Cherokee National Forest
Encyclopedia
United States National Forest
National Forest is a classification of federal lands in the United States.National Forests are largely forest and woodland areas owned by the federal government and managed by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. Land management of these areas...
created on July 19, 1936, by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, operated by the U.S. Forest Service and encompassing some 640,000 acres (2,600 km²).
Location
The Cherokee National Forest headquarters are located in Cleveland, TennesseeCleveland, Tennessee
Cleveland is a city in Bradley County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 41,285 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Bradley County...
.
The Cherokee National Forest mostly lies within eastern Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, along the border with North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, and comprises nearly the entire border area except for the section within Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The border between Tennessee and North...
. The Cherokee National Forest has two separate sections: a northern region directly north of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The border between Tennessee and North...
and a southern section directly south of the Smokies.
The Cherokee National Forest contains such notable sites as the Ocoee River (site of the 1996 Olympic
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
whitewater
Whitewater
Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...
events); 150 miles (240 km) of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail; Citico Creek Wilderness
Citico Creek Wilderness
Citico Creek Wilderness is a wilderness area within the Cherokee National Forest in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The wilderness contains the entire upper drainage of Citico Creek, which consists of the north and south forks and at least eight tributaries...
; Big Frog Mountain
Big Frog Mountain
Big Frog Mountain is a mountain located in southeastern Tennessee in the Big Frog Wilderness, within the Cherokee National Forest. At tall, there is no higher point west of Big Frog Mountain until the Big Bend in Texas or the Black Hills of South Dakota...
within Big Frog Wilderness
Big Frog Wilderness
The Big Frog Wilderness was designated in 1984 and currently consists of . Approximately are located in Georgia in the Chattahoochee National Forest and approximately are located in Tennessee in the Cherokee National Forest...
, and surrounds both the Tennessee Valley Authority
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...
Watauga Reservoir
Watauga Lake
Watauga Lake, located southeast of Elizabethton, Tennessee, was created by the Tennessee Valley Authority with the completion of the TVA Watauga Dam and Reservoir....
and Wilbur Reservoir.
The forest is located in parts of ten counties in Tennessee and one county in North Carolina. In descending order of forestland area they are Polk, Monroe, Carter
Carter County, Tennessee
Carter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 57,424. Its county seat is Elizabethton.Carter County is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined...
, Unicoi, Cocke, Johnson, Greene, Sullivan, Washington, McMinn, and Ashe
Ashe County, North Carolina
- History :Historical evidence shows that Ashe county was inhabited by Native Americans, which included the Cherokee, Creek, and Shawnee tribes. Pieces of broken pottery, arrowheads, and other Native American artifacts have been found, indicating their presence...
counties. (Ashe County, with the smallest forestland area, is the only county that is in North Carolina; all the rest are in Tennessee.)
Recreation
The forest's fast-flowing rivers support trout fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
. Rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
are stocked in many streams and rivers. Brook trout
Brook trout
The brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is a species of fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. In many parts of its range, it is known as the speckled trout or squaretail. A potamodromous population in Lake Superior are known as coaster trout or, simply, as coasters...
and brown trout
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
are also present. Bass
Bass (fish)
Bass is a name shared by many different species of popular gamefish. The term encompasses both freshwater and marine species. All belong to the large order Perciformes, or perch-like fishes, and in fact the word bass comes from Middle English bars, meaning "perch."-Types of basses:*The temperate...
, bluegill
Bluegill
The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...
and crappie
Crappie
Crappie is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is P. annularis, the white crappie...
are found in the forest's lakes, which are also open to wind sailing, water skiing
Water skiing
thumb|right|A slalom skier making a turn on a slalom waterski.Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface.-History:...
and boating
Boating
Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...
.
Trails criss-cross the forest. In addition to the Appalachian Trail, these include the John Muir Recreation trail
John Muir Trail (Tennessee)
The John Muir National Recreation Trail is a 20.7 mile trail in eastern Tennessee along the north side of Hiwassee River in the Cherokee National Forest. It is named for naturalist John Muir. It was constructed in 1972 through the efforts of the Youth Conservation Corps and the Senior Community...
, other hiking trails, and some trails designed for equestrian use. Bicycle trails are being developed.
Camping is available in RV campgrounds and tent
Tent
A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using guy ropes tied to stakes or tent pegs...
-only camping areas, and primitive tent camping is allowed throughout much of the forest.
The Unicoi Mountains are a mountain range rising along the border between Tennessee and North Carolina in the southeastern United States. They are part of the Blue Ridge Mountain Province of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Unicois are located immediately south of the Great Smoky Mountains and immediately west of the Cheoah Mountains. Most of the range is protected as a national forest, namely the Cherokee National Forest on the Tennessee side and the Nantahala National Forest on the North Carolina side— although some parts have been designated as wilderness areas and are thus more strictly regulated.