• Approximately 1,500 black bears live in the national park.

    Great Smoky Mountains

    National Park NC,TN

October 3, 2011 Photos

Fall color is beginning to develop in the park. Scroll down the page for images of the park this week.

 
Fall color from Newfound Gap parking area, Oct 3, 2011
Early fall colors from the Newfound Gap Parking Area, Oct. 3, 2011.
NPS Photo.
 
 
A black bear eating American mountain ash berries at Clingmans Dome. Oct. 3, 2011.
A black bear climbing in an American mountain ash tree to eat berries. Photo taken at Clingmans Dome on Oct. 3, 2011.
NPS photo by David Lambert.
 
 
American mountain ash berries glow a vivid red.
American mountain ash berries glow a vivid red as high elevation colors begin to develop. Photo taken from the Clingmans Dome parking area on Oct. 3, 2011.
NPS Photo.
 
 
A heavy hoar frost covering trees.
Temperatures dipped over the weekend and a heavy layer of hoar frost coated the trees at high elevation. Photo taken at Clingmans Dome on Oct. 3, 2011.
NPS photo by David Lambert.
 
 
Fall view at high elevation on Oct 3, 2011.
While the mountains are still predominantly green, scattered trees are beginning to show some color. Photo taken at high elevation from the "Swinging Bridge" overlook on Newfound Gap Road on the North Carolina side of the park. Photo taken on Oct. 3, 2011.
NPS Photo.

Did You Know?

Scientists estimate that 100,000 different species live in the park.

What lives in Great Smoky Mountains National Park? Although the question sounds simple, it is actually extremely complex. Right now scientists think that we only know about 17 percent of the plants and animals that live in the park, or about 17,000 species of a probable 100,000 different organisms.