Sitting at 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome is the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as well as the highest point in the state of Tennessee. It is important to note that the highest point is considered Clingmans Dome, not the tower itself, which is what can be seen in the photograph above. Looking out from the viewing tower at Clingmans Dome, the view of the Smoky Mountains can be seen for miles and miles. A paved trail leads to the 45 foot high observation tower with a 375 feet long ramp to reach the top, which when sunny, the view can expand for over 100 miles but because of pollution and clouds, the view is normally limited to only 22 miles. Besides the path to the summit, several other trails are also available that start on Clingmans Dome Road. Some of these include: the Appalachian Trail which crosses Clingmans Dome, which marks the highest point along the journey that takes place from Georgia to Maine.  From the dome, it is said that the best view is to the south where the mountains sit further back, allowing you to take in the wide, vast view as compared to view seen from the north and east. When looking from the north or east, the mountains are too close to the dome to have as good of a view as the south which can be seen in the pictures above.

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The air up at the top of the tower is much cooler than the air at the lowland levels, by about 10 degrees, or even up to 20 degrees sometimes. Clouds and precipitation are often common at Clingmans Dome, so it is expected that you will be up in the clouds when they are present. These cool and wet conditions make Clingmans Dome a coniferous forest predominated by both Fraser Fir and Red Spruce trees. However, disease, pests and environmental degradation continuously threaten the fragile and distinctive spruce-fir forest throughout time and history. Specifically, Adelges piceae, also known as the balsam woolly adelgid is an insect pest that infects and kills Fraser fir trees within the spruce-fir zone. These species of trees occurs naturally only within the southern Appalachians, becoming the most dominant trees at such high elevations. These insect pests became introduced when trees were imported from Europe. With little natural defense against the pest, the adelgid inject toxins into the trees, which work by blocking the path of nutrients through the tree. Essentially, this starves the tree to death, resulting in thousands of dead trees left at the highest mountain peaks. Another insect pest, which is a “cousin” of the adelgid, known as the hemlock woolly adelgid, is also killing hemlock trees throughout the park, which are visible along the Newfound gap Road within the park. With dead trunk litter and dying trees, the living trees that are left continue to struggle to survive from year to year. However, because of the fact that trees are continuously dying this allows for new trees to emerge. This constant cycle of new trees replacing the dying trees, creates a growing and lasting forest that can be enjoyed my many organisms.

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The tower of Clingmans Dome is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has had a huge impact on the architectural history of the National Park Service as it is a well-known example of the National Park Service Modern architecture period, braking away from the old Rustic style the parks were previously constructed as, known as “parkitecture”. The tower of Clingmans Dome is also an important representation of the National Park Service Mission 66 program. This program resulted in an important change regarding the management, planning and architecture of National Parks. The Mission 66 program, which lasted 11 years spanning from 1955 to 1966, resulted in the construction of hundreds of new buildings and structures such as the towers. Interestingly, out of all the structures built, only nine were towers, including Clingmans Dome, which later became a model for two other towers for Mission 66- Look Rock Tower in Great Smokey Mountains National Park (1965) and Shark Valley Tower in Everglades National Park (1964).

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While the picture above was taken in 2015, the surrounding national park has changed drastically over the years. Built in 1959, the viewing tower in its own has changed little besides the repairs needed due to weathering and other environmental factors, however, Clingmans Dome itself has spent the last 61 years collecting and building up the forest that is now standing, as well as the destruction that has also occurred. Not only have layers and layers of trees, shrubs, leaf litter, and animals collected over these years, but so has pollution and liter, causing harm to the surrounding environment. Pollution plays a big role in nature as it is continuously shrinking scenic views, degrading the streams and soils that are present especially at high elevations and damaging plants. Even at times, pollution is putting human health at risk. Through research and monitoring, it has been concluded that most of the pollution that is present in the park has actually been emitted from outside the Smokies. The inadequate pollution control equipment within factories, power plants, and automobiles has been found to be the primary issue.

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The scenic views that come from looking out into the mountains have been drastically degraded over the last 50 years because of pollution. Over the years, the average visibility has decreased by an average of 40% in the winter and twice as much, with 80% in the summer as studies have found. It is important to note that the degradation in visibility does not only affect the distance an individual can see, but it also reduces how well that individual can see. Because of this, the colors appear to be washed out as well as obscuring the features of the landscape. The burning of fossil fuels produce tiny particle that cause the light to scatter, which in return degrade ones visibility. In return this does not allow for visitors to see the distant mountain ranges as far as one’s ability actually is.

When looking at the air quality problem, the pollution is a threat to human health as well as the plants within the park. Since they have a constant exposure to the pollution, the plants within the park are being affected more than the individuals visiting. The ozone levels are injuring the trees and other plants constantly in such ways like leaf damage. Because of the constant leaf damage and other injuries to the plants and trees, monitoring was done, which resulted in new findings that the plants located at higher levels, such as the highest peak- Clingmans Dome, were damaged worse than plants at lower levels such as the bottom of the path. Such pollution and leaf damage has an obvious effect on the environment as a whole as it can become a domino effect, even going as far to say that is hurting animals who feed on and use the trees for protection.

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In 2016, Partners in Preservation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation donated a total of 2 million dollars to the National Park Service to help with the repair of many needed projects. However, since so many buildings, towers and other projects needed the money, the public was in charge of deciding who got the financing. As the public decided, the Clingmans Dome was the top project, which allowed for the Clingmans Dome to receive the much needed repairs receiving 250,000 dollars. The Great Smokey Mountains National Park has decided to open Clingmans Dome in stages to allow visitors to come back to see the amazing view from the tower. Although the tower is receiving these repairs, the environment itself should not be affected much as the structure was originally made to flow and fit in with the environment. However, just as with any construction or repairs, some organisms may feel disrupted or disturbed by the sounds and movements that occur in these situations.  

 

Narrative

My friends and I had just graduated high school and wanted to explore the world-well maybe not that much sine were just 18 and broke-a little bit before being trapped in for four more years of school. We kept thinking of places to go without spending so much money but somewhere that would still offer much to see. Knowing how much we all loved nature and national parks, we finally came to the agreement that we would start with the Appalachian Mountains, going to the Tennessee-North Carolina state border line since some of us had always wanted to visit the Smoky Mountains anyways. After some research and convincing of the parents, we knew that Clingmans Dome was on our list of places to go, only ever hearing about how nice the view and experience was.

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We finally set out for our mini adventure. After hours in the car, we reached our destination, making sure to get there in the early hours so we could find a good parking spot as well as to see the sunrise. The less than a mile hike to the dome definitely felt way longer as the path was at an incline the entire way. Once I reached the top I needed to rest, but I can honestly say that it was worth it once I saw the view shortly after. Fortunately for us, we got there before the clouds formed and with just enough time to see the sunrise. The sky was filled with different, intense hues of oranges, reds, and yellows, making it by far the best sunrise I have ever seen. In that moment I never wanted the sun to rise as I could look at those colors all day long. The air was crisp and cold, much cooler than when we started our hike, even though its later in the morning, making me happy that I remembered a jacket.

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I am looking out and can see for miles all the trees and plants that have inhabited The Great Smokey Mountains National Park. I close my eyes and just listen to the birds chirping, the trees and leaves rustling, and the wind blowing. I can feel the cool breeze hitting my face, knowing that my nose and ears are turning red. My fingers are starting to get cold and I realized that I should have brought gloves, but I am thankful that I at least have my jacket. In this moment, I realized the world has so much more to offer than what I have seen and experienced, but it needs to be taken care of because I cannot fathom the thought of one day not being able to experience things like this any longer as pollution continues to take over the natural beauty the Earth has to offer. My thoughts are interrupted as more visitors are making their way up the viewing tower. I can hear their awes as they must be admiring the view the same as I was. I feel bad as they did not watch the sunrise from the tower. Although they could see it from the path and parking lot, I just know it was not the same from up here on the tower.

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We finally make our way back down the path to leave after what seemed to be such a short period of time, even though we were up there for longer. This time the hike seemed shorter than what it was, not only because it was downhill, but because I simply did not want to leave. We made it back to the car and its finally starting to get busy as more cars are showing up filled with families and friends. My friends and I get in the car and we are all already reminiscing on the views we just saw. I can truly say that this was an experience I will never forget and I begin thinking of the next time I can come back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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