大雾山国家公园，田纳西州 Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee (© Tony Barber/Getty Images)

大雾山国家公园，田纳西州 Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee (© Tony Barber/Getty Images)

田纳西之巅 The top of Tennessee

Nature Photography Day in the Smokies

If you're celebrating Nature Photography Day today, then Great Smoky Mountains National Park would be an excellent place to snap your own shots of sylvan splendor like this one. That's because you'd have two reasons to celebrate—the park turns 88 today. These misty peaks and valleys along the border between Tennessee and North Carolina were established as a national park on this day in 1934. All these years later, it may not be the most famous national park in the US, but it is by far the most popular. With more than 14 million visitors per year, it draws more people than the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Yosemite combined.

True to its name, the park is known for its persistent haze. Native Americans–the region is the ancestral home of the Cherokee people–gave the place a name that translates to 'place of the blue smoke.' The smoke is actually a fog created in part by the native vegetation. It owes its blueish appearance to humidity and stagnant air. Almost all of the park is covered in deciduous and coniferous forest, a third of it old-growth trees that predate European settlement. The thick forests, range of elevations, and abundant rainfall support a stunning variety of wildlife. There are so many black bears that about two live in every square mile of the park. Bats, foxes, skunks, otters, bobcats, and 200 species of birds also call this place home. The park is most notable for its salamanders. In fact, it's known as the Salamander Capital of the World, with 30 species living here.

But the real stars of the park are the mountains. For panoramic vistas, this vantage point—Clingman's Dome on the Tennessee side of the park—is hard to beat. At 6,643 feet, it's also the highest point in the state. To take your own version of this shot, you don't even have to hike. Simply drive to the parking lot. But after you've got your pics, keep the camera handy. If the parking lot looks this good, imagine what photos you can take in the rest of the park.

烟雾中的自然摄影日

如果你今天要庆祝自然摄影日，那么大烟山国家公园将是一个很好的地方，你可以在这里拍摄自己的森林美景。那是因为今天你有两个理由庆祝公园88岁生日。1934年的今天，沿着田纳西州和北卡罗来纳州边界的这些雾蒙蒙的山峰和山谷被建成了国家公园。多年后，它可能不是美国最著名的国家公园，但它是迄今为止最受欢迎的国家公园。它每年吸引的游客超过1400万，超过了大峡谷、黄石公园和约塞米蒂的总和。

不折不扣地说，这个公园以其持续的阴霾而闻名。印第安人——该地区是切罗基人的祖籍——给这个地方起了一个翻译成“蓝烟之地”的名字烟雾实际上是一种雾，部分是由当地植被造成的。它的蓝色外观归因于潮湿和停滞的空气。几乎整个公园都覆盖着落叶和针叶林，其中三分之一是欧洲殖民地之前的老树。茂密的森林、广阔的海拔和充足的降雨量支撑着种类繁多的野生动物。公园里有很多黑熊，每平方英里大约有两只。蝙蝠、狐狸、臭鼬、水獭、山猫和200种鸟类也把这里称为家。该公园以其蝾螈最为著名。事实上，这里被称为世界蝾螈之都，有30种蝾螈生活在这里。

但公园里真正的明星是山。从全景来看，这个位于公园田纳西州一侧的有利位置克林曼圆顶（Clingman's Dome）是无与伦比的。海拔6643英尺，也是该州的最高点。要拍摄你自己的照片，你甚至不需要徒步旅行。只需开车去停车场。但是在你拿到照片后，把相机放在手边。如果停车场看起来这么好，想象一下你可以在公园的其他地方拍些什么照片。