Mount Le Conte

At 6,593 ft (2,010 m) it is the third highest peak in the national park, behind Clingmans Dome.

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Mount Le Conte Details

Mount Le Conte (or LeConte) is a mountain in Sevier County, Tennessee located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. At 6,593 ft (2,010 m) it is the third highest peak in the national park, behind Clingmans Dome (6,643 ft, 2,024 m) and Mount Guyot (6,621 ft, 2,018 m). However, from its immediate base to its highest peak, Mount Le Conte is the tallest mountain in Tennessee, rising 5,301 ft (1,616 m) from its base, near Gatlinburg, Tennessee (1,292 ft/394 m). There are four subpeaks above 6,000 ft on the mountain (referred to as the LeConte massif): West Point (6,344 ft/1,934 m), High Top (6,593 ft/2,010 m), Cliff Tops (6,555 ft/1,998 m), and Myrtle Point (6,200 ft/1,890 m). In addition, Balsam Point (5,840+ ft/1,780+ m) serves as the dramatic west end of the massif. Additionally, the mountain is notable for having the highest inn providing lodging for visitors in the Eastern United States. There is considerable controversy over just which member of the Le Conte family the mountain was named for. The United States Geological Survey lists Joseph Le Conte, famous geologist, as the man for whom the mountain was named, supposedly by Swiss explorer Arnold Guyot. However, in recent years this claim has been challenged by local authorities (including the authors of A Natural History of Mount Le Conte), who in turn believe that the mountain derives its name from Joseph's older — and less famous — brother John Le Conte, a physicist at South Carolina College. Their story alleges that the mountain was named by Samuel Buckley in respect to John's help in moving his barometer to Waynesville, North Carolina, at Buckley's request. Although the mountain was measured in the 1850s, very little activity took place on the mountain until the 1920s, when Paul Adams moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. An enthusiastic hiker and explorer, Adams spent much of his free time creating adventures in the mountains. In 1924 he joined the Great Smoky Mountain Conservation Association, a group dedicated to making the region into a national park. As part of this push, later that year he led an expedition up the mountain with dignitaries from Washington, in order to show the group what rugged beauty those mountains held. The group spent the night in a large tent which would later become a cabin, and eventually the LeConte Lodge, a popular resort near the top of the peak. The trip was a great success and about a decade later Mount Le Conte, and the surrounding region, was protected as part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Source: Wikipedia

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