Nature
Black Balsam Knob, or Black Balsam Bald, is a high peak in Pisgah National Forest in western North Carolina and the second highest mountain in the Great Balsams. Its broad, grassy summit bald creates unusually wide views of surrounding peaks and has made it a popular destination, with the Art Loeb Trail crossing its crest. The open landscape, however, is linked not only to natural conditions but also to clear-cut logging and locomotive fires in 1925 and 1942 that burned into the topsoil and slowed or prevented reforestation. Today it is valued both for its panorama and as evidence of human influence on the Southern Appalachian landscape.
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North Carolina · United States
