Mount Mitchell

Description

Mount Mitchell is the highest point in the Appalachian Mountains. New Hampshire's Mount Washington (6,288 ft.) had long been believed to be the highest point, but in 1835 Elisha Mitchell, a professor of science at the University of North Carolina, made barometric measurements in North Carolina's Black Mountain Range that were the first to indicate otherwise. Dr. Mitchell was later killed in a fall on the mountain which would subsequently be named in his honor. Mount Mitchell is a pine-covered mountain, and its surrounding forests have many trails winding through excellent wilderness. The mountain's summit is less wild, as a road leads to the top, upon which stands an observation tower, museum, and picnic area.