Your Guide to Great Smoky Mountains National Park by Michael Joseph Oswald

Author:Michael Joseph Oswald [Oswald, Michael Joseph]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: National, Park, Mountains, Dome, Trail, Carolina, Cove, Great, North, Top, Pigeon, Gatlinburg, Clingmans, Leconte, Forge, Ramsay, Rocky, Smoky, Sevierville, Cades, Appalachian, Tennessee, Cascades
ISBN: 9781621280057
Publisher: Stone Road Press
Published: 2012-04-10T00:00:00+00:00

Flora & Fauna (GRSM)

Balsam Wildflower © Jim R. Rogers

Incomparable biodiversity resulted in the park’s designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve. GRSM is home to more than 1,600 species of flowering plants, which helped inspire its billing as “the Wildflower National Park.” Wildflowers bloom year-round, but spring is the ultimate time to view an abundance of colorful blossoms. The week-long Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Festival celebrates these living decorations and features programs and guided walks that explore the park’s amazing biodiversity. You can help save the wildflowers by staying on hiking trails when exploring the backcountry, and it is illegal to pick wildflowers. Beyond flowers, you’ll find more than 100 native tree species and over 100 native shrub species. There are more tree species here than any other U.S. National Park, and more species than in all of Northern Europe.

More than 200 species of birds, 50 native species of fish, 80 types of reptiles and amphibians, and 66 species of mammals are protected in GRSM. Spotting wildlife is often easiest in winter after trees have shed their leaves. During the remainder of the year open areas like Chataloochee and Cades Cove are great spots for wildlife viewing. White-tailed deer, wild turkey, squirrels, and bats are your most probable sightings, but don’t count out seeing the symbol of the park, the black bear. GRSM provides the largest protected bear habitat in the East, and it’s home to approximately 1,500 bears. The park’s 30 species of salamander are enough to earn the title of “Salamander Capital of the World.” However, the most unique wildlife display comes from one of its smallest occupants, the Smoky Mountain Synchronous Fireflies. The name sounds like a circus act—a description not far from reality—but these tiny insects aren’t performing for you; their flashing light patterns are part of a mating display. It’s special because the individual fireflies are able to synchronize their light patterns. Such a spectacle is only known to occur in one other place in the world (Southeast Asia). These phosphorescent flies perform nightly for a two week period around the middle of June (dates change from year to year). To see the show you must camp at Elkmont or take a $1 round-trip trolley ride from Sugarlands Visitor Center. (Personal vehicles are not permitted.) Visitors should follow a few simple rules so you do not disrupt the fireflies or other guests. Cover your flashlight with red or blue cellophane. Only use your flashlight (pointed toward the ground) when walking to your viewing spot. Stay on the trail at all times, do not catch fireflies, and pack out your garbage.

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