The Flag of Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee , is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States . It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina to the east, Georgia , Alabama , and Mississippi to the south, Arkansas to the southwest, and Missouri to the northwest. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. Tennessee's population as of the 2020 United States census is approximately 6.9 million.
Tennessee is geographically, culturally, and legally divided into three Grand Divisions of East , Middle , and West Tennessee . Nashville is the state's capital and largest city, and anchors its largest metropolitan area. Tennessee has diverse terrain and landforms, and from east to west, contains a mix of cultural features characteristic of Appalachia , the Upland South , and the Deep South . The Blue Ridge Mountains along the eastern border reach some of the highest elevations in eastern North America, and the Cumberland Plateau contains many scenic valleys and waterfalls . The central part of the state is marked by cavernous bedrock and irregular rolling hills, and level, fertile plains define West Tennessee. The state is twice bisected by the Tennessee River , and the Mississippi River forms its western border. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park , the nation's most visited national park, is in eastern Tennessee.
Tennessee is rooted in the Watauga Association , a 1772 frontier pact generally regarded as the first constitutional government west of the Appalachian Mountains . Its name derives from Tanasi (ᏔᎾᏏ ), a Cherokee town preceding the first European American settlement. Tennessee was initially part of North Carolina, and later the Southwest Territory , before its admission to the Union as the 16th state on June 1, 1796. It earned the nickname "The Volunteer State" due to a strong tradition of military service. A slave state until the American Civil War , Tennessee was politically divided, with most of its western and middle parts supporting the Confederacy , and most of the eastern region harboring pro -Union sentiment. As a result, Tennessee was the last state to officially secede from the Union and join the Confederacy , and the first former Confederate state readmitted to the Union after the war had ended during the Reconstruction era . (Full article... )
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Copper train in the basin (1939)
The Copper Basin , also known as the Ducktown Basin , is a geological region located primarily in Polk County, Tennessee , that contains deposits of copper ore and covers approximately 60,000 acres (24,000 hectares). Located in the southeastern corner of Tennessee, small portions of the basin extend into Fannin County, Georgia , and Cherokee County, North Carolina . The basin is surrounded by the Cherokee National Forest , and the cities of Ducktown and Copperhill, Tennessee , and McCaysville, Georgia are located in the basin.
Copper was first discovered in the basin in 1843, and by the 1850s large mining operations, spearheaded by German-born businessman Julius Eckhardt Raht , were taking place. The mines were seized by the Confederacy during the American Civil War and were the source of about 90% of the copper used by the Confederate Army . After the Civil War, smelting operations, which were used to separate sulfur from the copper ore, resulted in acid rain in the area. Combined with the logging of nearby forests to fuel the smelters, this resulted in a massive environmental disaster that left the surrounding landscape barren for more than a century. Several mines, the largest of which was the Burra Burra Mine, operated in the basin. (Full article... )
Craigmiles Hall (on the right) in downtown Cleveland
Cleveland is the county seat of, and largest city in, Bradley County, Tennessee . The population was 47,356 at the 2020 census . It is the principal city of the Cleveland metropolitan area, Tennessee (consisting of Bradley and neighboring Polk County ), which is included in the Chattanooga–Cleveland–Dalton, TN–GA–AL Combined Statistical Area .
Cleveland is the seventeenth-largest city in Tennessee and has the fifth-largest industrial economy, having thirteen Fortune 500 manufacturers. (Full article... )
History of Tennessee List of Tennessee state symbols Nashville, Tennessee List of governors of Tennessee Governor of Tennessee East Tennessee Middle Tennessee West Tennessee Knoxville, Tennessee Tennessee River Memphis, Tennessee Chattanooga, Tennessee Clarksville, Tennessee Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Dolly Parton Tennessee State Guard University of Memphis Toqua (Tennessee) Great Smoky Mountains Great Smoky Mountains Interstate 40 in Tennessee Old Crow Medicine Show Swaggerty Blockhouse Unicoi Mountains Old City, Knoxville Nashville Americans Valerie June Battle of Fort Donelson Battle of Fort Henry Collierville, Tennessee Vanderbilt University Tennessee whiskey Jack Daniel's Grand Ole Opry Battle of Nashville Nashville Superspeedway Johnny Cash Carl Perkins Tennessee Waltz Morristown, Tennessee Fainting goat Bessie Smith Cookeville, Tennessee Murfreesboro, Tennessee Bob Corker Edgar Evins State Park Graceland Bledsoe Creek State Park Dollywood Tennessee Valley Authority Black Patch Tobacco Wars Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The following are images from various Tennessee-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 A geomap showing the counties of Tennessee colored by the relative range of that county's median income. (from
Tennessee )
Image 3 Established in 1942,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest national laboratory in the Department of Energy system (from
Tennessee )
Image 4 The Hermitage , plantation home of President
Andrew Jackson in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 5 Conquistador Hernando de Soto , first European to visit Tennessee (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 6 The
Grand Ole Opry , which was recorded in
Nashville 's
Ryman Auditorium from 1943 to 1974, is the longest-running
radio broadcast in US history. (from
Tennessee )
Image 7 Mount Le Conte in the
Great Smoky Mountains is the tallest mountain in eastern North America, measured from base to summit (from
Tennessee )
Image 9 Offices of
The Tennessean in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 12 A geomap showing the counties of Tennessee colored by the relative range of that county's median income. (from
Tennessee )
Image 13 Mount Le Conte in the
Great Smoky Mountains is the tallest mountain in eastern North America, measured from base to summit (from
Tennessee )
Image 14 1861 Bank of Tennessee 1 dollar banknote (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 15 Vanderbilt University in Nashville is consistently ranked as one of the top research institutions in the nation (from
Tennessee )
Image 16 John Bell (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 18 Calutron operators at the
Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge during the
Manhattan Project (from
Tennessee )
Image 19 in 1946 the U.S. Post Office issued a
commemorative stamp celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tennessee statehood. (from
Tennessee )
Image 20 Established in 1942,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest national laboratory in the Department of Energy system (from
Tennessee )
Image 21 Surveyor
Daniel Smith's "Map of the Tennassee State" (1796) (from
Tennessee )
Image 22 Memphis International Airport , the hub of
FedEx Corporation , is the busiest cargo airport in the world (from
Tennessee )
Image 23 The Hermitage , plantation home of President
Andrew Jackson in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 25 in 1946 the U.S. Post Office issued a
commemorative stamp celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tennessee statehood. (from
Tennessee )
Image 26 Workers at the
Norris Dam construction camp site in 1933 (from
Tennessee )
Image 27 Howard Baker served as
Senate Minority and Majority Leader from 1977 to 1985, and was known as "The Great Conciliator" (from
Tennessee )
Image 28 Memphis became known as the "Cotton Capital of the World" in the years following the Civil War (from
Tennessee )
Image 29 Howard Baker served as
Senate Minority and Majority Leader from 1977 to 1985, and was known as "The Great Conciliator" (from
Tennessee )
Image 30 Köppen climate types of Tennessee, using 1991–2020
climate normals . (from
Tennessee )
Image 31 Reconstruction of
Fort Loudoun , the first British settlement in Tennessee (from
Tennessee )
Image 32 The
Ocoee River was home to the
1996 Summer Olympics whitewater slalom events, the only Olympic sporting event ever held in the state. (from
Tennessee )
Image 33 The Tennessee at Chattanooga , 1872, by
Harry Fenn (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 34 Reconstruction of
Fort Loudoun , the first British settlement in Tennessee (from
Tennessee )
Image 35 The
Grand Ole Opry , which was recorded in
Nashville 's
Ryman Auditorium from 1943 to 1974, is the longest-running
radio broadcast in US history. (from
Tennessee )
Image 36 Chart showing poverty in Tennessee, by age and gender (red = female) (from
Tennessee )
Image 37 The Southwest Territory in 1790 (from
Tennessee )
Image 39 Chart showing poverty in Tennessee, by age and gender (red = female) (from
Tennessee )
Image 41 Workers at the
Norris Dam construction camp site in 1933 (from
Tennessee )
Image 42 Fall Creek Falls , the tallest waterfall in the eastern United States, is located on the Cumberland Plateau (from
Tennessee )
Image 44 Map of counties in Tennessee by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census
Non-Hispanic White 50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90%+
Black or African American 50–60%
(from
Tennessee )
Image 45 Nashville's replica of the
Parthenon (built 1897) (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 46 Al Gore served as a
United States Senator from Tennessee (1985–1993) and as
Vice President of the United States (1993–2001) (from
Tennessee )
Image 47 The
1982 World's Fair in Knoxville (from
Tennessee )
Image 48 Calutron operators at the
Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge during the
Manhattan Project (from
Tennessee )
Image 49 Map of counties in Tennessee by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census
Non-Hispanic White 50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90%+
Black or African American 50–60%
(from
Tennessee )
Image 50 The
1982 World's Fair in Knoxville (from
Tennessee )
Image 51 Al Gore served as a
United States Senator from Tennessee (1985–1993) and as
Vice President of the United States (1993–2001) (from
Tennessee )
Image 52 Cedar glades are an ecosystem that is found in regions of Middle Tennessee where limestone bedrock is close to the surface (from
Tennessee )
Image 53 A
Nissan Leaf , one of six models manufactured at the
Nissan Smyrna Assembly Plant , the largest automotive assembly plant in North America (from
Tennessee )
Image 58 Memphis became known as the "Cotton Capital of the World" in the years following the Civil War (from
Tennessee )
Image 59 The
resort city of
Gatlinburg borders the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park , which is the most visited national park in the United States. (from
Tennessee )
Image 60 Köppen climate types of Tennessee, using 1991–2020
climate normals . (from
Tennessee )
Image 61 A
Nissan Leaf , one of six models manufactured at the
Nissan Smyrna Assembly Plant , the largest automotive assembly plant in North America (from
Tennessee )
Image 62 The
Battle of Franklin , November 30, 1864 (from
Tennessee )
Image 63 Fall Creek Falls , the tallest waterfall in the eastern United States, is located on the Cumberland Plateau (from
Tennessee )
Image 64 Interstate 40 traverses Tennessee from east to west, and serves the state's three largest cities. (from
Tennessee )
Image 65 Vanderbilt University in Nashville is consistently ranked as one of the top research institutions in the nation (from
Tennessee )
Image 66 Interstate 40 traverses Tennessee from east to west, and serves the state's three largest cities. (from
Tennessee )
Image 67 Memphis International Airport , the hub of
FedEx Corporation , is the busiest cargo airport in the world (from
Tennessee )
Image 68 Offices of
The Tennessean in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 69 The
Ryman Auditorium , home of the "Grand Ole Opry" in Nashville (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 70 Surveyor
Daniel Smith's "Map of the Tennassee State" (1796) (from
Tennessee )
Image 71 The
Ocoee River was home to the
1996 Summer Olympics whitewater slalom events, the only Olympic sporting event ever held in the state. (from
Tennessee )
Image 72 A View of Memphis, Tennessee , 1871 (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 73 Cedar glades are an ecosystem that is found in regions of Middle Tennessee where limestone bedrock is close to the surface (from
Tennessee )
Image 74 The Southwest Territory in 1790 (from
Tennessee )
Image 77 The Hermitage , plantation home of President
Andrew Jackson , now a museum in
Davidson County (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 78 The
resort city of
Gatlinburg borders the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park , which is the most visited national park in the United States. (from
Tennessee )
Image 79 The
Battle of Franklin , November 30, 1864 (from
Tennessee )
... that in 2015, GracePointe Church , Nashville, Tennessee , became one of the first evangelical megachurches to openly support full equality for LGBTQ people?
... that Mary Shadow , the first unmarried woman in the Tennessee House of Representatives , received fourteen marriage proposals after her election?
... that in Jackson, Tennessee , there was a 50–50 chance a reference to Dixie was about a radio station ?
... that the owner of a Tennessee TV station denied that he had named it after himself, telling a reporter, "I'm not that much of an egotist"?
... that college basketball player Jett Howard almost signed at Tennessee , but instead chose the Michigan team of his father Juwan Howard ?
... that Interstate 81 in Tennessee was the site of a carjacking that culminated in the Lillelid murders in 1997?
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