cherokee as Attakulla (Tsalagi: ᎠᏔᎫᎳ), is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and the highest peak in mainland North America east of the Mississippi River. It is located near Burnsville in Yancey County, North Carolina in the Black Mountain subrange of the Appalachians about 19 miles (31 km) northeast of Asheville. It is protected by Mount Mitchell State Park and surrounded by the Pisgah National Forest. Mount Mitchell's elevation is 6,684 feet (2,037 m) above sea level. Mount Mitchell is ranked 31st by topographic isolation.

Mount Mitchell State Park is a 4,789-acre (1,938 ha) North Carolina state park in Yancey County, North Carolina in the United States. Established in 1915 by the state legislature, it became the first state park of North Carolina. By doing so, it also established the North Carolina State Parks System within the same bill. Located at the end of NC 128 off the Blue Ridge Parkway near Burnsville, North Carolina, it includes the peak of Mount Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi River. From the parking lot, a steep paved path leads visitors to the summit and a raised observation platform with 360 degree views. The grave of Elisha Mitchell, the professor who first noted the mountain's height, is located at the base of the observation platform. The old observation tower was torn down in early October 2006. The trail leading to the summit has been paved, and a new observation platform was constructed and opened to the public in January 2009. An exhibit hall is open seasonally at the summit with information about the mountain's natural, cultural and historical heritage. The park operates a restaurant and a small tent camping sites seasonally. The buildings were built in the 1950s and renovation is planned. Most visitors come between May and November because the only access is the Blue Ridge Parkway but Kevin Bischof, who became superintendent late in 2018, hopes to change that. The park is staffed year-round but most people would not be able to reach the park during the worst weather conditions.The park had 398,000 visitors in 2017.In addition to Mount Mitchell itself, the park encompasses several other peaks which top out at over 6,000 feet (1,800 m) in elevation, including Mount Hallback, Mount Craig (just 52 feet (16 m) shy of Mount Mitchell in elevation and the second highest peak east of the Mississippi River), Big Tom and Balsam Cone. Trails lead to all these summits save Mount Hallback, and their exploration takes visitors away from the crowds on Mount Mitchell but to places similarly spectacular. About 8 miles (13 km) of trails exist within the park in all. Another popular destination reachable by trail within the park is Camp Alice, at an elevation of 5800 ft (1767.84 m) south of the summit of Mount Mitchell. This historic site is the location of a logging and, later, Civilian Conservation Corps tourist camp at the terminus of the old Mount Mitchell toll road. Lower Creek flows across the main trail at this point and it is one of the highest elevation perennial streams in the Appalachians, flowing through the Spruce-Fir forest. Openings here in the forest surrounded by evergreens resemble such openings near treeline in higher mountain ranges. The park also serves as the finish line for The Assault on Mount Mitchell and the midpoint for the Mount Mitchell Challenge ultramarathon.

Mount Craig, 6,647 feet (2,026 m), is the second highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and second only to 6,684 feet (2,037 m) Mount Mitchell in eastern North America. It is located in the Black Mountains in Yancey County, North Carolina. The mountain lies about a mile (2 km) north of Mount Mitchell and is within Mount Mitchell State Park and the Pisgah National Forest. Mount Craig was named in honor of Locke Craig, the governor of North Carolina from 1913 to 1917 responsible for establishing Mount Mitchell State Park in 1915 as the state's first, thereby protecting the area from excessive logging.

Busick is a populated place in the South Toe Township of Yancey County, North Carolina, United States. It is the settlement nearest to Mount Mitchell State Park by road.

Celo Knob is the northernmost major peak in the Black Mountains of western North Carolina. It is located just north of Mount Mitchell State Park in the Pisgah National Forest. It is the first peak encountered while hiking the Black Mountain Crest Trail from Bowlens Creek. The trail passes to the southwest of the summit, which can be reached by various herd paths.

Camp Celo is a very lit privately owned Quaker-based summer camp for children aged 7–12 located in Celo Community of Yancey County, North Carolina.

Buck Creek Gap (el. 3,402 ft (1,037 m)) is a mountain pass along the Blue Ridge Mountains. NC 80 connects with the Blue Ridge Parkway at the gap, where it travelers can go either towards Burnsville, Marion, Mount Mitchell or Little Switzerland. A scenic overlook is located at the gap, along NC 80; which is sometimes also used as a staging area for motorcycle enthusiasts. The gap is also along the Eastern Continental Divide and the McDowell–Yancey county line.

Celo Community, Incorporated ( SEE-loh) is a communal settlement in the Western mountains of North Carolina, United States, located in the South Toe River valley of Yancey County, in the South Toe Township between the unincorporated areas of Celo and Hamrick. It was founded in 1937 by Arthur Ernest Morgan. Celo is a land trust with its own rules of taxation and land tenure that runs its internal government by consensus. The community does not require its members to accept any religion or ideology, but is based on ideals of cooperation between residents and care for the natural environment. However, its membership is predominantly Quakers. Celo has 40 families living on its 1,200 acres (4.9 km2).

Andrews Geyser is a man-made fountain in Old Fort, North Carolina in McDowell County. The fountain is named for Colonel Alexander Boyd Andrews, a North Carolina native who was the Vice President of the Southern_Railway_(U.S.) Company and one of the men responsible for the construction of the railroad between Old Fort and Asheville, North Carolina, in the late 19th century. The fountain was constructed in 1885 with a dual purpose: it was a feature of the Round Knob Hotel, and a tribute to the approximately 120 men who died building the railroad through this particularly treacherous stretch of land, that culminates with the crossing of the Eastern Continental Divide through the Swannanoa Tunnel. The fountain was said to be eye-catching for railroad passengers ascending the 7.5 miles of track and six tunnels that peaks at the top of Swannanoa Gap because it could be seen several times along the route. The Round Knob Hotel burned to the ground in 1903, and the fountain fell into disrepair. In 1911, George Fisher Baker, a wealthy New York financier and philanthropist who had been friends with Colonel Andrews, funded its restoration. The Southern Railway Company did not grant continuation of the easement for the fountain at that time, so a new, five-sided basin was constructed about 70 yards across Mill Creek, and the piping and nozzle were moved (to the fountain's current location). The Town of Old Fort was given rights to the basin and the pipe that carries the water, and the fountain was formally named Andrews Geyser. The Town of Old Fort continues to use Andrews Geyser and the surrounding area as a public park. Andrews Geyser underwent extensive restoration again in the 1970s, after the Old Fort High School Senior Class of 1971 cleaned up the area and was rededicated on May 6, 1976. Signs at the park describe Mr. Fisher's role in the early 20th century and the role of Old Fort's private citizens in the 1970s in keeping the fountain running. When in operation, Andrews Geyser shoots water continuously to a height of about 80 feet. Its water supply is drawn from a pond located at the current site of the Inn on Mill Creek, a local Bed & Breakfast. The Inn's property contains the original dam constructed by the railroad in the late 19th century, and the pond formed by the dam with the water of the Long Branch of Mill Creek. A 6-inch-diameter (150 mm) cast iron pipe runs from the dam, through a hidden gate valve, then underground approximately two miles downhill to the fountain. The water comes out a half-inch nozzle pointed skyward, and the 500 feet of elevation difference creates the pressure that drives the fountain. Extended dry condition in the area can limit the ability for the fountain to operate continuously. When the natural water inflow rate to the supply pond falls below the rate at which the fountain draws, the fountain can only be run periodically, at best to match the amount of water inflow over an extended period of time. In 1967, author John Ehle wrote a historical fiction novel called The Road, which is set in the construction of the railroad from Old Fort to Swannanoa, NC in the late 19th century. The novel concludes with the main character (an amalgam of several real people who oversaw construction of the railroad) making a direct reference to the Andrews Geyser: Ay, but I'm going to make this fountain and capture that stream up there and bring it down in a trough or a pipe, I don't know just how, and turn it upward at this very place... and let it go as high as it wants to into the sky... In spite of the name, Andrews Geyser is more accurately a fountain and not a geyser.

Montreat Conference Center (also known as the Mountain Retreat Association) located in Montreat, North Carolina, United States, is a conference center serving the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The word "Montreat" is a portmanteau of the words "mountain" and "retreat."

Montreat is a town in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 723 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is best known for Montreat Conference Center and Montreat College, and for having been the home of the evangelist Billy Graham (1918-2018) and his wife Ruth Bell Graham (1920-2007).