Balsam Gap
USGS Map of Balsam Gap
Elevation3,316 ft (1,011 m)[1][2]
Traversed by US 23 / US 74
Blue Ridge Parkway
Location North Carolina
 United States
RangeGreat Balsam Mountains
Coordinates35°26′02″N 83°04′40″W / 35.4339907°N 83.0776402°W / 35.4339907; -83.0776402
Topo mapUSGS Hazelwood
Balsam Gap is located in North Carolina
Balsam Gap
The pass is between Haywood and Jackson counties

Balsam Gap (el. 3,316 ft (1,011 m)) is a mountain pass between the Plott Balsam Range to the northwest and the Great Balsam Mountains to the southeast on the county line dividing Haywood and Jackson counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina.

The gap allows both the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway and the former Murphy Branch of the Southern Railway, now owned by Blue Ridge Southern Railroad,[3] to cross between the two counties running east–west. The Blue Ridge Parkway also runs through the gap in a north–south direction crossing both the expressway and railway branch.

The gap is named for the Great Balsam Mountains in which it lies. The small, unincorporated communities of Balsam in Jackson County and Saunook in Haywood County are also located close by.

References

  1. ^ General Highway Map, Jackson County, North Carolina (PDF) (Map). North Carolina Department of Transportation. 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2014.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "Balsam Gap". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  3. ^ Kansas company buys railroad lines in Jackson County, WNC, The Sylva Herald (retrieved 14 September 2015)


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