Tennessee (state)

I

Introduction

Tennessee (state), in the East South Central region of the United States, lying between the Mississippi River on the west and the backbone of the Blue Ridge province of the Appalachian Mountains on the east. It is considered one of the border states between the North and the South. Tennessee entered the Union on June 1, 1796, as the 16th state. Although it seceded at the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, eastern Tennessee remained loyal to the Union. This border character reflects a deep-rooted difference between the upland and lowland areas. The east, with its rugged terrain covered with dense forest and brush, was settled mainly by independent yeoman farmers. It remained largely isolated from the outside world until the early 20th century. In contrast, the west, where cotton plantations once flourished, was linked with other regions through the Mississippi River. Central Tennessee, with its rolling inner core, had good transportation connections with other regions and developed a more diversified economy than that in the east.

These regional differences are reflected in the division of Tennessee into three so-called grand divisions, which are recognized under state law: East Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, and West Tennessee. Each of the divisions has its distinctive regional center, or centers: Chattanooga and Knoxville in East Tennessee; Nashville, the capital and largest metropolitan area, in Middle Tennessee; and Memphis, with the largest city population, in West Tennessee.

Tennessee’s population is nearly two-fifths rural, and no single city or group of cities dominates the state. While it is not highly urbanized, Tennessee is now more an industrial than an agricultural state. This change in emphasis has taken place since the 1930s and is attributable in large part to the planned development of the Tennessee river basin under the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Through the TVA programs, which attracted a great diversity of industries, including the federal government’s atomic energy research and development center at Oak Ridge, eastern Tennessee has become the most industrialized part of the state.

Tennessee is believed to derive its name from Tanasi, the name used by the Cherokee people for a village on the Little Tennessee River. The river was named after the village, and the region named after the river. The state has no official nickname but is frequently called the Volunteer State, used in recognition of the valor displayed by volunteer soldiers from the state during wars in the 18th and 19th centuries.

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II

Physical Geography

Tennessee ranks 36th in size among the states of the Union, with an area of 109,150 sq km (42,143 sq mi), including 2,398 sq km (926 sq mi) of inland water. The state has a maximum extent, from east to west, of 790 km (491 mi), a maximum north-south distance of 185 km (115 mi), and a mean elevation of 300 m (900 ft).

A

Natural Regions

Tennessee’s seven natural regions lie between the Blue Ridge Mountains on the east, and the Mississippi River on the west. The Tennessee portion of the Blue Ridge Mountains is known as the Unaka Range, a sparsely populated and mostly forested region along the Tennessee-North Carolina border. Within the Unaka Chain is a large portion of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, including Clingmans Dome, which rises to 2,025 m (6,643 ft) above sea level and is the highest point in Tennessee.

The Ridge and Valley Province, containing the Great Valley of Tennessee, stretches westward from the Blue Ridge for 90 km (55 mi). It consists of a succession of relatively fertile and generally cultivated valleys that are separated by forested ridges. The ridges and valleys trend northeast-southwest, and rise to elevations between 600 and 750 m (2,000 and 2,500 ft).

From the Ridge and Valley Province the land rises abruptly over an escarpment to form the Tennessee portion of the Cumberland Plateau, which ranges northward into Kentucky. About 80 km (50 mi) wide, the once relatively flat plateau surface has been heavily dissected by streams, which have carved deep V-shaped valleys. Parts of the plateau are extremely rugged and difficult to access, and the usually flat-topped hills reach more than 600 m (2,000 ft) above sea level. The upturned eastern edges of the plateau, identified from south to north as Walden Ridge, the Crab Orchard Mountains, and Cumberland Mountain, in places rise to more than 1,060 m (3,600 ft) in altitude.

Elevations drop sharply from the Cumberland Plateau on the west to the Highland Rim, an upland plain of low-to-moderate fertility that surrounds the Nashville Basin. The eastern portion of the Rim (Eastern Highland Rim) averages 300 m (1,000 ft) above sea level, but elevations decline somewhat toward the south and west.

Nestled within the Highland Rim is the Nashville Basin, a somewhat oval-shaped region extending 80 km (50 mi) east-west and 130 km (80 mi) south-north. Most of the basin is flat, with elevations ranging from 150 to 210 m (500 to 700 ft). Although some parts of the basin contain deep soils that support prosperous agriculture, other portions have thin soils that are limited primarily to grazing activities. The Nashville Basin is similar in geologic origin, composition, and structure, to the Blue Grass Basin of Kentucky, and both regions are known for raising fine horses.

The north-flowing Tennessee River marks the western boundary between the Highland Rim and the Gulf of Mexico portion of the Coastal Plain, which is characterized by gently rolling to flat surfaces. The rougher and higher parts lie closest to the Tennessee River. Overall, this region contains the state’s largest and most productive farms. Its east-west extent is about 160 km (about 100 mi).

The westernmost natural region in Tennessee is a narrow strip of land along the Mississippi River known as the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. Also known as the Mississippi Bottoms, this is the smallest of Tennessee’s natural regions. Its low-lying swampy surface contains the lowest elevations in the state (54 m/178 ft). On the east it is bounded by steep bluffs.

B

Rivers and Lakes

All the major rivers of Tennessee lie within the vast Mississippi river system. The principal rivers are the Mississippi River, along the state’s western border, and the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. The Tennessee River is formed just east of Knoxville by the junction of the Holston and French Broad rivers. Flowing southwestward, it leaves the state at Chattanooga, curves through northern Alabama, and then flows northward across Tennessee to join the Ohio River in Kentucky. Its major tributaries in Tennessee include the Little Tennessee, Clinch, Big Sandy, Hiwassee, Elk, and Duck rivers. The Cumberland River, also a tributary of the Ohio, rises in Kentucky and meanders through northern Tennessee before reentering Kentucky to join the Ohio. Its principal tributaries in Tennessee are the Stone, Harpeth, Caney Fork, and Obey rivers. In western Tennessee several rivers flow directly into the Mississippi.

The largest natural lake is Reelfoot Lake, formed by the New Madrid earthquakes in 1811 and 1812. However, the largest bodies of water are reservoirs that lie behind dams on the Tennessee and Cumberland river systems.

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