Faces and Profiles of Grandfather Mountain
The Blue Ridge Mountains contain some of the world’s oldest rock formations — Grandfather Mountain alone has 1.1 billion years of geologic history. Throughout the years, the mountain has weathered storms and slowly eroded. Even so, some iconic rock features have withstood the test of time, now recognizable as the “faces” and profiles of Grandfather.
Grandfather’s Ground View
The late Hugh Morton, founder of the nature park, always said there was no official mountain profile, but the most recognizable view associated with “Grandfather” can be seen from the community of Foscoe, about seven miles north of Linville.
Before it was called Grandfather, the Cherokee who lived near the mountain named it “Tanawha,” meaning “a fabulous hawk or eagle.” This is still a popular interpretation.
Many years later, pioneers interpreted the same profile as the face of a man looking up. The contours of the rock seemed to mimic the features that come with age, so they called the mountain “Grandfather.” Not only did the name reflect the physical appearance of the mountain, but it also invoked a sense of wisdom, timelessness and connection to its ancient past.
Just over two and a half miles into the Profile Trail, a Grandfather Mountain State Park trail, hikers will come across the famous “Grandfather Profile.” This rock formation can also be perceived as the face of an elderly man, but it is positioned vertically and left-facing.
Many claim that Grandfather Mountain was named for Grandfather Profile, including early mountain writer Shepherd M. Dugger, who called the profile “The Great Stone Face of the Grandfather.”
Grandfather Profile
“You now see the genuine old man of the mountains,” Dugger wrote in his 1907 publication “The Balsam Groves of Grandfather Mountain.” “When that is silvered with frost or blanched with snow, it has the appearance of great age, and hence the pioneers called it ‘Grandfather’ and the mountain of which it is a part of ‘Grandfather Mountain.’”
It is debated which historic view inspired the mountain’s name, but that mystery contributes to the mountain’s natural wonder.
“The varying interpretation of profiles at Grandfather Mountain is a beautiful thing because it shows that the sense of imagination that pioneers expressed hundreds of years ago remains today. We encourage everyone who visits the mountain to make their own interpretation of the profile, and even to scope out other rock formations to imagine new profiles.”
Lauren Farrell
Interpretation and Education Programs Manager
Under the Bridge
At the top of the mountain, another profile can be found hiding under the Mile High Swinging Bridge on the Top Shop side of the Bridge Trail. Like Grandfather Profile, this hidden gem resembles a man’s vertical profile.
This lesser-known profile is named “Be Still and Know,” as it was dedicated through the organization’s Boulder Club by the late Jim Morton in honor of Kelly McGowan.
American Mountain Ash, a common tree of the high elevations of Grandfather Mountain, is found nearby this boulder. The tree produces an abundance of red berries for wildlife in the fall.
While driving up the mountain, visitors encounter another rock formation with a face: Sphinx Rock.
Sphinx Rock is named for its resemblance to the Egyptian Sphinx, an iconic pharaoh’s head with a lion’s body. Unlike the man-made Egyptian Sphinx, Sphinx Rock is the natural product of millions of years of weathering, weighing more than 2 million pounds. Its best viewing spot is roadside on the mountain.
Sphinx Rock was formed through millions of years of stone and sediment deposits, likely in an ancient riverbed within a mountain formation older than the Appalachians. It is believed that Sphinx Rock formed at a higher elevation — when Grandfather Mountain was as tall as the Himalayas.
Sphinx Rock
Grandfather Mountain is a treasure trove of natural artistry, where ancient rocks have been sculpted by time and the elements into fascinating faces and profiles. As you explore the mountain, you are invited to share your own interpretations of these natural profiles as they greet you by uploading them below, and they could be featured on this page. After all, imagination is what named our mountain.