Cataloochee (Great Smoky Mountains)
Coordinates: 35°38′23″N 83°04′55″W / 35.63972°N 83.08194°W
Cataloochee is a valley in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, located in the Southeastern United States. Now a recreational and historic area within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cataloochee was once home to a substantial Appalachian community and Cherokee hunting ground.
Cataloochee consists of three narrow valleys running parallel to one another, and "walled in" by the high ridges of the Balsam Mountains. To the northwest is Sterling Ridge and to the southeast is Cataloochee Divide, both of which rise above 5,000 feet for considerable stretches. To the southwest is the 6,155-foot Big Cataloochee Mountain along the Balsam crest, which runs perpendicular to Sterling Ridge and Cataloochee Divide. Two lower ridges, Noland Mountain and Big Fork Ridge, run parallel between Sterling and the Divide, and split Cataloochee into the three valleys.
The northernmost of Cataloochee's three valleys is Little Cataloochee, which is situated along a stream of the same name between Sterling Ridge and Noland Mountain. Across Noland Mountain to the south is Big Cataloochee, the middle of the three valleys, which consists of fertile bottomland along Cataloochee Creek. The southernmost of the three valleys is Caldwell Fork, which is situated between Fork Ridge and the Cataloochee Divide. All three valleys lay along streams that are part of the Pigeon River watershed.
The name "Cataloochee" is derived from the Cherokee term Gadalutsi, which means "fringe standing erect." The name probably referred to the tall rows of trees along the ridges surrounding the valley. The Cherokee used the valley primarily as a hunting ground. Early settlers recalled at least one Cherokee hunting camp in the vicinity of Little Cataloochee Creek.
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