Southern Sixers facts for kids
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
Here is a list of the Southern Sixers. It shows their height, where they are, and how they rank.
| Rank | Peak Name | Elevation (ft) | Mountain Range | Land Area |  |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
Images for kids
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Mount Le Conte, in the Great Smoky Mountains, viewed from Clingmans Dome. Mount Le Conte is the highest mountain entirely within Tennessee and the tallest mountain east of the Rocky Mountains, measured from base to summit.
