Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – The Great Smoky Mountains have a rich cultural and natural history beyond their national park status. These mountains span from Virginia to northern Georgia along the Tennessee/North Carolina border, are steeped in Cherokee folklore, and encompass several significant national forests.
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While the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a well-known attraction, the mountain range offers much more. It includes four expansive wilderness areas: the Nantahala, Pisgah, Cherokee, and Chattahoochee national forests. These protected areas provide vast tracts of wilderness for exploration and conservation.
A fascinating aspect of the Smokies’ lore is the connection to the Nunnehi, mythical “little people” in Cherokee tradition. An intriguing legend adds cultural depth to the region’s already diverse heritage.
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