Old Black (Great Smoky Mountains)

Old Black
The summit of Old Black, looking southwest from the Appalachian Trail
Highest point
Elevation	6,370 ft (1,940 m)[1]
Prominence	170 ft (52 m)[1]
Coordinates	35°42′54″N 83°15′20″W / 35.7150300°N 83.2554699°W / 35.7150300; -83.2554699[2]
Geography
Location	Haywood County, North Carolina Cocke County, Tennessee Sevier County, Tennessee, U.S.
Parent range	Great Smoky Mountains
Topo map	USGS Mount Guyot
Climbing
Easiest route	Snake Den Ridge Trail + Appalachian Trail + bushwhack

Old Black is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. While often overshadowed by Mount Guyot, its higher neighbor to the south, Old Black is the 5th-highest mountain in Tennessee^[3] and the 7th-highest in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.^[4] The Appalachian Trail crosses its western slope, connecting the Cosby-area trail system with the heart of the eastern Smokies.

Like much of the Smokies crest, Old Black lies along the border between Tennessee and North Carolina, with Cocke County and Sevier County to the west and Haywood County to the east. The mountain rises 4,400 feet (1,300 m) above its northwestern base near Rocky Grove ^[5] and 3,300 feet (1,000 m) above its southeastern base near Walnut Bottom.^[6] Old Black is part of the Guyot massif, which extends deep into the interior of the Smokies. A ridge known as Pinnacle Lead intersects this massif—which comprises the eastern section of the crest of the Smokies—on the western slope of Old Black, giving Old Black a triangular shape similar to that of Tricorner Knob to the south.

Old Black gets its name from the dense Southern Appalachian spruce–fir forest that covers its higher elevations.^[7] From afar, this forest takes on a dark green character, especially in cooler months when contrasted with the brown hardwood forest in lower elevations. This forest also adds to Old Black's blunt appearance—that of a low pyramid with a wide base.