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1964 Map of Bunches Bald

Name: 1964 Topographic Map of Bunches Bald
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1988
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1988

About this map

The Cherokee Indian Reservation and Great Smoky Mountains National Park converge in this high-altitude 1960s survey, defined by the winding path of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The landscape is a network of named ridges and balds, such as Potato Hill Bald and Heintooga Bald, which serve as the backdrop for early park infrastructure and traditional land boundaries. The engineering of the parkway is visible through several major features, including the Big Witch Tunnel, Bunches Bald Tunnel, and Lickstone Tunnel.

Beyond the roads, the map documents remote interior landmarks such as the Masonic Monument and Flat Creek Falls. The presence of small, unnamed cemeteries suggests the earlier human history of these mountain slopes before their incorporation into federal lands. The Cataloochee Divide forms a prominent boundary in the southeast, separating the drainage of Raven Fork and Bunches Creek from the eastern slopes.