Transcript Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains
National Park
By: Sarah Camisa
What year did the park become an official
national park and why?
Before the arrival of European settlers, the region was part of the homeland of the
Cherokee Indians. Frontiers people began settling the land in the 18th and early 19th century. In
1830 President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act beginning the process that
eventually resulted in the forced removal of all Indian tribes east of the Mississippi River to what
is now Oklahoma. Many of the Cherokee left, but some, led by renegade warrior Tsali, hid out in
the area that is now the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Some of their descendants now
live in the Qualla Reservation south of the park.
As white settlers moved in, logging grew as a major industry in the mountains, and a rail
line, the Little River Railroad , was constructed in the late 19th century to haul timber out of
the remote regions of the area. Cut-and-run style clear cutting was destroying the natural
beauty of the area, so visitors and locals banded together to raise money for preservation of the
land. The U.S. National Park Service wanted a park in the eastern United States, but did not have
much money to establish one. Though Congress had authorized the park in 1926, there was no
nucleus of federally-owned land around which to build a park. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. contributed
$5 million, the U.S. government added $2 million, and private citizens from Tennessee and North
Carolina pitched in to assemble the land for the park, piece by piece. Slowly, mountain
homesteaders, miners, and loggers were evicted from the land. Farms and timbering operations
were abolished in establishing the protected area of the park. Travel writer Horace Depart, for
whom Mount Depart was named, and photographer George Masa were instrumental in
fostering the development of the park. The park was officially established on June 15, 1934.
During the Great Depression the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress
Administration, and other federal organizations made trails, fire watchtowers, and other
infrastructure improvements to the park and Smoky Mountains.
What kind of rocks can be
found in your park?
There are basically three types of
rocks in the Smokies, sedimentary,
igneous and metamorphic. These rocks
are over 1 billion years old and are
composed of gneiss, schist,
(metamorphic rocks) and some granite
(igneous rocks).
What special landforms or
features are inside your park?
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park
is one of the most visited national parks. It
offers breathtaking mountain scenery,
including panoramic views, rushing
mountain streams, and mature hardwood
forests stretching to the horizon.
How was the park formed?
About 10,000 years ago, when glaciers advanced
from the north during the last Pleistocene ice age, the
Great Smoky Mountains were already millions of years
old. The glaciers cooled the climate of the entire region.
Lured by the cold, northern evergreens and other plants
extended their range south into the lands of Great
Smoky Mountains National Park.
Later, as the glaciers receded, these forests also
withdrew, remaining only on the heights of the Smokies
where conditions were cool and moist. Throughout the
park signs advise visitors to see "the world as it once
was.“
Because the great glaciers were stopped in their
southward journey by these mountains, which include
25 peaks above 6,000 feet, the Great Smokies today
harbor a unique blend of northern and southern animals
and plants.
How is the land inside the
park currently changing?
The land inside the park is
fairly good. Great Smokey
Mountains National Park, has some
eroding, which is called “trail
eroding”. On an all park basis,
water erosion is the most important
problem in a park, but fortunately
Great smoky mountain national
park doesn’t have any water
erosion.
What environmental issues are
affecting your park?
Unfortunately, Great smoky mountains
national park is very polluted. It is the #1
rated most polluted park. They say it has
almost as much smog as L.A, which is really
sad. Most park pollution comes from burning
fossil fuels – coal, oil, and gas. It also comes
from cars, trains, planes, trucks, and
construction equipment. Hopefully, we will
see a change.
How is technology used to help
preserve and maintain the park?
Technology is used in many ways to help
preserve the park. They use eco-friendly
transportation devices to get around the park
that will not pollute it. Also, they use SAMI.
SAMI is a voluntary, multi-organizational
initiative charged to help reduce the amount
of pollution in the Great Smoky Mountains
national park.
Map of the Park
a
Pictures and Diagrams
Bibliography
1. "Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Air Quality (U.S. National Park Service)." U.S. National Park Service - Experience Your
America. Web. 02 June 2010. <http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/air-quality.htm>.
2. "Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Google Search." Google. Web. 02 June 2010.
<http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=great smoky mountains national park&um=1&ie=UTF8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi>.
3. "Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service)." U.S. National Park Service - Experience Your America.
Web. 02 June 2010. <http://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm>.
4. Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Web. 02 June 2010. <http://www.great.smoky.mountains.national-park.com/>.
5. "Great Smoky Mountains National Park." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 02 June 2010.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Smoky_Mountains_National_Park>.
6. Rudolphy, From Katy. "An Overview of Great Smoky Mountains National Park." Geography Home Page - Geography at
About.com. 04 Sept. 2009. Web. 02 June 2010.
<http://geography.about.com/od/specificplacesofinterest/a/greatsmokey.htm>..
7. Standards, Todays. "History Of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park - GSMNP." Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Smoky Mountain Cabins, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge TN Cabin Rentals. Web. 02 June 2010.
<http://www.gsmnp.com/pages/history.html>.