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Near Cherokee in Swain County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
 

Measure of Men

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

 
 
Measure of Men Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Duane Hall, April 28, 2010
1. Measure of Men Marker
Inscription. The high, rounded mountain in front of you is Clingmans Dome (6,643 feet elevation), the highest mountain in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the highest in Tennessee, and the third highest in the eastern United States. It bears the name of Thomas Lanier Clingman, explorer, politician, promoter, and Civil War general, who measured mountains here in the mid-1800s.

Clingman, and scientists Arnold Guyot, Samuel Buckley, and John Le Conte, measured mountains using barometers considered crude by today's standards. They used the instruments to measure atmospheric pressure at the mountain summits. Later they would compare the measurement to pressure readings taken by colleagues at the exact same point in time from known lowland elevations.

Using complicated mathematical formulas, considering air temperature, humidity, latitude, and other variables, the scientists calculated a mountain's elevation. As you explore the park you might notice that the highest peaks bear these names—Clingmans Dome (6,643 feet), Mount Guyot (6,621 feet), and Mount Le Conte (6,593 feet).

Charles A. Webb
This overlook is named for Charles A. Webb, editor of the Asheville Citizen-Times in the early 1930s. Webb's strong and influential voice helped lead the fight to establish Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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Six Eastern Peaks

All located in North Carolina and Tennessee

• Mt. Mitchell—6,684 feet (2037 m)
• Mt. Craig—6,647 ft (2026 m)
Clingmans Dome*—6,643 ft (2025 m)
• Mt. Guyot*—6,621 ft (2018 m)
• Balsam Cone—6,611 ft (2015 m)
• Mt. Le Conte*—6,593 ft (2010 m)

(New Hampshire's Mt. Washington, at 6,288 feet (1917 m), is the 17th highest peak in the East)
 
Erected by National Park Service.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Science & Medicine.
 
Location. 35° 35.295′ N, 83° 24.329′ W. Marker is near Cherokee, North Carolina, in Swain County. Marker can be reached from Newfound Gap Road (U.S. 441), on the right when traveling south. Marker is located at the Webb Overlook on Newfound Gap Road on the North Carolina side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is approximately three miles downhill from Newfound Gap. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Cherokee NC 28719, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Fifty Years of Mountain Logging (approx. 0.4 miles away); Spared the Saw (approx. ¾ mile away); Where Man Is Only a Visitor (approx. 0.8 miles away); The Great Smokies
Measure of Men Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Tom Bosse, November 6, 2021
2. Measure of Men Marker
(approx. 1.9 miles away); Land of Diversity (approx. 1.9 miles away in Tennessee); People of the Mountains (approx. 1.9 miles away); Land of Blue Smoke (approx. 1.9 miles away); The Appalachian Trail (approx. 1.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cherokee.
 
Measure of Men Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Jason Voigt, July 9, 2021
3. Measure of Men Marker
Wide-view of marker.
Measure of Men Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Jason Voigt, July 9, 2021
4. Measure of Men Marker
Marker is at a parking lot/pullout on the Charles Webb Overlook.
Clingmans Dome as viewed from Measure of Men Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Duane Hall, April 28, 2010
5. Clingmans Dome as viewed from Measure of Men Marker
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on January 18, 2022. It was originally submitted on August 19, 2013, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas. This page has been viewed 615 times since then and 6 times this year. Photos:   1. submitted on August 19, 2013, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas.   2. submitted on January 17, 2022, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee.   3, 4. submitted on July 9, 2021, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.   5. submitted on August 19, 2013, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas.

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Mar. 28, 2024