The Plott Balsams are a mountain range in western
North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. They are part of the
Blue Ridge Mountain Province of the Southern
Appalachian Mountains. The Plott Balsams stretch from the city of
Sylva in the
Tuckasegee River valley to the southwest to
Maggie Valley in the northeast. The
Great Smoky Mountains border the Plott Balsams to the north and the
Great Balsam Mountains border the range to the south. The range comprises parts of
Jackson County and
Haywood County.
Waterrock Knob, which has an elevation of , is the highest summit in the Plott Balsam Range. Four other summits in the range rise above 6,000 feet, namely Mount Lyn Lowry, Browning Knob, Plott Balsam Mountain, and Yellow Face. Other notable summits include the Pinnacle, which overlooks the Sylva area to the south, Blackrock Mountain (near Yellow Face), and Campbell Lick, which overlooks Maggie Valley.
The
Blue Ridge Parkway traverses the slopes of the highest mountains in the Plott Balsam Range, connecting
Soco Gap
Soco Gap (el. ) is a mountain pass between the Plott Balsam Range, to its south, and the Balsam Mountains, to its north. Also known as Ahalunun'yi (), meaning "Ambush Place" or Uni'halu'na (), meaning "where they ambushed;" named after the occa ...
and
Balsam Gap
Balsam Gap (el. ) is a mountain pass between the Plott Balsam Range to the northwest and the Great Balsam Mountains to the southeast on the county line dividing Haywood and Jackson counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina.
The gap allows bot ...
. A short road connects the parkway to an overlook and a National Park Service visitor contact station and bookstore near the summit of Waterrock Knob. The
Nantahala National Forest protects much of the south side of the Plott Balsam Range. The
Qualla Boundary
The Qualla Boundary or The Qualla is territory held as a land trust by the United States government for the federally recognized Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, who reside in western North Carolina. The area is part of the large historic Chero ...
, which is the reservation for the
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, includes parts of the range's northwest section along Soco Creek. The city of Sylva maintains a municipal park along Fisher Creek in the southeast section of the range. A memorial dedicated to leukemia victim Lyn Lowry, who died in 1962, is situated atop Lowry's namesake mountain. The memorial includes a cross that is lit up at night, making it visible for miles from the surrounding towns. A stand of
Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest coats the range's upper elevations.
The Plott Balsams are named for the Plott family, whose ancestor, (Johannes) George Plott (c. 1733-1815), immigrated to North Carolina in the late 18th century from Germany. The
Plott Hound, a breed of hunting dog, is also named for the Plotts.
[Marcus Simpson, Harold Pratt, ''Birds of the Blue Ridge Mountains'' (University of North Carolina, 1992), p. 182.]
References and notes
External links
*
Plott Balsams— Peakbagger.com
— Carolina Mountain Club site
— SummitPost.org
{{North Carolina highest
Mountain ranges of North Carolina
Landforms of Jackson County, North Carolina
Landforms of Haywood County, North Carolina
Blue Ridge Mountains