View source for Kuwohi

{{Short description|Mountain, highest point in Tennessee, United States}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = {{native name|chr|Kuwohi}}
| other_name = Clingmans Dome
| photo = File:Clingmans Dome Sevierville TN.jpg
| photo_caption = Kuwohi as seen from [[Sevierville, Tennessee]]
| elevation_ft = 6644
| elevation_ref = <ref name="gnis">{{cite gnis|1326387|Kuwohi|September 19, 2024}}</ref>
| prominence_ft = 4503
| prominence_ref = <ref name="pb">{{cite peakbagger |pid=7764 |name=Clingmans Dome |access-date=2019-07-10}}</ref>
<!----------------------- GEOGRAPHY -->
| map = Tennessee#USA
| map_caption = none
| map_size = 300
| label_position = left
| listing = {{unbulleted list
  | [[List of U.S. states by elevation|U.S. state high point]] 17th<ref name="pb"/>
  | [[Great Smoky Mountains]] high point<ref>{{cite peakbagger |lid=16103 |name=USA/Canada Range4 High Points |access-date=2019-07-10}}</ref>}}
| location = {{unbulleted list
  | [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park]]
  | [[Sevier County, Tennessee]], [[U.S.]]
  | [[Swain County, North Carolina]], [[U.S.]]}}
| range = [[Great Smoky Mountains]]
| coordinates = {{coord|35|33|46|N|83|29|55|W|type:mountain_region:US_source:GNIS|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_ref = <ref name="gnis"/>
| topo = [[United States Geological Survey|USGS]] Clingmans Dome
| type = 
| age = 
| first_ascent = 
| easiest_route = Short paved trail hike
}}

'''Kuwohi''' ({{langx|chr|ᎫᏩᎯ}}, also known as '''Clingmans Dome''', its former official name) is a mountain in the [[Great Smoky Mountains]] of [[Tennessee]] and [[North Carolina]] in the [[Southeastern United States]].

At an [[topographical summit|elevation]] of {{convert|6643|ft|m}}, it is the highest mountain in the [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park]], the highest point in the state of Tennessee, and the highest point along the {{convert|2192|mi|km|adj=on}} [[Appalachian Trail]]. It is also the third highest point in eastern mainland North America, after [[Mount Mitchell]] ({{convert|6684|ft|m|disp=or|sp=us}}) and [[Mount Craig (North Carolina)|Mount Craig]] ({{convert|6647|ft|m|disp=or|sp=us}}).

==Description==
Kuwohi has two subpeaks: {{convert|6560|ft|m|adj=on}} Mount Buckley to the west; and {{convert|6400|ft|m|-1|adj=on}} Mount Love to the east. The headwaters of several substantial streams are located on the slopes of Kuwohi, including [[Little River (Tennessee)|Little River]] on the north slope, and Forney Creek and Noland Creek, both of which are tributaries of the [[Tuckasegee River]], on the south slope. The mountain is located entirely within the [[Tennessee Valley|watershed]] of the [[Tennessee River]].<ref name="NationalParksService2013a">{{cite web |author=National Park Service |date=2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005212647/http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/clingmansdome.htm |archivedate=2006-10-05 |title=Clingmans Dome |url=https://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm |work=Great Smoky Mountains National Park NC, TN], National Park Service, U.S. Department of Interior |accessdate=2013-07-28 }}</ref>

Kuwohi is protected as part of the [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park]]. A paved road connects it to [[U.S. Highway 441]] at [[Newfound Gap]] {{convert|6.7|mi|km}} away.<ref name=googlemaps>{{Google maps|url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Clingmans+Dome,+North+Carolina+28713/Newfound+Gap,+Tennessee+37738/@35.588923,-83.4813592,13.5z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x88594e0302f0a0ab:0x756a068785c2f619!2m2!1d-83.4984981!2d35.5627546!1m5!1m1!1s0x88595083d045d133:0xf3bf5cfb1b2ae8a2!2m2!1d-83.4248814!2d35.6112063!3e0 |title=Overview of Clingmans Dome Road |access-date=2021-06-07 }}</ref>

A {{convert|45|ft|m|adj=on}} tall concrete observation tower at the summit, built in 1959 and listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]], offers a panoramic view of the mountains. An air quality monitoring station, operated by the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]], is the second highest in eastern North America.{{fact|date=September 2025}}

The [[Southern Appalachian spruce–fir forest]] that covers Kuwohi occurs only at the highest elevations in the [[Southeastern United States]] and has more in common with forests at northern latitudes than with the forests in the adjacent valleys. Kuwohi stands prominently above the surrounding terrain, rising nearly {{convert|5000|ft|m|sigfig=2}} [[Topographic prominence|from base to summit]]. The forest on and around Kuwohi has experienced a large die-off of [[Fraser fir]] caused by non-native insect [[balsam woolly adelgid]].<ref name="NationalParksService2013a"/>

===Observation tower===
{{Infobox NRHP
  | name = Clingmans Dome Observation Tower 
  | nrhp_type = 
  | image = Clingman's Dome Tower on a Sunny, Snowy Day.JPG
  | caption = 
  | location = 
  | nearest_city = 
  | area = {{convert|1.4|acre|ha}}
  | built = 1959<ref name=nrhp>{{cite web |first=Cynthia |last=Walton |url=https://files.nc.gov/ncdcr/nr/SW0119.pdf |title=National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for Clingmans Dome Observation Tower |date=2009-10-26 }}</ref>
  | architect = Bebb and Olson
  | architecture = [[Modern architecture|Modern]]
  | added = 2012-08-15
  | visitation_num = 
  | visitation_year = 
  | refnum =12000515
  | mpsub = 
  | governing_body =
  }}

Built in 1959, the observation tower features a circular observation platform accessed by a spiral ramp. The ramp is {{convert|375|ft|m}} in length, and rises at a 12 percent grade, in sync with the Clingmans Dome Trail. The platform, {{convert|28|ft|m}} in diameter, allows spectators a 360-degree panorama of the surrounding terrain.<ref name=spencer>{{cite book|last=Spencer |first=Marci|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K4F_CQAAQBAJ&q=construction+of+clingmans+dome+tower&pg=PT60|title=Clingmans Dome: Highest Mountain in the Great Smokies|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2013|pages=61–64|isbn=978-1-61423-907-9}}</ref> Cantilevered signs point out the various peaks, ridges, cities, and other features visible in the distance. Depending on the haze, visibility ranges from {{convert|20|mi|km}} on hazy days to {{convert|100|mi|km}} on very clear days.<ref name=nrhp />

The tower was one of nine observation towers constructed as part of the [[Mission 66]] program (1955&ndash;1966), an effort by the [[National Park Service]] to upgrade its facilities to accommodate an influx of visitors to national parks during the post-[[World War II]] era. Designed by Hubert Bebb of the Gatlinburg-based architecture firm Bebb and Olson, the tower's [[modern architecture|modern]] design, especially the use of concrete as the primary building material, marked a departure from previous park structures, which favored more [[National Park Service rustic|rustic elements]]. Although some criticized the Clingmans Dome tower as too "urban", two other park service observation towers&mdash;the nearby Look Rock tower along [[Foothills Parkway]] and the [[Shark Valley]] tower at [[Everglades National Park]]&mdash;were built using similar designs.<ref name=nrhp />

Bebb's original design consisted of a massive stone tower topped by a circular platform and fire observation cab, accessed by a concrete ramp. Fred Arnold, head of the park service's Forest and Wildlife Protection branch, rejected the inclusion of the fire observation cab, arguing that while Kuwohi was the highest point in the park, it was not particularly useful for fire detection purposes. Park service director [[Conrad Wirth]] objected to the use of a ramp, favoring instead a spiral staircase. After John B. Cabot, head of the park service's Eastern Office of Design and Construction, convinced him of the ramp's usefulness, Wirth decided the stone tower would not be necessary, stating a single central support column would suffice.<ref name=nrhp />

The tower was built by the [[Waynesville, North Carolina]] construction firm of W.C. Norris at a cost of US$57,000 ({{Inflation|US|57000|1958|fmt=eq|r=-4}}). Ground was broken in December 1958.<ref name=spencer /> After several weather delays and a great deal of controversy over the aesthetics of the design,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thesmokies.com/clingmans-dome-weather-controversy/ |title=The Clingmans Dome (Now Kuwohi) Controversy, the Tower That Weathered a Media Storm |work=TheSmokies.com |date=2023-12-07 |first=John |last=Gullion }}</ref> the tower was completed on October 23, 1959.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brewer |first1=Carson |author1-link=Carson Brewer |title=Clingmans Dome Tower Opens New Scenes to Park Visitors |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/79103216/clingmans-dome-tower-opens-new-scenes/ |access-date=2021-06-07 |work=The Knoxville News Sentinel |date=1959-10-25 |page=C-1 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
{{wide image|2017-05-17 13 30 12 Full 360-degree panorama from the observation tower on Clingmans Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, on the border of Sevier County, Tennessee and Swain County, North Carolina.jpg|800px|align-cap=center|360-degree panoramic from the tower. Mount Le Conte can be seen center-left.}}

===Access===
{{stack|[[Image:Clingman's Dome Information Center IMG 4931.JPG|thumb|Information Center.]]}}
Kuwohi is the most accessible mountain top in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The {{convert|7|mi|km|adj=on}} Clingmans Dome Road, which is open annually from April 1 through November 30,<ref name="NationalParksService2013a"/> begins just past Newfound Gap and leads up the mountain to the Forney Ridge Parking Area, {{convert|330|ft|m}} below the summit. A {{convert|1/2|mi|m|adj=on}} paved trail leads from the parking lot to the observation tower.<ref>{{cite summitpost |id=150543 |name=Clingmans Dome |access-date=2011-05-09}}</ref> The short, steep trail provides a small visitor information center and park store staffed by the Great Smoky Mountains Association. The trail offers a glimpse of the often hostile environment of highland Appalachia, passing through the spruce-fir forest and its accompanying blowdowns and dead Fraser Firs.{{fact|date=September 2025}}

The [[Appalachian Trail]] (A.T.) crosses Kuwohi, passing immediately north of the observation tower. A {{convert|7.5|mi|km|adj=on}} leg of the trail connects the mountain with Newfound Gap and provides the only access to the mountain in winter months. The nearest A.T. backcountry shelters are the Double Spring Gap Shelter, which is {{convert|2.6|mi|km}} to the west near the Goshen Prong junction, and the Mount Collins shelter, which is {{convert|4|mi|km}} to the east near the A.T.'s junction with the [[Sugarland Mountain Trail]]. Kuwohi is the upper terminus for several additional hiking trails, including the Forney Ridge Trail (to [[Andrews Bald]]) and the Forney Creek Trail (to the [[Benton MacKaye Trail]] on the shores of [[Fontana Lake]]).{{fact|date=September 2025}}

The western terminus of the [[Mountains-to-Sea Trail]], which connects the Smokies to the [[Outer Banks]] of North Carolina, is located atop Kuwohi. It follows the Appalachian Trail for {{convert|3.8|mi|km}} to the east, where it then begins to descend toward the [[Blue Ridge Parkway]], via the Fork Ridge Trail.{{fact|date=September 2025}}

==History==

[[File:Viewpoint along Alum Cave Trail ascending towards Mount LeConte, GSMNP, TN.jpg|thumb|Viewpoint along [[Alum Cave Trail|the Alum Cave Trail]] ascending towards [[Mount Le Conte (Tennessee)|Mount Le Conte]]]]

The [[Cherokee]] name for the mountain is {{lang|chr|'''Kuwahi'''}} or {{lang|chr|'''Kuwohi'''}} ({{lang|chr|ᎫᏩᎯ}}), translating to '[[mulberry]] place'.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Andrew |title=Buncombe County votes to support changing 'Clingmans Dome' name to Cherokee 'Kuwohi' |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2022/08/03/buncombe-commission-votes-support-clingmans-dome-cherokee-renaming/10217401002/ |access-date=2022-08-29 |website=The Asheville Citizen Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=NameChangeNPS>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/grsm/learn/news/kuwohi-name-restored-to-the-highest-peak-in-the-smokies.htm |title=Kuwohi name restored to the highest peak in the Smokies |website=[[National Park Service]] |last=Liming |first=Katie |date=2024-09-18 |access-date=2024-09-18}}</ref> According to a Cherokee myth recorded by ethnologist [[James Mooney]] in the late 19th century, the mountain was the home of the White Bear, the great chief of all bears, and the location of one of the bears' council houses. The enchanted lake of ''Ataga'hi'' ("Gall Place"), the waters of which could cure wounded bears, was believed by the Cherokee to be located somewhere between Kuwohi and the headwaters of the [[Oconaluftee River]] to the east.<ref>James Mooney, ''Myths of the Cherokee and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokee'' (Nashville: C and R Elder, 1972), pp. 264, 321.</ref>

In 1789, an act passed by the North Carolina legislature ceded what is now Tennessee to the federal government. This act fixed a portion of the boundary between the two along the crest of the "Great Iron or Smoky Mountains," which would have included the mountain later known as Clingmans Dome.<ref>{{cite book |author=Michael Frome |title=Strangers In High Places: The Story of the Great Smoky Mountains |location=Knoxville |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |year=1994 |page=67}}</ref> The mountain was dubbed "Smoky Dome" by American settlers moving in from other areas.

In 1859, the mountain was renamed to "Clingmans Dome" by geographer [[Arnold Henry Guyot|Arnold Guyot]] for compatriot [[Thomas L. Clingman]],<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n84 85]}}</ref> who extensively explored, measured, and promoted the area in the 1850s, and who would go on to become a [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] general of the [[American Civil War]]. Guyot named the mountain for Clingman because of an argument between Clingman and a professor at the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|University of North Carolina]], [[Elisha Mitchell]], over which mountain was actually the highest in the region. Mitchell contended that a peak by the name of Black Dome (now known as [[Mount Mitchell]]) was the highest, while Clingman asserted that Smoky Dome was the true highest peak. Guyot determined that Black Dome was {{convert|39|ft|m|0}} higher than Smoky Dome.

In the early morning hours of June 12, 1946, a [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]] crashed near the summit of Kuwohi, killing all twelve aboard.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wadley|first1=Jeff|last2=McCarter|first2=Dwight|title=Mayday! mayday!: aircraft crashes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 1920-2000|year=2002|publisher=University of Tennessee Press|location=Knoxville |isbn = 1-57233-154-2}}</ref>

In June 2022, Lavita Hill and Mary "Missy" Crowe, both members of the [[Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians]], drafted legislation for the Tribe to support changing the name of Clingmans Dome to Kuwahi ('mulberry place')—the original name given to the area by Cherokees. The resolution describes the area, "Kuwahi or 'mulberry place', is the highest point in our area and has significance to us as Cherokees as it was visited by medicine people who prayed and sought guidance from the Creator regarding important matters facing our people, and then returned to our towns to give guidance and advice."<ref>{{Cite web|last=McKie B.P. |first=Scott |date=2022-06-16 |title=Cherokee women seeking name change for Clingman's Dome |url=https://theonefeather.com/2022/06/16/cherokee-women-seeking-name-change-for-clingmans-dome/ |access-date=2022-07-21 |website=The Cherokee One Feather |language=en-US}}</ref> The Tribal Council of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians passed the legislation, submitted by Hill and Crowe, during its regular session on July 14, 2022, thus lending the Tribe's support for the name change effort. The change was presented as an opportunity "to talk about [[Cherokee language|the language]]" and remind people that "this was Cherokee homeland."<ref name="Council" />

The official process started with the filing of an application for a name change through the [[United States Board on Geographic Names]] (BGN).<ref name="Council">{{Cite web |last=McKie B.P. |first=Scott |date=2022-07-14 |title=Council supports Clingman's Dome name change |url=https://theonefeather.com/2022/07/14/council-supports-clingmans-dome-name-change/ |access-date=2022-07-21 |website=The Cherokee One Feather |language=en-US}}</ref> On August 2, 2022, the [[Buncombe County, North Carolina|Buncombe County]] Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to support the name change, after consultation with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.<ref name=":0" /> The council of the tribe voted in early 2024 to authorize the submission of an application to BGN.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Knoepp |first=Lilly |date=2024-01-08 |title=Eastern Band of Cherokee takes another step toward renaming Clingmans Dome |url=https://www.bpr.org/bpr-news/2024-01-08/eastern-band-of-cherokee-takes-another-step-toward-renaming-clingmans-dome |access-date=2024-04-26 |website=BPR |language=en}}</ref> The [[National Park Service]] "strongly supported" this name change.<ref name=NameChangeNPS/> It was ultimately approved, with the official press release of the name change to Kuwohi, which was effective immediately, being released on September 18, 2024.<ref>{{cite news |last=Whetstone |first=Tyler |date=September 18, 2024 |title=Clingmans Dome renamed Kuwohi in honor of Cherokee people who consider the mountain sacred |url=https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2024/09/18/clingmans-dome-renamed-kuwohi-great-smoky-mountains-national-park-cherokee/75278028007/ |work=The Knoxville News Sentinel |access-date=September 18, 2024}}</ref>

==Geology==
Kuwohi is part of a [[geological formation]] known as the Copperhill Formation. It consists predominately of massive, coarse-grained [[greywacke|metagreywacke]] and [[Conglomerate (geology)#Metaconglomerate|metaconglomerate]]. The lower northern flanks of Kuwohi are underlain by thick layers of sulfidic, [[quartz]]-[[garnet]]-[[muscovite]] [[phyllite]] and [[schist]], which occur within the metagraywackes and metaconglomerates. Adjacent to and south of its summit, thin, southward-dipping, and discontinuous beds of [[garnet]]iferous (locally [[graphite|graphitic]] and [[sulfide|sulfidic]]) [[siltstone|metasiltstone]] occur within the Copperhill Formation.<ref name="SouthworthOthers2012a">Southworth, S, A Schultz, JN Aleinikoff, and AJ Merschat (2012) [https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1225/ ''Geologic map of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park region, Tennessee and North Carolina.''] Scientific Investigations Map no. 2997. United States Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia, one sheet, scale 1:100,000, and 54-p. pamphlet.</ref>

The Copperhill Formation is part of the greater Ocoee Supergroup, a body of [[Clastic rock|clastic]] [[sedimentary|metasedimentary]] rocks formed 560 million years ago. They [[Unconformity|unconformably]] lie upon [[Precambrian]] [[granite|granitic]] and [[gneiss]]ic rocks. The sediments that originally comprised the Ocoee Supergroup accumulated in a string of narrow, deep-water basins that stretched along the entire southern-central Appalachian margin from Tennessee, North Carolina, to Georgia. These basins were [[rift]] basins formed by the rifting of [[Rodinia]].<ref name="Hatcher2005a">Hatcher, RD Jr. (2005) ''Southern and Central Appalachians, Regional Geology of North America.'' in RC Selley, LRM Cocks and IR Plimer, eds., pp. 72-81, Encyclopedia of Geology. Elsevier Publishers, London, {{ISBN|978-0-12-369396-9}}</ref><ref name="HatcherOthers1989a">Hatcher, RD, Jr., WA Thomas, and GW, Viele, (1989) ''The Appalachian–Ouachita orogen in the United States.'' The Geology of North America, vol. F–2. Geological Society of America, Boulder, Colorado.</ref>

The initial [[metamorphism]] of the Ocoee Supergroup occurred about 400 million years ago as the result of [[Ordovician]]-[[Silurian]] [[tectonism]] during the [[Taconic orogeny]]. Later, [[Devonian]]-[[Mississippian age|Mississippian]] metamorphism of these strata occurred during the [[Acadian orogeny]] and additional [[Pennsylvanian (geology)|Pennsylvanian]] to [[Permian]] alteration by retrograde metamorphism and deformation occurred during the [[Alleghanian orogeny]]. During the latest part of this orogeny, this segment of the Appalachian Mountains was formed by [[thrust faulting]] and [[Fold (geology)|folding]] that uplifted these [[strata]] as a series of complexly deformed thrust sheets. During the [[Mesozoic]] and [[Cenozoic]], the gradual uplift and erosion of this part of the Appalachian Mountains has continued.<ref name="SouthworthOthers2012a"/><ref name="Hatcher2005a"/><ref name="HatcherOthers1989a"/>

Although a dense forest understory covers most of the mountain, outcroppings of the Copperhill Formation can be found on Kuwohi at the Forney Ridge Parking Lot at the end of Clingmans Dome Road. This outcrop exposes massive metaconglomerate of the Copperhill Formation. At this outcrop, it consists of massive {{convert|6|m|ft|adj=on|sp=us}} thick beds of micaceous [[quartzite]]. It contains coarse [[pebble]]s of quartz and [[feldspar]], flat pebbles of fine-grained black graywacke, and egg-shaped [[concretion]]s up to {{convert|30|cm|in|sp=us}} in diameter. These [[Cobble (geology)|cobble]]-sized concretions are readily [[Weathering|weathered]] to leave rust-stained depressions or cavities in the metaconglomerate.<ref name="StoseOthers1949a">Stose, GW, and AJ Stose (1949) ''Ocoee Series of the Southern Appalachians.'' Geological Society of America Bulletin. 60(2):267-320.</ref>

Soils of Kuwohi are mostly moderately deep to shallow, well drained dark brown loam or sandy loam of [[Soil pH|strong to extreme acidity]]; Breakneck and Pullback series are most common.<ref>[http://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/gmap/ SoilWeb], University of California-Davis California Soil Resource Lab, Natural Resources Conservation Service. Accessed: 12 January 2016.</ref>

==Climate==
The climate of the summit of Kuwohi is [[Humid continental climate|humid continental]] ([[Köppen Climate Classification|Köppen]] ''Dfb''<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://open.oregonstate.education/permaculturedesign/back-matter/koppen-trewartha-climate-classification-descriptions/#:~:text=In%20the%20Trewartha%20scheme%20the,Cf%20or%20humid%20Subtropical%20climate.|title=Permaculture Design: Tools for Climate Resilience|chapter=Appendix D: Koppen-Trewartha Climate Classification Descriptions|date=August 2019 |publisher=Oregon State University |last1=Millison |first1=Andrew }}</ref>). The surrounding areas have an [[Oceanic climate|oceanic]] (Köppen ''Cfb'') climate, as does most of the Blue Ridge Mountains. As with much of the southern [[Blue Ridge Mountains|Blue Ridge]], the area qualifies as part of the [[Appalachian temperate rainforest|Appalachian Temperate Rainforest]].<ref name="nps.gov">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/weather.htm|title = Weather - Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service)}}</ref>

{{Weather box
|location = Kuwohi<ref name="nps.gov">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/weather.htm|title = Weather - Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service)}}</ref>
|collapsed = Y |single line = Y 
|Jan high F = 35
|Feb high F = 35
|Mar high F = 39
|Apr high F = 49
|May high F = 57
|Jun high F = 63
|Jul high F = 65
|Aug high F = 64
|Sep high F = 60
|Oct high F = 53
|Nov high F = 42
|Dec high F = 37
|year high F = 50
|Jan low F = 19
|Feb low F = 18
|Mar low F = 24
|Apr low F = 34
|May low F = 43
|Jun low F = 49
|Jul low F = 53
|Aug low F = 52
|Sep low F = 47
|Oct low F = 38
|Nov low F = 28
|Dec low F = 21
|year low F = 36
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 7.0
|Feb precipitation inch = 8.2
|Mar precipitation inch = 8.2
|Apr precipitation inch = 6.5
|May precipitation inch = 6.0
|Jun precipitation inch = 6.9
|Jul precipitation inch = 8.3
|Aug precipitation inch = 6.8
|Sep precipitation inch = 5.1
|Oct precipitation inch = 5.4
|Nov precipitation inch = 6.4
|Dec precipitation inch = 7.3
|year precipitation inch = 
| snow colour    = 
| Jan snow inch  = 18
| Feb snow inch  = 20
| Mar snow inch  = 26
| Apr snow inch  = 5
| May snow inch  = trace
| Jun snow inch  = 0
| Jul snow inch  = 0
| Aug snow inch  = 0
| Sep snow inch  = trace
| Oct snow inch  = 2
| Nov snow inch  = 5
| Dec snow inch  = 8
| year snow inch = 
|source 1 = {{cite web|title=Great Smoky Mountains|url=https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/weather.htm|website=[[National Park Service]]|access-date=November 25, 2020}}
}}

==Gallery==

<gallery widths="200px">
Image:Abies fraseri0.jpg|Kuwohi, with groves of dead trees
Image:Walkway to Clingmans Dome, TN IMG 4941.JPG|Base of the helical walkway ramp to the top of the observation tower
Image:A view of the "smoky" mountains from Clingmans Dome IMG 4944.JPG|Mountains north of the observation tower obscured by low clouds.
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Geography|United States|Mountains}}
* [[List of mountains in North Carolina]]
* [[List of U.S. states by elevation]]
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist|22em}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite web |last=Thornberry-Ehrlich |first=T |date=2008 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115044745/http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/inventory/publications/reports/grsm_gre_rpt_body_print.pdf |archivedate=2009-01-15 |url=http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/inventory/publications/reports/grsm_gre_rpt_body_print.pdf |title=Great Smoky Mountains National Park Geologic Resource Evaluation Report. Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/GRD/NRR—2008/048 |publisher=National Park Service |location=Denver, Colorado |accessdate=2013-07-28 }}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Kuwohi}}
*[https://mysmokymountainguide.com/gsmnp/clingmans-dome/ 'My Smoky Mountain Guide: Clingman's Dome']
*{{HAER |survey=TN-35-B |id=tn0279 |title=Great Smoky Mountains National Park Roads & Bridges, Clingmans Dome Road, Gatlinburg, Sevier County, TN |photos=10 |color=2 |data=22 |cap=2}}

{{US isolated}}
{{U.S. State Highest Points}}
{{Mountains of North Carolina}}
{{North Carolina highest}}
{{Mountains of Tennessee}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cherokee culture]]
[[Category:Great Smoky Mountains National Park]]
[[Category:Mountains of North Carolina]]
[[Category:Mountains of Tennessee]]
[[Category:Mountains on the Appalachian Trail]]
[[Category:Mountains of Great Smoky Mountains National Park]]
[[Category:Southern Sixers]]
[[Category:Highest points of United States national parks]]
[[Category:Highest points of U.S. states]]
[[Category:Natural history of the Great Smoky Mountains]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Sevier County, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Swain County, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Religious places of the Indigenous peoples of North America]]
[[Category:Sacred mountains of the United States]]
[[Category:Mountains of Swain County, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Mountains of Sevier County, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Two-thousanders of the United States]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Swain County, North Carolina]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Swain County, North Carolina]]