The Watauga River is a large stream of western North Carolina and East Tennessee. It is 78.5 miles (126.3 km) long with its headwaters in Linville Gap to the South Fork Holston River at Boone Lake.
The Watauga River near Valle Crucis, North Carolina
The Watauga River below the TVA Wilbur Dam
Kayaker at the Bee Cliff Rapids paddling inside "The Big Hole"
Raft guide, Trey Boggs, plunging whitewater rafters downstream through "The Big Hole" in the Bee Cliff Rapids
Western North Carolina is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Eastern United States, with 125 peaks rising to over 5,000 feet in elevation. Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet, is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and mainland eastern North America. The population of the 23 most commonly associated counties for the region, as measured by the 2020 U.S. Census, is 1,149,405.
The region accounts for approximately 11% of North Carolina's total population.
The Biltmore Estate outside Asheville
View from top of Hibriten Mountain in the Brushy Mountains, showing City of Lenoir below and greater outskirts of Caldwell County
View from Sanford Mall, on campus of Appalachian State University
The Blue Ridge Parkway heading towards Grandfather Mountain
