Grandfather Mountain is a mountain, non-commercial NC landmark and state park near Linville, North Carolina. At 5,946 feet (1,812 m), it is the highest peak on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains, one of the main ranges of the Appalachian Mountains. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs along the south side of the mountain and also passes through nearby Granny G. It is located at the intersection of Avery, Caldwell (highest point) and Watauga (highest point) counties.
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| Grandfather Mountain Blue Ridge Mountains |
The era of private property Until 2008, Grandfather Mountain was privately owned and used as a nature reserve and tourist attraction. It was and still is famous for its mile-high swinging bridge, the tallest in America, built in 1952 by Hugh Morton. The bridge connects two rocky peaks of the mountain and is known as the "swinging" bridge due to its tendency to sway in high winds. Morton inherited the mountain from his grandfather and developed it as a tourist attraction. He died on June 1, 2006 at the age of 85. After Morton's death, he donated all of his photographs, including many of Grandfather's Mountain, Mildred Bear, and many other aspects of life on the mountain, to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the great range of the Appalachian Mountains. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which separate near the Roanoke River Gap. To the west of the Blue Ridge, between it and the main body of the Appalachians, lies the Great Appalachian Valley, bordered to the west by the Province of the Ridge and Valley of the Appalachian Range.
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| Grandfather Mountain Blue Ridge Mountains |
The Blue Ridge Mountains are bluish in color when viewed from a distance. Trees put "blue" into Blue Ridge, from isoprene released into the atmosphere. This is facilitated by the characteristic haze on the mountains and their distinctive color.
The Blue Ridge Province contains two major national parks, the Shenandoah National Park in the northern part and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the southern part. The eight national forests include George Washington and Jefferson, Cherokee, Pisgah, Nantahala, and Chattahoochee. Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469-mile (755 km) long panoramic highway connects the two parks and runs along the crest of the ridge lines, as does the Appalachian Trail.