Mount Chapman is a mountain in the

Great Smoky Mountains The Great Smoky Mountains (, ''Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv'') are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge ...

, located in the Southeastern United States. It has an elevation of 6,417 feet (1,956 m) above sea leve

While the mountain is located deep within the Great Smokies, the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tr ...

crosses its eastern slope, coming to within of the summit. Mount Chapman is among the 10 highest mountains in the

Appalachian range The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a mountain range, system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovicia ...

, if subpeaks are not include

Mount Chapman is situated along the

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

border, with Sevier County to the north and

Swain County Swain County is a county located on the far western border of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,117. Its county seat is Bryson City. Four rivers flow through the mountainous terrain of Swain County: t ...

to the south. Like its neighbor Mount Guyot, Chapman is a

double peak A double summit, double peak, twin summit, or twin peak refers to a mountain or hill that has two summits, separated by a col or saddle. One well-known double summit is Austria’s highest mountain, the Großglockner, where the main summit of t ...

, with the southern peak being the true summit. A gap divides Chapman from Dashoga Ridge (i.e., Mount Hardison and Marks Knob), just two miles (3 km) to the eas

Mount Chapman's western slope, known as Chapman Lead, is more gradual, descending roughly over to its base along the headwaters of the Little Pigeon River (Tennessee), Little Pigeon Riverbr>
Chapman Lead parallels Guyot Spur to the north, with Buck Fork slicing between the two giant ridges. The mountain's summit is coated in a dense stand of

Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

. The remoteness of Mount Chapman has left it largely untouched by human history. The mountain is named after Colonel

David C. Chapman David Carpenter Chapman (August 9, 1876 – July 26, 1944) was an American soldier, politics, politician, and business leader from Knoxville, Tennessee who led the effort to establish the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the 1920s and 1930 ...

(1876-1944), a

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...

business leader who led efforts to establish a national park in the Great Smokies. As head of the Tennessee Great Smoky Mountains Park Commission from 1927 to 1937, Chapman raised funds and negotiated hundreds of land purchases that would make the park possible.

Arnold Guyot Arnold Henry Guyot ( ) (September 28, 1807February 8, 1884) was a Swiss-American geologist and geographer. Early life Guyot was born on September 28, 1807, at Boudevilliers, near Neuchâtel, Switzerland. He was educated at Chaux-de-Fonds, then ...

crossed Mount Chapman in the late 1850s, measuring the mountain's summit at 6,447 feet (Guyot called it "Mount Alexander" after a Princeton colleague). The leg of the Appalachian Trail crossing Chapman's eastern slope was constructed in 1935.Sherrill Hatcher, "The Appalachian Trail In the Smokies," ''Smoky Mountain Historical Society Newsletter'' 20, no. 3 (May–June 1994): 2 Mount Chapman is approximately from the nearest parking lot at the Cosby Campground and from

Newfound Gap Newfound Gap (el. ) is a mountain pass located near the center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States of America. Situated along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the state l ...

. From the Cosby Campground (specifically behind Campsite B51), the

Snake Den Ridge Trail The Snake Den Ridge Trail is an American hiking trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of Cocke County, Tennessee. Winding its way up the backbone-like crest of Snake Den Ridge, the trail connects the Cosby Campground to the Appalachi ...

winds for to its junction with the Appalachian Trail at Inadu Knob. Following the AT from Inadu, Chapman's main peak is approximately to the south, with the trail first crossing the slopes of

Old Black Old Black is the nickname given to Neil Young's primary electric guitar. Most of Young's electric guitar work has been recorded using this instrument. Though he has used a variety of different instruments, this Les Paul has remained ubiquitous ...

, Mount Guyot, and

Tricorner Knob Tricorner Knob is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. It has an elevation of 6,120 feet (1,865 m), with 160 feet (48 m) of clean prominence. The Appalachian and Balsam Mountain trails intersect ne ...

. A short

bushwhack Bushwhacking was a form of guerrilla warfare during the American Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and American Civil War. Bushwhacker(s), Bushwacker(s), or Bushwhacking may also refer to: * Bushwacker (bull), #13/6, hall of fame bucking bull * Bu ...

is required to reach the summit. The Tricorner Knob Shelter is approximately to the northeast of Mount Chapman.

See also