Spruce Pine, NC

united states

Spruce Pine is a mountain town of 2,400 in western North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, about an hour northeast of Asheville via US 19/23 and US 19E. The town sits in a valley where the North Toe River flows through Mitchell County, with the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway passing nearby. Spruce Pine produces 90 percent of the world's high-purity quartz, essential for making computer chips and smartphones.