The Unakas include the prominent Roan Highlands, where several summits rise above 6,000 feet. The Iron Mountains border the Unakas to the north, and the Bald Mountains border the Unakas opposite the Nolichucky to the south.[1] The name unaka is rooted in the Cherokee term unega, meaning "white".[2] Common lore is that 1 in 4 trees in the Unaka Range were American Chestnut trees prior to the great Chestnut Blight. Because the chestnut had long white blossoms, the Unaka Mountains turned white in color during the spring blossoming of the chestnut trees. They were called the White mountains by the local Cherokee.
In some geological and in historical sources, the term "Unaka Range" is used to identify the entire crest of the Appalachian Mountains along the Tennessee-North Carolina border, including the Unakas, the Great Smoky Mountains, the Bald Mountains, the Unicoi Mountains, and the mountains in the Big Frog Wilderness and Little Frog Mountain Wilderness.
Unakite was first discovered in the Unaka Range, and was named after it.
^Mooney, James (1972). Myths of the Cherokee and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokee. Nashville, Tennessee: C and R Elder Publishers. p. 542. OCLC729245899.