Although it might not look like it in this image of a tranquil fall day, Roaring Fork in Great Smoky Mountains National Park has earned its ferocious name. The stream descends 2,500 feet over just 2 miles—a steep drop. After heavy rains, Roaring Fork transforms into a whitewater rush, the sound echoing off the mountainsides. But during drier spells, the stream quiets to more of a babbling brook, as seen here along the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. The popular 5.5-mile loop drive passes waterfalls, well-preserved historic log cabins, and scenic overlooks of a forest that during this time of year reaches its fall color peak, exploding in bold yellows, oranges, and reds. These are just some of the things that make Great Smoky Mountains the most popular national park in the country.
Falling for Tennessee
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Playa del Amor, Marietas Islands, Mexico
-
Moselle River loop near Kröv, Germany
-
Grandparents Day
-
National Love a Tree Day
-
A notorious gunfight that was incorrectly named
-
Pi Day
-
Let s run em up!
-
Anybody out there?
-
Mada’in Saleh archeological site in Saudi Arabia
-
A medieval celebration in the Mediterranean
-
Time to count some birds
-
Johnston Canyon in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
-
Sundance Film Festival opens in Park City
-
World Rivers Day
-
In the Most Serene Republic
-
Traffic jam on the caribou highway
-
Holey moley–it’s National Doughnut Day!
-
Oymyakon, Russia
-
From pirate port to nature preserve
-
Polar bear season in Manitoba
-
Silvereyes in South Korea
-
Bear cubs roughhouse on Siblings Day
-
World Elephant Day
-
Merry Christmas!
-
Take this for a spin...
-
Victory Day in Valletta
-
Reflections on the mighty Amazon
-
’Chess on ice’
-
Pretty, pretty…butterfly?
-
National Audubon Society s Christmas Bird Count