Geographic and Natural Information
Roundtop is situated in the southwest corner of Sevier County and the southeast corner of Blount County, Tennessee. Along with Cove Mountain to the east and Rich Mountain to the west, Roundtop is one of a series of high ridges that form a "wall" that spans the park's northernwestern boundary. The mountain overlooks Wears Valley to the northeast, Tuckaleechee Cove (Townsend) to the northwest, and the Little River Gorge to the south. Wear Cove Gap, which is traversed by Lyon Springs Road, divides Roundtop from Cove Mountain. The Townsend Y, formed by the confluence of Little River and the Middle Prong of Little River, is situated at the mountain's southwestern corner. Little Greenbrier is located near the Roundtop Trailhead.
Like most of the Great Smokies range, Roundtop is made up of Precambrian rocks of the Ocoee Supergroup. Large outcroppings of this rock form rock overhangs along the trail as it descends to the Townsend Y. Roundtop's forest consists largely of Table Mountain Pine and Pitch Pine trees, which gives way to a mixed mesophytic forest in the coves and hollows at the base of the mountain. Mountain laurel dominates the forest's understory.
While large parts of the mountain's northern slopes are private property, the entire summit of Roundtop is protected. The south side of the summit is within the national park's boundaries. The north side is part of a 237-acre (0.96 km2) tract purchased by the state of Tennessee in 1974 and managed by the National Park Service.
Read more about this topic: Roundtop Trail
Famous quotes containing the words natural and/or information:
“We have become unsure of the rules and unsure of our roles. Parenting, like brain surgery, is now all-consuming, fraught with anxiety, worry, and self-doubt. We have allowed what used to be simple and natural to become bewildering and intimidating.”
—Fred G. Gosman (20th century)
“Many more children observe attitudes, values and ways different from or in conflict with those of their families, social networks, and institutions. Yet today’s young people are no more mature or capable of handling the increased conflicting and often stimulating information they receive than were young people of the past, who received the information and had more adult control of and advice about the information they did receive.”
—James P. Comer (20th century)