Straddling the North Carolina-Tennessee border, the Great Smoky Mountains are the crowning glory of the nation's most-visited park. Their name was inspired by the ever-present shroud of blue-grey mist. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve, home to the finest specimens of eastern deciduous forests and more than 60 mammals, including the black bear, more than 200 species of birds and some 1 600 types of flowering plants.