Editing Watauga County, North Carolina (section)

==Geography==
{{maplink|frame=yes|zoom=8|id=Q502880|type=shape-inverse|text=Interactive map of Watauga County}}
[[File:Snake Sunset.jpg|thumb|300px|Snake Mountain ({{convert|5,564|ft|disp=sqbr}}) in northern Watauga County]]
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|313.32|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|312.44|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|0.88|sqmi}} (0.28%) is water.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 23, 2022 |title=2020 County Gazetteer Files – North Carolina |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_counties_37.txt |access-date=September 10, 2023 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>

Watauga County is extremely mountainous, and all of the county's terrain is located within the [[Appalachian Mountains]] range. The highest point in the county is Calloway Peak, the highest peak of [[Grandfather Mountain]] (shared with the adjacent counties of Avery and Caldwell), which rises to {{convert|5,964|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} above sea level. At an elevation of {{convert|5,506|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} above sea level, [[Beech Mountain, North Carolina|Beech Mountain]] is the highest incorporated community east of the Mississippi River. [[Boone, North Carolina|Boone]], the county's largest city and county seat, has the highest elevation (3,333 feet) of any city over 10,000 population in the Eastern United States.

Isolated by mountainous terrain from the remainder of North Carolina to the east, Watauga County was described in the 19th and early 20th centuries as one of the [[Lost Provinces]] of North Carolina.<ref name="tabler1">{{cite web|last1=Tabler|first1=Dave|title=The Lost Provinces|url=http://www.appalachianhistory.net/2016/08/lost-provinces.html|website=Appalachian History|access-date=February 4, 2018|date=August 30, 2016}}</ref>

===National protected areas===
* [[Blue Ridge Parkway]] (part)
* [[Julian Price Memorial Park]]
* [[Moses H. Cone Memorial Park]]
* [[Pisgah National Forest]] (part)

===State and local protected areas===
* [[List of North Carolina state parks#State Natural Areas|Beech Creek Bog State Natural Area]]
* [[Elk Knob Game Land]]<ref name="NCWRC Game Lands">{{Cite web |title=NCWRC Game Lands |url=https://www.ncpaws.org/ncwrcmaps/gamelands |access-date=March 30, 2023 |website=www.ncpaws.org}}</ref>
* [[Elk Knob State Park]] (part)
* [[Foscoe Grandfather Community Center]]
* [[Grandfather Mountain State Park]] (part)
* [[Green Valley Community Park]]
* [[Pisgah National Forest Game Land]] (part)<ref name="NCWRC Game Lands"/>
* [[Turtle Island Preserve]]

===Major water bodies===
* [[Buckeye Creek (North Carolina)|Buckeye Creek]]
* [[Craborchard Creek (North Carolina)|Craborchard Creek]]
* [[Howard Creek (North Carolina)|Howard Creek]]
* [[Laurel Creek (North Carolina)|Laurel Creek]]
* [[Meadow Creek (North Carolina)|Meadow Creek]]
* [[North Fork New River]]
* [[Sharp Creek (North Carolina)|Sharp Creek]]
* [[South Fork New River]]
* [[Watauga River]]
* [[Yadkin River]]

===Adjacent counties===
* [[Ashe County, North Carolina|Ashe County]] – northeast
* [[Wilkes County, North Carolina|Wilkes County]] – east
* [[Caldwell County, North Carolina|Caldwell County]] – south
* [[Avery County, North Carolina|Avery County]] – southwest
* [[Johnson County, Tennessee]] – northwest