Mount Mitchell

Coordinates: 35°45′53″N 82°15′54″W / 35.764839°N 82.2651221°W / 35.764839; -82.2651221
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the North Carolina mountain. For other uses, see Mount Mitchell (disambiguation).
Mount Mitchell
U.S. state high points 16th
  • Ultra
    • Coordinates35°45′53″N 82°15′54″W / 35.764839°N 82.2651221°W / 35.764839; -82.2651221[2]
    Geography
    Mount Mitchell is located in North Carolina
    Mount Mitchell
    Mount Mitchell
    North Carolina, U.S.
    LocationYancey County, North Carolina, U.S.
    Parent rangeAppalachian Mountains
    Topo mapUSGS Mount Mitchell
    Climbing
    Easiest routeHike

    Mount Mitchell, (Cherokee, ‘Attakulla'),[3] is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and the highest peak in mainland North America east of the Mississippi River. It is located near Burnsville in Yancey County, North Carolina in the Black Mountain subrange of the Appalachians about 19 miles (31 km) northeast of Asheville. It is protected by Mount Mitchell State Park and surrounded by the Pisgah National Forest. Mount Mitchell's elevation is 6,684 feet (2,037 m) above sea level.[1] Mount Mitchell is ranked 31st by topographic isolation.

    Geography

    Surveyor's mark embedded in the observation tower notes the elevation of 6684-feet above sea level
    Fall foliage at Mount Mitchell

    The peak is the highest mountain in the United States east of the Mississippi River,[4][5] and the highest in all of eastern North America south of the Arctic Cordillera. The nearest higher peaks are in the Black Hills of South Dakota and the highland foothills of Colorado. The mountain's topographic isolation is calculated from the nearest discernible single higher point: Lone Butte, which is 1,189 miles (1,913 km) away in southeastern Colorado.[6]

    History

    Mount Mitchell was the highest mountain of the United States until 1845 when Texas joined the Union and Guadalupe Peak became the highest mountain of the USA.

    The

    Mount Washington in New Hampshire. The latter had been commonly thought at the time to be the highest point in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. Mitchell fell to his death at nearby Mitchell Falls in 1857, where he had returned to verify his earlier measurements.[citation needed
    ]

    A 4.6-mile (7.4 km) road (NC 128) connects the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway to a parking lot where a steep paved 980-foot (300 m) trail leads through a conifer forest to the summit. The 40-foot (12 m) stone observation tower on the summit was torn down in late 2006. A new observation deck was constructed and opened to visitors in January 2009.[7]

    Description

    Mount Mitchell was formed during the Precambrian when marine deposits were metamorphosed into

    Alleghenian orogeny.[8] The soils are well drained, dark brown and stony with fine-earth material ranging in texture from sandy clay loam to loam or sandy loam; Burton and Craggey are the most common series around the summit.[9]

    Environment

    The mountain's summit is coated in a dense stand of

    aluminum, and by leaching important minerals. To what extent this pollution harms the high-altitude ecosystem is debatable.[10]

    While the mountain is still mostly lush and green in the summer, many dead Fraser fir trunks can be seen due to these serious problems. Reducing air pollution is a difficult issue, as the pollutants are often carried by air to this area from long distances. Sources can be local or hundreds of miles away, requiring cooperation from as far away as the

    Midwest
    .

    Wildflowers are abundant all summer long. Young fir and spruce trees do well in the subalpine climate, and their cones feed the birds along with wild blueberry and blackberry shrubs.

    The second highest point in eastern North America, Mount Craig at 6,647 feet (2,026 m), is roughly a mile to the north of Mount Mitchell.

    Climate

    Mount Mitchell
    Climate chart (explanation)
    J
    F
    M
    A
    M
    J
    J
    A
    S
    O
    N
    D
     
     
    6.5
     
     
    33
    17
     
     
    5.9
     
     
    35
    18
     
     
    7.1
     
     
    41
    24
     
     
    5.7
     
     
    49
    31
     
     
    5.3
     
     
    57
    41
     
     
    5.7
     
     
    63
    49
     
     
    5.8
     
     
    66
    52
     
     
    7.2
     
     
    65
    52
     
     
    7.5
     
     
    60
    46
     
     
    5.1
     
     
    53
    37
     
     
    6.7
     
     
    45
    28
     
     
    6.2
     
     
    36
    21
    █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
    █ Precipitation totals in inches
    Source: NOAA[11]
    Metric conversion
    J
    F
    M
    A
    M
    J
    J
    A
    S
    O
    N
    D
     
     
    166
     
     
    1
    −8
     
     
    149
     
     
    2
    −8
     
     
    179
     
     
    5
    −5
     
     
    145
     
     
    9
    0
     
     
    135
     
     
    14
    5
     
     
    146
     
     
    17
    9
     
     
    148
     
     
    19
    11
     
     
    182
     
     
    18
    11
     
     
    190
     
     
    16
    8
     
     
    129
     
     
    12
    3
     
     
    170
     
     
    7
    −2
     
     
    158
     
     
    2
    −6
    █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
    █ Precipitation totals in mm

    The summit area of Mount Mitchell is marked by a warm-summer

    severe cold spell. It is also the coldest average reporting station in the state at 42.9 °F (6.1 °C), well below any other station.[12]

    Unlike the lower elevations in the surrounding regions, heavy snows often fall from December to March, with 50 inches (1.27 m) accumulating in the

    Great Blizzard of 1993 and 33 inches (0.84 m) in the January 2016 blizzard.[13][12] Due to the high elevation, precipitation is heavy and reliable year-round, averaging 81.09 inches (2,060 mm) for the year, with no month receiving less than 5 in (127 mm) of average precipitation. The summit is often windy, with recorded gusts of up to 178 mph (286 km/h).[14]

    Mount Mitchell recorded a new state record of 139.94 inches (3,554.5 mm) of precipitation in 2018, which is also the highest total rainfall recorded during a calendar year anywhere east of the Cascade Range in the Contiguous United States.[15]

     

    Climate data for Mount Mitchell, North Carolina (1991–2020 normals, records 1980–present)
    Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
    Record high °F (°C) 61
    (16)     		62
    (17)     		73
    (23)     		73
    (23)     		78
    (26)     		79
    (26)     		80
    (27)     		81
    (27)     		77
    (25)     		73
    (23)     		67
    (19)     		64
    (18)     		81
    (27)
    Mean maximum °F (°C) 51.0
    (10.6)     		52.3
    (11.3)     		58.6
    (14.8)     		66.6
    (19.2)     		69.6
    (20.9)     		72.7
    (22.6)     		74.0
    (23.3)     		73.3
    (22.9)     		70.8
    (21.6)     		66.5
    (19.2)     		59.0
    (15.0)     		53.5
    (11.9)     		75.2
    (24.0)
    Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 33.5
    (0.8)     		35.5
    (1.9)     		41.0
    (5.0)     		50.2
    (10.1)     		57.8
    (14.3)     		63.8
    (17.7)     		66.8
    (19.3)     		66.0
    (18.9)     		61.4
    (16.3)     		53.6
    (12.0)     		44.8
    (7.1)     		37.7
    (3.2)     		51.0
    (10.6)
    Daily mean °F (°C) 25.1
    (−3.8)     		27.0
    (−2.8)     		32.3
    (0.2)     		41.1
    (5.1)     		49.5
    (9.7)     		56.3
    (13.5)     		59.6
    (15.3)     		58.6
    (14.8)     		53.8
    (12.1)     		45.2
    (7.3)     		36.2
    (2.3)     		29.6
    (−1.3)     		42.9
    (6.1)
    Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 16.7
    (−8.5)     		18.5
    (−7.5)     		23.6
    (−4.7)     		32.0
    (0.0)     		41.3
    (5.2)     		48.7
    (9.3)     		52.3
    (11.3)     		51.2
    (10.7)     		46.2
    (7.9)     		36.9
    (2.7)     		27.6
    (−2.4)     		21.4
    (−5.9)     		34.7
    (1.5)
    Mean minimum °F (°C) −6.5
    (−21.4)     		−0.7
    (−18.2)     		3.9
    (−15.6)     		14.7
    (−9.6)     		26.2
    (−3.2)     		38.9
    (3.8)     		45.4
    (7.4)     		45.5
    (7.5)     		35.2
    (1.8)     		19.8
    (−6.8)     		9.2
    (−12.7)     		1.6
    (−16.9)     		−9.5
    (−23.1)
    Record low °F (°C) −34
    (−37)     		−23
    (−31)     		−15
    (−26)     		1
    (−17)     		13
    (−11)     		27
    (−3)     		36
    (2)     		32
    (0)     		23
    (−5)     		5
    (−15)     		−19
    (−28)     		−22
    (−30)     		−34
    (−37)
    Average precipitation inches (mm) 7.47
    (190)     		5.62
    (143)     		7.22
    (183)     		6.52
    (166)     		6.08
    (154)     		5.46
    (139)     		6.92
    (176)     		7.69
    (195)     		8.76
    (223)     		6.29
    (160)     		6.17
    (157)     		6.89
    (175)     		81.09
    (2,060)
    Average snowfall inches (cm) 19.2
    (49)     		18.6
    (47)     		18.5
    (47)     		7.1
    (18)     		1.4
    (3.6)     		0.0
    (0.0)     		0.0
    (0.0)     		0.0
    (0.0)     		0.0
    (0.0)     		0.7
    (1.8)     		3.9
    (9.9)     		19.7
    (50)     		89.1
    (226)
    Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 14.1 12.4 14.1 12.6 14.2 16.1 17.8 16.1 12.7 10.3 10.4 13.1 163.9
    Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 6.4 6.5 4.9 2.5 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 2.0 5.2 28.2
    Source:
    NOAA[16][11]

    See also

    References

    1. ^ a b c "Mount Mitchell, North Carolina". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
    2. ^ "Mount Mitchell". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
    3. ^ a b Bradford, Erin (2019-12-05). "North Carolina Gazetteer". NCpedia. Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
    4. ISBN 9781851097807
      . Retrieved 22 April 2019.
    5. ^ "Mount Mitchell State Park | NC State Parks". www.ncparks.gov. State of North Carolina. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
    6. ^ "Topographic isolation". 3 February 2019. Archived from the original on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2019 – via Wikipedia.
    7. ^ "Mount Mitchell State Park". North Carolina State Parks. Archived from the original on 2008-12-26. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
    8. ISBN 978-0-8078-5423-5
      .
    9. ^ SoilWeb Archived 2013-05-14 at the Wayback Machine, University of California-Davis California Soil Resource Lab, Natural Resources Conservation Service. Accessed: 11 January 2016.
    10. ^ Steve Nash, Blue Ridge 2020: An Owner's Manual (Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1999), pp. 25-28, 61-63.
    11. ^ a b "Station: MT Mitchell, NC". U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 2021-05-11. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
    12. ^ a b "Extreme Weather Records". State Climate Office of North Carolina. Archived from the original on 2007-05-12. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
    13. ^ Chris Stachelski (May 6, 2016). SCEC Decision: New 24 Hour Snowfall Record For North Carolina (PDF) (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 24, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
    14. ^ "Mount Mitchell Webcam Activated" (PDF). The Steward. North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation. August 2003. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-04-16. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
    15. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived
      from the original on 2019-12-08. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
    16. ^ "NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on June 28, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2021.

    External links

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