# Graveyard Fields > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Graveyard_Fields > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Graveyard_Fields.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graveyard_Fields > Source revision: 1345662834 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Valley in North Carolina, United States}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox landform | water = | name = Graveyard Fields | other_name = | type = [Valley](/source/Valley) | image = Graveyard-Fields.jpg | image_size = 325px | alt = | caption = View NW from the parking area off the [Blue Ridge Parkway](/source/Blue_Ridge_Parkway). | pushpin_map = | map_width = | map_caption = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_relief = | pushpin_label = | mark = | marker_size = | location = [Pisgah National Forest](/source/Pisgah_National_Forest), [Transylvania County, North Carolina](/source/Transylvania_County%2C_North_Carolina) | grid_ref = | coordinates = {{coord|35.32147|-82.84949|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_ref = | range = | part_of = | water_bodies = | elevation_m = 1530 | elevation_ref = | surface_elevation_ft = | surface_elevation_ref = | highest_point = | highest_elevation = | highest_coords = | length = | width = | area = | depth = | drop = | formed_by = | geology = | age = | orogeny = | volcanic_arc/belt = | volcanic_arc = | volcanic_belt = | volcanic_field = | last_eruption = | topo = Shining Rock, NC | operator = | designation = | free_label_1 = | free_data_1 = | free_label_2 = | free_data_2 = | website = | embed = }} '''Graveyard Fields''' is the name of a flat mountain valley in the [Blue Ridge Mountains](/source/Blue_Ridge_Mountains) of western [North Carolina](/source/North_Carolina). It is located in the [Great Balsam Mountains](/source/Great_Balsam_Mountains). The valley, itself over 5,000 feet in elevation, is surrounded by mountains exceeding 6,000 feet in elevation, such as [Black Balsam Knob](/source/Black_Balsam_Knob), [Tennent Mountain](/source/Tennent_Mountain), and [Sam Knob](/source/Sam_Knob). These high peaks form the source of the Yellowstone Prong of the [Pigeon River](/source/Pigeon_River_(Tennessee_-_North_Carolina)), which flows through Graveyard Fields valley. Yellowstone Prong goes over 3 waterfalls in the valley: Upper Falls, Second Falls, and Yellowstone Falls.{{Cite web |title=Graveyard Fields - Second Falls, Yellowstone Falls, & Upper Falls |url=http://www.ncwaterfalls.com/graveyard_fields1.htm |access-date=2022-09-08 |website=www.ncwaterfalls.com}} Graveyard Fields is a very popular hiking destination, accessible from the [Blue Ridge Parkway](/source/Blue_Ridge_Parkway). The valley's name may originate from a time when a great windstorm fell hundreds of [spruce](/source/spruce) and [fir](/source/fir) trees on its slopes. These moss-covered stumps resembled graves. Another theory says that extensive [logging](/source/forestry) during the early 1900s left stumps behind. [Mosses](/source/Mosses) and [lichens](/source/lichens) grew on the stumps, resembling an overgrown graveyard. Later, during the time when this area was logged, major forest fires swept through the area. These fires devastated the entire valley, and heated the soil enough to sterilize it. Even now, plants have difficulty growing in the fire-ravaged soils, although some trees, shrubs, and grasslands are slowly beginning to thrive. Today, some forest has started to regrow, with species such as [Red Spruce](/source/Picea_rubens) and [Catawba Rhododendron](/source/Rhododendron_catawbiense), however much of the valley is still open and only covered in shrubs. ---- File:Graveyard Fields 1.jpg|Graveyard Fields in Autumn File:Black Balsam Knob in autumn.JPG|Second Falls with Black Balsam Knob in the background File:Graveyard yellowstone second falls.jpg|Second Falls ---- ==Cited references== {{reflist}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080511025647/http://www.ncparks.gov/Visit/main.php N.C. Div. of Parks & Recreation] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080528025515/http://www.blueridgeheritage.com/NaturalHeritage/NaturalTreasures/Mountains/GraveyardFields.html Blue Ridge National Heritage Area] == External links == {{Commons category|Graveyard Fields}} * http://www.hikewnc.info/trailheads/pisgah/pisgah/graveyard.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20080528025515/http://www.blueridgeheritage.com/NaturalHeritage/NaturalTreasures/Mountains/GraveyardFields.html * http://www.virtualblueridge.com/parkway_tour/overlooks/00419a.asp {{authority control}} Category:Landforms of North Carolina Category:Pisgah National Forest Category:Blue Ridge Parkway Category:Protected areas of Transylvania County, North Carolina Category:Landforms of Transylvania County, North Carolina Category:Valleys of the United States --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Graveyard Fields](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graveyard_Fields) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graveyard_Fields?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.