Shining Rock is a mountain in western 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...

. The mountain is one of the Great Balsam Mountains

Great Balsam Mountains

The Great Balsam Mountains, or Balsam Mountains, are in the mountain region of western North Carolina, United States. The Great Balsams are a subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which in turn are a part of the Appalachian Mountains...

 which are a part of the Blue Ridge Mountains

Blue Ridge Mountains

The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...

 within the Appalachian Mountains

Appalachian Mountains

The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...

. It is the 38th tallest mountain in the eastern United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Shining Rock is in the Shining Rock Wilderness

Shining Rock Wilderness

The Shining Rock Wilderness is a protected Wilderness Area in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Its first have been part of the National Wilderness Preservation System since the System was created in 1964...

 near milepost 420 of the Blueridge Parkway. The Art Loeb Trail

Art Loeb Trail

The Art Loeb Trail is a trail located in Pisgah National Forest in Western North Carolina. The Northern Terminus is at the Daniel Boone Boy Scout Camp in Haywood County, while the trail's southern Terminus is located near the Davidson River Campground, near Brevard, in Transylvania County...

 passes just below the summit.

Shining Rock is named for the large cluster of quartz boulders near its summit.

Cherokee lore

According to the Cherokee

Cherokee

The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...

 anthropologist James Mooney

James Mooney

James Mooney was an American ethnographer who lived for several years among the Cherokee. He did major studies of Southeastern Indians, as well as those on the Great Plains...

, the Cherokee

Cherokee

The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...

 name for Shining Rock, Datsu'nălâsgûñ'yĭ, translates to "where their tracks are this way" and refers to a rock that is said to have tracks of Tsul 'Kalu

Tsul 'Kalu

Tsul 'Kalu , is a legendary figure in Cherokee mythology who plays the role of "the great lord of the game", and as such is frequently invoked in hunting rites and rituals...

 and his children.

This is distinct from Judaculla Rock which is discussed with Tsul 'Kalu

Tsul 'Kalu

Tsul 'Kalu , is a legendary figure in Cherokee mythology who plays the role of "the great lord of the game", and as such is frequently invoked in hunting rites and rituals...

, is south of the Blueridge Parkway and contains petroglyphs. Confusion arises because Judaculla (or Jutaculla) is a European corruption of the name Tsul 'Kalu

Tsul 'Kalu

Tsul 'Kalu , is a legendary figure in Cherokee mythology who plays the role of "the great lord of the game", and as such is frequently invoked in hunting rites and rituals...

; hence there appear to be two rocks of Cherokee lore named with variations of the name.