Cumberland Plateau

Cumberland Plateau, upland region of the southeastern United States and the southwestern division of the Appalachian Mountains. It extends along the southwestern border of Virginia and southeastern Kentucky, and passes across eastern Tennessee, northern Georgia, and northeastern Alabama. From the plateau, which is 80 km (50 mi) wide, 730 km (450 mi) long, and from 300 to 600 m (1,000 to 2,000 ft) high, extend several small mountain ranges, including the Cumberland Mountains. The term Cumberland Mountains is usually used to denote the high narrow mountain belt that forms part of the Kentucky state line and that is separated from the Cumberland Plateau by the Cumberland River Valley. This mountain belt, also called the Cumberland Front, includes several ranges and ridges, most of them less than about 900 m (about 3,000 ft) above sea level. The mountains are noted for underground streams and caverns and for the Cumberland Gap. On the east the plateau descends abruptly into the Appalachian Valley, also called the Great Valley. The western slope is more gradual and is deeply broken. The slopes of the plateau are drained mostly into the Ohio River by the Cumberland and the Tennessee rivers. The surface rocks of the plateau include sandstones, limestones, and slates that enclose valuable deposits of coal. The plateau has extensive forests and is impassable in many parts. Only the valleys are cultivated, the ridges being rocky and unfertile. The plateau is sparsely populated because of its rugged terrain. Many people live in isolated communities and rely on subsistence farming. Poverty is a widespread problem.