The Blue Ridge, or Blue Ridge Mountains, is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division. The province consists of the Northern and Southern physiographic sections, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. They are a mountain chain in the eastern United States, part of the Appalachian Mountains, forming their eastern front from Georgia to Pennsylvania. To the west of the Blue Ridge, between it and the bulk of the Appalachians, lies the Great Valley, bordered on the west by the Ridge and Valley province. The mountains are well known for their bluish color when seen from a distance. Trees put the "blue" in Blue Ridge, from the hydrocarbons released into the atmosphere, thereby contributing to the characteristic haze on the mountains and their distinctive color.

Within the Blue Ridge province, there are two National Parks: the Shenandoah in the northern section and the Great Smoky Mountains in the southern section. The Blue Ridge also contains the Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469-mile long scenic highway that connects the two parks and is located along the ridge crestlines along the Appalachian Trail.

Although the term "Blue Ridge" is sometimes applied exclusively to the eastern edge or front range of the Appalachian Mountains, the geological definition of the Blue Ridge province extends westward to the Ridge and Valley area, encompassing the Great Smoky Mountains, the Great Balsams, the Roans, the Brushy Mountains and other mountain ranges.

The Blue Ridge contains the highest mountains in eastern North America. About 125 peaks exceed 5,000 feet in elevation. The highest peak in the Blue Ridge (and in the entire Appalachian chain) is Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina at 6,684 feet. There are 39 peaks in North Carolina and Tennessee higher than 6,000 feet; by comparison, only New Hampshire's Mt. Washington rises above 6,000 feet in the northern portion of the Appalachian chain.

The Blue Ridge Parkway runs 469 miles (750 km) along crests of the Southern Appalachians and links two national parks: Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains. In many places along the parkway, there are metamorphic rocks (gneiss) with folded bands of light-and dark-colored minerals, which sometimes look like the folds and swirls in a marble cake.

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