Located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, Mount Mitchell is the highest peak in the Appalachian Mountains and the highest peak east of the Mississippi River.
For years debate continued as to whether Mount Mitchell or Clingman's Dome in the Smokies was the highest peak. Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet was determined to be 41 feet higher than Clingman's Dome. Clingman's is the highest in the Smokies and the highest along the Appalachian Trail.
There is a short tower located at the top of Mount Mitchell, as can be seen in the photo, and in front of the tower, behind an iron fence, is the tomb of Elisha Mitchell, a professor for whom the mountain is named. He determined its height in 1835 and fell to his death at nearby Mitchell Falls in 1857, having returned to verify his earlier measurements.