Dome Cap

Stratus clouds squeeze the sky ceiling down to mountain tops as seen from the observation tower at Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the afternoon of Thursday, September 17, 2015. In the views looking southwest above, the elevated walkway leading to the observation tower can be seen in the foreground. The top image was captured at 2:53 pm EDT, and the image directly above earlier at 2:34 pm.

This view, looking toward the northeast, shows the approach to the observation tower platform which affords a 360-degree vista of Appalachian Mountains. 2:56 pm. Half of the platform is claimed by the state of Tennessee and the other half by North Carolina. Altitude at the platform in 6,675 feet. Nikon D5000 DSLR camera.