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MIDDLE SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY Part One: Dividing lines In the Elementary Geography section we learned how to make a map of Tennessee using "a funny box, four lines and four dots." (If you don't remember how to do this, click here.) Let's pick up where we left off.
First we are going to talk about Tennessee's SIX physical regions and THREE Grand Divisions. Take your time because this can get a bit confusing. 
This map shows the six physical regions of Tennessee. MAP: Sherrie Collie, Collinwood Middle School Physical Regions
Parts of Tennessee look and feel completely different than other parts. Tennessee is, in some areas, so mountainous that it's hard to get around, while in other places the state is as flat as can be. To describe the terrain, people often divide the state into six physical regions. Moving from west to east: 
Dyer County, part of the Gulf Coastal Plain
* Gulf Coastal Plain. The entire western third of the state is considered Gulf Coastal Plain. This is where the elevation of the state is lowest and the land is flattest.
(NOTE: Many geologists say West Tennessee is made up of three regions: The Mississippi River Alluvial Plain, the Gulf Coastal Plain and the Western Valley of the Tennessee Valley. But for TCAP testing purposes, the Department of Education classifies all of West Tennessee as Gulf Coastal Plain. 
Here, where Rutherford County meets Coffee County, you can see where the Central Basin begins to climb into the Highland Rim.
* Highland Rim and Central Basin (also known as the Nashville Basin). Middle Tennessee is divided into two regions. The outer ring of Middle Tennessee is considered the Highland Rim. The Central Basin is slightly lower than and completely surrounded by the Highland Rim.
In this era of the interstate superhighway, it can be hard to distinguish between the Central Basin and the Highland Rim. But it you look for it, you'll notice the boundary. For example: The next time you head southeast on Interstate 24 (from Nashville to Chattanooga), notice how flat it is in Rutherford County. But when you get to Coffee County you go slightly uphill for a few miles. That, you see, is where the Central Basin becomes the Highland Rim. 
A view from atop the Cumberland Plateau in Cumberland County. The town below is Rockwood.
* The Cumberland Plateau -- As you ride from west to east through Tennessee, you suddenly go WAY up elevation wise at the Cumberland Plateau, a rugged upland region that extends from the Kentucky border in the north to the Georgia and Alabama border to the south. If you are heading east on Interstate 40, which connects Nashville to Knoxville, you move upward into the Cumberland Plateau right after you pass Cookeville. If you head east on Interstate 24, you ascend into the Cumberland Plateau right before you get to Sewanee and Monteagle.
By the way, there is a remarkable valley that cuts through the middle of the Cumberland Plateau. It is called the Sequatchie Valley, and it runs about five miles wide through the heart of Marion, Sequatchie and Bledsoe counties. 
This Hawkins County farm is in the Valley and Ridge region
* Valley and Ridge (also known as the Great Valley of Tennessee) -- is a series of valleys divided by ridges and low hills that runs through most of east Tennessee. The Tennessee River is formed in this region, where the Holston and French Broad come together near the city of Knoxville. Other cities located in the Valley and Ridge area are Chattanooga, Maryville, Bristol and Cleveland.
A creek in the Unaka Mountains
* The Unaka Mountains run all the way along Tennessee's border with North Carolina. And, just to be clear, the Great Smoky Mountains are sort of a "subset" of the Unaka Mountains. Within Tennessee, the "Great Smoky Mountains" only refers to the parts of the Unaka Mountains within Blount, Sevier, and the southern tip of Cocke counties.
The Unaka Mountains contain rugged terrain, rushing streams and heavily forested slopes. It's a great place to visit. But early settlers found it to be a rough place to go through and an extremely difficult place to farm. 
The Tennessee flag
Three Grand Divisions
The six physical regions are best thought of as physical boundaries. Now we're going to learn about Tennessee's Three Grand Divisions, which is more about political and historic boundaries. Tennessee's three Grand Divisions are West, Middle and East Tennessee. The three stars on the Tennessee flag represent the three Grand Divisions. 
A cotton field in West Tennessee
* Middle Tennessee is mostly made up of the Highland Rim and the Central Basin, although part of the Cumberland Plateau is in Middle Tennessee. * East Tennessee consists of the rest of the Cumberland Plateau, the Valley and Ridge and the Unaka Mountains. The geographic differences in the three parts of the state have led to differences in culture, history and politics. For example: * West Tennessee's soil and climate are great for growing cotton. Because of this, * Middle Tennessee has three important rivers: the Cumberland and Tennessee, which eventually flow into the Ohio River, and the Duck River, which merges with the Tennessee River. Of Tennessee's Three Grand Divisions, Middle Tennessee probably has the best river system in terms of navigability. Because of this, Middle Tennessee developed better trade than the other two parts of the state. Nashville, for instance, was once considered the flour milling capital of the South. * Because of the steep terrain, there are parts of East Tennessee that are hard to reach, even today. This has created more of an isolated culture in East Tennessee. 
An overlook in Middle Tennessee. The Harpeth River can be seen below.
One more thing about Tennessee's Grand Divisions: their boundaries are spelled out in state law, which actually list which counties belong in which Grand Division. This may seem odd. But there are times when state law requires that a certain amount of money be spent "in each Grand Division," or requires that a new committee be appointed with a certain number of people "from each Grand Division." If state law didn't list which counties belong in which Grand Division, disagreements would naturally result.
Let's talk about rivers. Click here. |
All photographs taken by Bill Carey for THKF unless otherwise stated.