Plott Balsam Range fall colors, Blue Ridge Parkway MP 452.6, Appalachians, North Carolina, USA.

In the Plott Balsam Range at Milepost 452.6 on Blue Ridge Parkway, look west into the Qualla Boundary, the Eastern Cherokee Reservation, and distant Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina, USA. The big Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort appears as a small white spot in the distant low valley at upper left. The Qualla Boundary is a land trust supervised by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs for the Tribe of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, who reside on the adjacent Reservation in western North Carolina. Local trees release hydrocarbons into the atmosphere and create a characteristic blue haze on pristine days as seen in this photo; but more often a white or gray haze caused by air pollution obscures distant views. The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway was built 1935-1987 to aesthetically connect Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. The Smokies are a subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountains. Admire fall colors here in mid October, or come in spring to see widespread blooms of native rhododendrons (in foreground). This panorama was stitched from 7 overlapping photos taken October 14, 2015.

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Filename: 1510SE-1557-63pan_Plott-Balsam_Qualla-Boundary.jpg
Copyright: © Tom Dempsey / PhotoSeek.com
Image Size: 12112x6043 / 33.5MB; http://www.photoseek.com/; Panorama Plantae fall foliage colors landscape outdoor plants trees
Contained in galleries: 2015 Oct 7-23: all: Southeast USA + Indiana, NC: Appalachia: Blue Ridge Parkway

In the Plott Balsam Range at Milepost 452.6 on Blue Ridge Parkway, look west into the Qualla Boundary, the Eastern Cherokee Reservation, and distant Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina, USA. The big Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort appears as a small white spot in the distant low valley at upper left. The Qualla Boundary is a land trust supervised by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs for the Tribe of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, who reside on the adjacent Reservation in western North Carolina. Local trees release hydrocarbons into the atmosphere and create a characteristic blue haze on pristine days as seen in this photo; but more often a white or gray haze caused by air pollution obscures distant views. The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway was built 1935-1987 to aesthetically connect Shenandoah National Park (in Virginia) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. The Smokies are a subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountains. Admire fall colors here in mid October, or come in spring to see widespread blooms of native rhododendrons (in foreground). This panorama was stitched from 7 overlapping photos taken October 14, 2015.