Nov 10 2023
Kuwohi | Clingman’s Dome Rising above a seemingly endless succession of blue-green ridges, Kuwohi is the highest mountain in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the highest point in Tennessee, and one of the most important summits of the southern Appalachian Mountains. For generations it appeared on federal maps as Clingmans Dome, but in September 2024 …
Nov 10 2023
Mount Guyot Hidden beneath dense red spruce and Fraser fir on the remote Tennessee–North Carolina border, Mount Guyot is the second-highest mountain in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and one of the great high summits of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Unlike nearby Kuwohi, however, there is no road, observation tower, maintained summit trail, or panoramic …
Nov 09 2023
Mount Hess | Hess Mountain Rising above a wilderness of glaciers, shattered ridges, and vast Interior Alaska tundra, Mount Hess — officially recorded as Hess Mountain — is one of the major glaciated summits of the Hayes Range in the eastern Alaska Range. Although far less famous than Denali or neighboring Mount Hayes, Hess is …
Nov 09 2023
Flattop Mountain Rising directly behind Alaska’s largest city, Flattop Mountain is one of the most recognizable and frequently climbed peaks in the western Chugach Mountains. Its broad rocky summit overlooks Anchorage, Cook Inlet, Turnagain Arm, and an enormous sweep of Southcentral Alaska, yet the trailhead is only about a 20- to 30-minute drive from downtown. …
Nov 09 2023
Mount Deborah Rising as a steep pyramid of rock, snow, and ice in Alaska’s remote Hayes Range, Mount Deborah is one of the most dramatic mountains of the eastern Alaska Range. At 12,339 feet (3,760.9 meters), it is considerably lower than Denali and several other Alaska giants, yet its extraordinary local relief, huge glaciated faces, …
Nov 09 2023
Mount Foraker Rising as an immense white massif southwest of Denali, Mount Foraker is the second-highest major summit in the Alaska Range and one of the great glaciated mountains of North America. At 17,400 feet (5,303.5 meters), it towers above the Kahiltna Glacier and an extraordinary wilderness of icefalls, crevasses, sharp ridges, hanging glaciers, and …
Nov 09 2023
Mauna Kea Mauna Kea (Maunakea) Rising more than 13,800 feet above the Pacific Ocean — and more than 33,000 feet above its base on the ocean floor — Mauna Kea, traditionally written Maunakea, is one of the most extraordinary mountains on Earth. It is the highest point in Hawaiʻi, one of the most topographically prominent …
Nov 09 2023
Taylor Mountain Rising above Lake Guntersville and the Tennessee River in northeastern Alabama, Taylor Mountain is a broad sandstone mountain within Lake Guntersville State Park and the southernmost reaches of the Appalachian Mountains. Its elevation is modest by national standards, but its position above the reservoir creates sweeping water views, forested slopes, rocky trails, and …
Nov 09 2023
Sand Mountain Stretching across much of northeastern Alabama as a long, elevated tableland above the Tennessee River and neighboring valleys, Sand Mountain is one of the defining landscapes of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Despite its name, Sand Mountain is not a single conventional mountain with one obvious summit. It is an extensive sandstone plateau district …
Nov 09 2023
Oak Mountain Rising immediately south of the Birmingham metropolitan area, Oak Mountain is one of the best-known mountain landscapes in central Alabama and the centerpiece of Oak Mountain State Park, the largest state park in Alabama. Its forested sandstone ridges, lakes, rocky overlooks, waterfalls, streams, rare plants, mountain-bike trails, and extensive hiking network create an …
