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Southern Sixers facts for kids

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The view from atop Mount LeConte, a Southern Sixer entirely in Tennessee

The Southern Sixers are a special group of mountains in the southern states of North Carolina and Tennessee. To be a "Southern Sixer," a mountain must be at least 6,000 feet (1,829 meters) tall. These mountains are the tallest in the eastern United States. Only New Hampshire's Mount Washington in the Appalachian Mountains is also over 6,000 feet outside of this group.

Most of these tall mountains are found in big natural areas. These include Great Smoky Mountains National Park (often called GSMNP), Mount Mitchell State Park (MMSP), along the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP), or in Cherokee National Forest and Pisgah National Forest. A few are on private land. All the Southern Sixers are close to the North Carolina-Tennessee border, within about 32 miles (51 km). Twelve of them are right on the state border!

People who climb 40 of these peaks can join a special group called the South Beyond 6000 club. It's a big achievement for mountain climbers!

Discover the Southern Sixers: Tallest Peaks

Mount Craig NC
Mount Craig, the second highest peak in the Appalachians, seen from Mount Mitchell.

Here is a list of the Southern Sixers. It shows their height, where they are, and how they rank.

The Southern Sixers
Rank Peak Name Elevation (ft) Mountain Range Land Area Flag of Tennessee.svg Flag of North Carolina.svg
1 Mount Mitchell 6,684 Black Mountains MMSP Yancey County
2 Mount Craig 6,647 Black Mtns MMSP Yancey
3 Clingmans Dome 6,643 Great Smoky Mountains GSMNP Sevier County Swain County
4 Mount Guyot 6,621 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier Haywood
5 Balsam Cone 6,611 Black Mtns MMSP Yancey
6 Cattail Peak 6,600 Black Mtns MMSP Yancey
7 Mount LeConte 6,593 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier
8 Mount Buckley 6,580 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier Swain
9 Mount Gibbes 6,571 Black Mtns WMIT Yancey
10 Big Tom 6,560 Black Mtns MMSP Yancey
11 Clingmans Peak 6,557 Black Mtns WMIT Yancey
12 Potato Hill 6,475 Black Mtns Pisgah Yancey
13 Mount Love 6,446 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier Swain
14 Mount Chapman 6,417 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier Swain
15 Richland Balsam 6,410 Great Balsam Mountains BRP Haywood
16 Potato Knob 6,400 Black Mtns BRP Buncombe, Yancey
17 Old Black 6,370 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier, Cocke County Haywood
18 Blackstock Knob 6,359 Black Mtns BRP Buncombe, Yancey
19 Celo Knob 6,327 Black Mtns Pisgah Yancey
20 Mount Hallback 6,320 Black Mtns MMSP Yancey
21 Waterrock Knob 6,292 Plott Balsams BRP Haywood, Jackson County
22 Roan High Knob 6,285 Unaka Mountains Cherokee / Pisgah Carter County Mitchell County
23 Roan High Bluff 6,267 Unaka Mountains Pisgah Mitchell
24 Browning Knob 6,240 Plott Balsams BRP Haywood, Jackson
25 Luftee Knob 6,234 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Haywood, Swain
26 Gibbs Mountain 6,224 Black Mtns Pisgah Yancey
27 Mount Lyn Lowry 6,220 Plott Balsams Private Haywood, Jackson
28 Mount Kephart 6,217 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier Swain
29 Black Balsam Knob 6,214 Great Balsam Mtns Pisgah Haywood
30 Winter Star Mountain 6,212 Black Mtns Pisgah Yancey
31 Percys Peak 6,200 Black Mtns Pisgah Yancey
32 Grassy Ridge Bald 6,189 Unaka Mountains Pisgah Mitchell, Avery County
33 Mount Collins 6,188 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier Swain
34 Marks Knob 6,169 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Swain
35 Big Cataloochee Mountain 6,155 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Haywood
36 Mount Hardison 6,134 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Swain
37 Tricorner Knob 6,120 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier Haywood, Swain
38 Mount Yonaguska 6,120 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Haywood, Swain
39 Mount Ambler 6,120 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier Swain
40 Mount Hardy 6,110 Great Balsam Mtns BRP Haywood, Jackson
41 Craggy Dome 6,105 Great Craggy Mountains BRP Buncombe County
42 Plott Balsam 6,088 Plott Balsams BRP Haywood
43 Thermo Knob 6,080 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Haywood, Swain
44 Reinhart Knob 6,080 Great Balsam Mtns BRP Haywood, Jackson
45 Sam Knob 6,050 Great Balsam Mtns Pisgah Haywood
46 Shining Rock 6,040 Great Balsam Mtns Pisgah Haywood
47 Grassy Cove Top 6,040 Great Balsam Mtns Pisgah Haywood
48 Tennent Mountain 6,040 Great Balsam Mtns Pisgah Haywood
49 Patton Knob 6,040 Black Mtns BRP Buncombe, Yancey
50 Chestnut Bald 6,040 Great Balsam Mtns BRP Transylvania County, Haywood
51 Yellow Face 6,032 Plott Balsams Nature Conservancy Jackson
52 Cold Mountain 6,030 Great Balsam Mtns Pisgah Haywood
53 Mount Sequoyah 6,003 Great Smoky Mtns GSMNP Sevier Swain

Map of the Tallest Southern Sixers

This map shows where some of the most important Southern Sixers are located. These are the ones that stand out the most from the land around them.

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