The George Masa Foundation
Providing young people with the tools and resources necessary to engage in creative and impactful strategies for conservation and climate action.
“More walk, less talk.”
Carrying a heavy, large-format camera into the wilderness, waiting whole days for the perfect shot, and capturing stunning images on film make him a true master of his craft.
Masa was also a conservationist. He is credited with blazing miles of trails that would become the NC/TN section of the Appalachian Trail, was a founder of the Carolina Mountain Club, and is credited with convincing John D. Rockefeller Jr. to contribute the first funds necessary for creating Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Masa died of tuberculosis in 1933, though his memory lives on at the 5,685-foot peak in Great Smoky Mountains National Park that bears his name: Masa Knob.
Rediscovering George Masa, Smoky Mountains Photographer:
Iconic photo’s location identified
In an exciting discovery, the true location of one of the most iconic photographs of George Masa has been accurately identified. The photograph, depicting Masa on a rock outcrop with his camera and a companion, was previously believed to have been taken at Graybeard Mountain in Montreat, North Carolina. Recent findings confirm the actual location is Blackstack Cliffs in the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee. Read More
