Southern Sixers

In peak bagging terminology in the United States, the Southern Sixers refers to the group of mountains in the southern states of North Carolina and Tennessee with heights of at least six thousand feet (1829 m). The southern sixers are the tallest group of mountains in the eastern United States and the only peaks in the Appalachian Mountains besides New Hampshire's Mount Washington to exceed 6,000 feet.

Most of these mountains are located in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (abbreviated GSMNP in the list), Mount Mitchell State Park (MMSP), along the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP), or in Cherokee or Pisgah National Forest. There are several, though, that are located on private property. All of these mountains are located within 32 miles (51 km) of the North Carolina - Tennessee border,[1] with 12 on the state border itself and many more on various county borders.

Those who complete a list of 40 of these peaks[2] are awarded membership in the South Beyond 6000 club.

Mount Craig, the second highest peak in the Appalachians, as viewed from nearby Mount Mitchell.
The view from atop Mount LeConte, the only southern sixer entirely in the state of Tennessee
The Southern Sixers
Rank Peak Name Elevation (ft) Range Land Prominence Isolation
1 Mount Mitchell 6,684 Black Mountains MMSP Yancey County 6,089 1,189
2 Mount Craig 6,647 Black Mtns MMSP Yancey 287 .91
3 Clingmans Dome 6,643 Great Smoky Mountains GSMNP Sevier County Swain County 4,513 70.64
4 Mount Guyot 6,621 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier Haywood 1,581 16.73
5 Balsam Cone 6,611 Black Mtns MMSP Yancey 171 .88
6 Cattail Peak 6,600 Black Mtns MMSP Yancey 120 .62
7 Mount LeConte 6,593 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier 1,360 7.21
8 Mount Buckley 6,580[3] Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier Swain 60 .42
9 Mount Gibbes 6,571 Black Mtns WMIT Yancey 111 2.35
10 Big Tom 6,560 Black Mtns MMSP Yancey .19
11 Clingmans Peak 6,557 Black Mtns WMIT Yancey 497 .02
12 Potato Hill 6,475 Black Mtns Pisgah Yancey 80 .29
13 Mount Love 6,446[4] Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier Swain 106 .41
14 Mount Chapman 6,417 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier Swain 577 1.48
15 Richland Balsam 6,410[5] Great Balsam Mountains BRP Haywood 1,000 27.13
16 Potato Knob 6,400 Black Mtns BRP Buncombe, Yancey 40 .45
17 Old Black 6,370 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier, Cocke County Haywood 170 .70
18 Blackstock Knob 6,359 Black Mtns BRP Buncombe, Yancey 480 1.64
19 Celo Knob 6,327[6] Black Mtns Yancey 647 3.52
20 Mount Hallback 6,320 Black Mtns MMSP Yancey 200 1.11
21 Waterrock Knob 6,292 Plott Balsams BRP Haywood, Jackson County 1,947 10.66
22 Roan High Knob 6,285 Unaka Mountains Cherokee / Pisgah Carter County Mitchell County 3,485 18.81
23 Roan High Bluff 6,267 Unaka Mountains Pisgah Mitchell 1.54
24 Browning Knob 6,240 Plott Balsams BRP Haywood, Jackson 160 .33
25 Luftee Knob 6,234[7] Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Haywood, Swain 434 2.53
26 Gibbs Mountain 6,224 Black Mtns Yancey 120 .81
27 Mount Lyn Lowry 6,220 Plott Balsams Haywood, Jackson 380 1.22
28 Mount Kephart 6,217 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier Swain 660 3.09
29 Black Balsam Knob 6,214 Great Balsam Mtns BRP Haywood 989 7.08
30 Winter Star Mountain 6,212 Black Mtns Yancey 532 1.13
31 Percys Peak 6,200 Black Mtns Yancey .32
32 Grassy Ridge Bald 6,189 Unaka Mountains Pisgah Mitchell, Avery County 2.35
33 Mount Collins 6,188 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier Swain 465 1.80
34 Marks Knob 6,169[8] Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Swain 369 1.34
35 Big Cataloochee Mountain 6,155[9] Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Haywood 675 2.61
36 Mount Hardison 6,134[10] Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Swain 254 .60
37 Tricorner Knob 6,120 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier Haywood, Swain 160 .55
38 Mount Yonaguska 6,120[11] Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Haywood, Swain 40 .33
39 Mount Ambler 6,120[12] Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier Swain 86 .45
40 Mount Hardy 6,110[13] Great Balsam Mtns Haywood, Jackson 760 3.46
41 Craggy Dome 6,105 Great Craggy Mountains Buncombe County 785 3.49
42 Plott Balsam 6,088 Plott Balsams Haywood 408 1.69
43 Thermo Knob 6,080 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Haywood, Swain 60 .62
44 Reinhart Knob 6,080 Great Balsam Mtns Haywood, Jackson 200 1.41
45 Sam Knob 6,050 Great Balsam Mtns Haywood 360 1.15
46 Shining Rock 6,040 Great Balsam Mtns Haywood 320 2.87
47 Grassy Cove Top 6,040 Great Balsam Mtns Haywood 320 1.37
48 Tennent Mountain 6,040 Great Balsam Mtns Haywood 120 .71
49 Patton Knob 6,040 Black Mtns BRP Buncombe, Yancey .80
50 Chestnut Bald 6,040 Great Balsam Mtns Transylvania County, Haywood 1.67
51 Yellow Face 6,032 Plott Balsams Jackson 1.16
52 Cold Mountain 6,030 Great Balsam Mtns Haywood 990 2.86
53 Mount Sequoyah 6,003 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier Swain 163 1.28

The locator map below shows the locations of those Southern Sixers with more than one thousand feet of topographic prominence or considerable isolation.

References

  1. ↑ Black Balsam Knob is precisely 31.48 miles from Brown Gap at 35°46′23″N 82°59′38″W / 35.77306°N 82.99389°W
  2. ↑ South Beyond 6000
  3. ↑ Mount Buckley Often considered part of Clingmans Dome.
  4. ↑ Mount Love Often considered part of Clingmans Dome.
  5. ↑ Richland Balsam
  6. ↑ Celo Knob
  7. ↑ Luftee Knob
  8. ↑ Marks Knob
  9. ↑ Big Cataloochee
  10. ↑ Mount Hardison
  11. ↑ Mount Yonaguska
  12. ↑ Mount Ambler
  13. ↑ Mount Hardy

External links

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