The Great Smoky Mountains, straddling the border between North Carolina and Tennessee, get their name from the shroud of fog that often hovers around the range in the early mornings. Beneath the mist lies an ancient, alluring landscape full of biological and historical riches. The 187,000-acre expanse is a stomping ground for elk and black bears and, more unexpectedly, provides cover for an almost encyclopedic range of salamander species.