Gregory Bald

Appalachian baldsAppalachian cultureMountains of Blount County, TennesseeMountains of Great Smoky Mountains National ParkMountains of North Carolina ... and 5 more

Mountains of Swain County, North CarolinaMountains of TennesseeProtected areas of Blount County, TennesseeProtected areas of Swain County, North CarolinaReligious places of the Indigenous peoples of North America

Gregory Bald is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains. It has an elevation of 4,949 feet (1,508 meters) above sea level. The mountain's majestic summit makes it a popular hiking destination. Another feature that attracts many visitors are the flame azaleas that bloom over the bald every summer. The azaleas reach peak bloom around mid-to-late June. Gregory Bald is located along the Tennessee-North Carolina border, between Blount County and Swain County. It rises approximately 3,000 feet above its northern base in Cades Cove, and approximately 3,300 feet above its southern base at Fontana Lake. The mountain is located entirely within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Gregory Bald is a type of mountain known as a grassy bald. Unlike most summits in the Appalachian Mountains, which are heavily forested or culminate in jagged peaks, grassy balds are covered by a thick layer of wild grass. Trees and other foliage are sparse. How and why a summit develops into a grassy bald is unknown. While there is evidence that Gregory Bald was a natural grassy bald, the National Park Service must currently work to prevent the summit from becoming forested.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Gregory Bald (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).