UNAKA. MOUNTAINS, the western and southern part of the Appalachians, along and near the boundary between North Carolina and Tennessee; length between the two states, about 200 m. in a s.w. course. North of the Watanga river the Unakas have three ridges divided by wide and beautiful valleys. In Virginia these ridges unite and are blended with the Alleghenies. The name signifies white in the Cherokee language. Where these mountains reach their,greatest height in s.w. North Carolina, snow lies on their tops a large portion of the year. The Roan, about midway between Virginia and the French Broad river, is 6.300 ft. high; a bald mountain whose top is about 6 m. in length with three or four rocky knobs, and many acres level or gently sloping, cov ered with grass and flowers. Several species of plants are the same as on mount Washing ton, N. H. This is in many respects the most grand and beautiful of all the mountains e. of the Mississippi river From it can be seen points in Virginia, Kentucky, Georgia, and Tennessee. Recently a house has been built on it for the reception of visitors in
summer. The great smoky range between the French Broad and Tennessee rivers has the highest of the Unakas; about twenty of their summits being higher than mount Washington. Among these the highest is Buckley's Peak, 6,660 ft., second only to mount Mitchell which is the highest of the Carolina mountains, and the highest e. of the Mississippi. This portion of the Unakas abounds in grand and rugged scenery, and many of the summits are difficult of access. The rocks are granite, gneiss, shales, sandstones, and rarely limestones of the archman, Laurentian, lower, and upper Silurian periods. The climate is like that in southern Canada. The valleys of the Unakas have very many places suitable for summer resort; the streams abounding in trout, and the mountains with bear, deer, and smaller animals, while gnats and mosquitoes are rare.