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Great Balsam Mountains

Range Type	Mountain range with well-recognized name
Highest Point	Richland Balsam (6410 ft/1954 m)
Countries	United States
States/Provinces	North Carolina
Area	671 sq mi / 1,738 sq km Area may include lowland areas
Extent	27 mi / 44 km North-South 40 mi / 65 km East-West
Center Lat/Long	35° 22' N; 82° 54' W
Map Link	Microsoft Bing Map
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Map of Great Balsam Mountains
Click on red triangle icons for links to other ranges.

Note: Range borders shown on map are an approximation and are not authoritative.
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Other Ranges: To go to pages for other ranges either click on the map above, or on range names in the hierarchy snapshot below, which show the parent, siblings, and children of the Great Balsam Mountains.

Central Blue Ridge Ranges	Level 4 (Parent)
Black Mountains	Level 5 (Sibling)
Great Craggy Mountains	Level 5 (Sibling)
Newfound Mountain Region	Level 5 (Sibling)
Plott Balsams	Level 5 (Sibling)
Great Balsam Mountains	Level 5
Cowee Mountains	Level 5 (Sibling)
Cheoah Mountains	Level 5 (Sibling)
Nantahala Mountains	Level 5 (Sibling)

Major Peaks of the Great Balsam Mountains

Ten Highest Peaks
Rank	Peak Name	ft	m	Range6
1.	Richland Balsam	6410	1954
2.	Lickstone Ridge	6380	1945
3.	Black Balsam Knob	6214	1894
4.	Mount Hardy	6120+	1865+
5.	Reinhart Knob	6080+	1853+
6.	Grassy Cove Top	6040+	1841+
7.	Tennent Mountain	6040+	1841+
8.	Sam Knob	6040+	1841+
9.	Cold Mountain	6030	1838
10.	Shining Rock	6000+	1829+
Sub-peaks are excluded from this list. List may not be complete, since only summits in the PBC Database are included.

Photos of Peaks in the Great Balsam Mountains

Richland Balsam Contrary to what you see on the USGS topo, the Haywood-Jackson county line runs east and north of Richland Balsam, according to the Jackson GIS map (boundary marked by angular green line). If this is correct, the peak is entirely in Jackson County. The curved brown line is the Blue Ridge Parkway property line. The Haywood GIS map shows the boundary higher on the mountain but still not on the summit (1998). Photo by Tom Layton. Click here for larger-size photo.	Black Balsam Knob Plaque on the summit (2019-04-07). Photo by Cory Dee. Click here for larger-size photo.
Mount Hardy Markings on Mt. Hardy summit boulder (2021-06-15). Photo by Jason Crane. Click here for larger-size photo.	Reinhart Knob Reinhart Knob summit sign (2021-06-16). Photo by Jason Crane. Click here for larger-size photo.
Tennent Mountain Plaque on summit (2019-04-07). Photo by Cory Dee. Click here for larger-size photo.	Sam Knob Sam Knob north summit lookout (2020-06-08). Photo by Jason Crane. Click here for larger-size photo.
Cold Mountain The USGS benchmark at the peak of Cold Mountain should say "6030 FEET" but instead it says "COLD FEET" (2014-07-14). Photo by Jay DeKing. Click here for larger-size photo.	Shining Rock Still one of my all-time favorite vistas (2014-03-15). Photo by Seamus Allman. Click here for larger-size photo.
Rough Butt Bald Briars on summit of Rough Butt Bald. Photo by William Sanderson. Click here for larger-size photo.	Green Knob View east from the summit of Green Knob. Sam Knob on the left, Little Sam Knob on the right (with dense evergreen forest on summit). (2020-01-09). Photo by William Sanderson. Click here for larger-size photo.

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