38 Highest Peaks Over 6000+ ft. in NC

 

Ranked Peaks have 160 feet of Clean Prominence 

Prominence is the vertical distance a given summit rises above the lowest col connecting it to a higher summit. To calculate it, you must know the elevation of a summit and the elevation of its key col. A problem arises when one or both of these elevations are not known precisely. Most commonly, col elevations are not given on topographic maps, so all that is known is a range based on a contour interval. Many summits also are represented by just a closed contour and no exact elevation.

There are three ways to deal with this uncertainly when calculating prominence:

• Optimistic or Dirty Prominence: Use the lowest contour line at a col, and the highest possible elevation for peaks, yielding the maximum possible prominence value.
• Interpolated Prominence: Use the middle elevation between contours for cols and peak closed contours.
• Clean (or Pessimistic) Prominence: Use the highest contour line at a col, and the lowest contour line for peak closed contours, yielding a minimum possible value.

So, as an example, imagine a topographic map with a 40-foor contour interval, a summit with no exact elevation and a highest closed contour of 8000 feet, and a key col in the range of 6960 feet to 7000 feet.  The Clean Prominence is 1000 feet (8000 - 7000), the Interpolated Prominence is 1040 feet (8020 - 6980), and the Optimistic Prominence is 1080 feet (8040 - 6960).

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Col Col is the standard term used on this site to refer to the lowest point on the ridge between two summits. There are many synonyms: Pass, Gap, Saddle, Notch, or Cut;

Rank	Peak	Elev-Ft	Prom-Ft	State	Range (Level 5)	Isol-Mi
1.	Mount Mitchell	6684	6089	NC	Black Mountains	1189.0
2.	Mount Craig	6647	287	NC	Black Mountains	.9
	Cattail Peak	6600	120	NC	Black Mountains	1.5
3.	Balsam Cone	6600	360	NC	Black Mountains	.9
	Clingmans Peak	6520	40	NC	Black Mountains	2.4
4.	Mount Gibbes	6520	400	NC	Black Mountains	2.1
	Potato Hill	6475	115	NC	Black Mountains	.3
5.	Richland Balsam	6410	3010	NC	Great Balsam Mountains	27.1
	Potato Knob	6400	40	NC	Black Mountains	.5
	Mount Hallback	6329	129	NC	Black Mountains	.9
6.	Celo Knob	6327	607	NC	Black Mountains	3.5
7.	Blackstock Knob	6320	440	NC	Black Mountains	1.6
8.	Waterrock Knob	6292	1947	NC	Plott Balsams	10.7
	Roan High Bluff	6267	147	NC	Roan-Unaka Mountains	1.5
	Browning Knob	6240	120	NC	Plott Balsams	.3
9.	Mount Lyn Lowry	6240	360	NC	Plott Balsams	1.5
10.	Luftee Knob	6234	314	NC	Eastern Great Smoky Mountains	2.5
11.	Black Balsam Knob	6214	989	NC	Great Balsam Mountains	7.1
12.	Winter Star Mountain	6203	283	NC	Black Mountains	1.1
	Horse Rock	6200	80	NC	Black Mountains	.3
	Gibbs Mountain	6200	120	NC	Black Mountains	.8
13.	Marks Knob	6169	249	NC	Eastern Great Smoky Mountains	1.4
14.	Grassy Ridge Bald	6160	648	NC	Roan-Unaka Mountains	2.4
15.	Big Cataloochee Mountain	6155	635	NC	Eastern Great Smoky Mountains	2.6
	Mount Hardison	6134	94	NC	Eastern Great Smoky Mountains	.6
	Grassy Ridge	6120	40	NC	Roan-Unaka Mountains	.4
16.	Mount Hardy	6120	760	NC	Great Balsam Mountains	3.5
17.	Plott Balsam Mountain	6088	368	NC	Plott Balsams	1.7
	Thermo Knob	6080	40	NC	Eastern Great Smoky Mountains	.5
18.	Craggy Dome	6080	1000	NC	Great Craggy Mountains	3.5
18.	Reinhart Knob	6080	200	NC	Great Balsam Mountains	1.4
	Tennent Mountain	6040	120	NC	Great Balsam Mountains	.7
20.	Grassy Cove Top	6040	320	NC	Great Balsam Mountains	1.5
20.	Sam Knob	6040	360	NC	Great Balsam Mountains	1.2
22.	Yellow Face	6032	312	NC	Plott Balsams	1.2
23.	Cold Mountain	6030	990	NC	Great Balsam Mountains	4.3
24.	Shining Rock	6000	240	NC	Great Balsam Mountains	1.4
24.	Chestnut Bald	6000	160	NC	Great Balsam Mountains	1.6