Many of the names you’ll see and hear in Murphy NC and the western NC mountains come from the Cherokee. What does the word Nantahala mean? If you keep seeing words like Nantahala and aren’t sure how to pronounce them or where it came from, you’re not alone and it's a question we get quite alot.
The Nantahala National Forest was established in 1920 under authority of the 1911 Weeks Act. This act provided authority to acquire lands for national forests to protect watersheds, to provide timber, and to regulate the flow of navigable streams. The forest took its name from the Cherokee word nondayeli, meaning "noonday sun." The Cherokee word is appropriate because of the number of steep gorges in the forest where the sun only reaches to the valley floor at midday.
Nantahala National Forest is the largest of the four national forests in the state of North Carolina with more than 530,000 acres which span from Murphy to Waynesville and Cashiers to Fontana Village. Nantahala National Forest has hundreds of waterfalls, as well as river valleys and lakes in the lower lands. Whitewater Rafting is a favorite adventure on the Nantahala River when you visit the Wet & Wild Water Activities. It ranges in elevation from a low of 1,200 feet along the Hiwassee River in Cherokee County to a high of 5,800 feet at Lone Bald in Jackson County.
For More Information on North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee mountain lifestyle
Visit Lee & Carol Barbour ~ The Mountain Living Team www.MountainLivingTeam.com
Comments(2)