<P> The Black Mountains are a mountain range in western North Carolina , in the southeastern United States . They are part of the Blue Ridge Province of the Southern Appalachian Mountains . The Blacks are the highest mountains in the Eastern United States . The range takes its name from the dark appearance of the red spruce and Fraser fir trees that form a spruce - fir forest on the upper slopes which contrasts with the brown ( during winter ) or lighter green ( during the growing season ) appearance of the deciduous trees at lower elevations . The Eastern Continental Divide , which runs along the eastern Blue Ridge crest , intersects the southern tip of the Black Mountain range . </P>
how did black mountain north carolina get its name
from the dark appearance of the red spruce and Fraser fir trees that form a spruce - fir forest on the upper slopes which contrasts with the brown ( during winter ) or lighter green ( during the growing season ) appearance of the deciduous trees at lower elevations