Tennessee – Volunteer State

Facts over Tennessee

Staat: Tennessee
Afkorting: TN
Hoofdstad: Nashville
Staat sinds: June 1, 1796
Netnummers: 423, 615, 731, 865, 901, 931
Vogel: Mockingbird
Bloem: Iris
Grootste stad: Memphis
Motto: Agriculture and Commerce
Bijnaam: Volunteer State
Bevolking: 5.689.283
Lied: The Tennessee Waltz / Tennessee, My Homeland / Tennessee / When It’s Iris Time in Tennessee / My Tennessee / Rocky Top
Boom: Yellow-poplar
Tijdzone: -5 /-6

Adjacent States:

  • Arkansas
  • Missouri
  • Kentucky
  • Virginia
  • North Carolina
  • Georgia
  • Alabama
  • Mississippi

Tennessee Travel Information

Tennessee is one of the states of the United States. The standard abbreviation for the “Volunteer State”, as it is nicknamed, is TN. The capital is Nashville. See how many cities are in Tennessee.

History

The area that now forms Tennessee passed from French to British hands in the 18th century. On June 1, 1796, the state became the 16th state of the United States. During the American Civil War, it sided with the Confederacy.

Geography

The state covers 109,247 km², of which 106,846 km² is land. The west of the state is in the Central time zone, the east in the Eastern time zone. The state is bordered to the north by the states of Kentucky and Virginia, to the northwest by Missouri, to the southwest by Arkansas, to the east by North Carolina, and to the south by Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. The east of the state is in the Appalachian Mountains, where Clingmans Dome is located, the top of which is the highest point in the state at 2,025 m. This section is also known as the Great Smoky Mountains. The west of the state is flatter. The main rivers are the Tennessee and the Cumberland.

Regio’s in Tennessee

Geographically, culturally, and administratively, Tennessee is divided into three regions (Grand Divisions): West Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, and East Tennessee. East Tennessee is dominated by the Appalachians and is separated from Central Tennessee by the Cumberland Plateau and the time zone boundary. Central Tennessee has rolling hills. West Tennessee is located in the Mississippi lowlands. The state’s five-member Supreme Court may have up to two judges from each of its three parts and must meet regularly in each region.

Music

Tennessee has played a huge role in the music world. The state is known for blues, rock and roll, country music and rockabilly. For example, Beale Street in Memphis is seen as the place where the blues originated. Sun Records is also located in the same city, where some of the big names in the music world started their careers, such as Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison. Nashville is called the capital of country music, partly because of the radio program Grand Ole Opry that has been broadcast since 1927. The town of Bristol, which lies on the border with Virginia, is seen as the birthplace of this music genre.

Economy

The main sectors of the economy are agriculture (mainly soy), livestock, industry (Volkswagen has a factory there), electricity and tourism. The tourists mainly come for the national parks in the east of the state and for the museums about music history such as Graceland. Jack Daniel’s whiskey is perhaps the state’s most famous product. In addition, FedEx is headquartered in Memphis.

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS

North Carolina & Tennessee

Facts over Great Smoky Mountains

Name: Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Location: North Carolina, Tennessee
Opening: 1930
Admission: Free
Opening Hours: 24 Hours
Visitor: 9 million per year

Great Smoky Mountains Travel Information

The Great Smoky Mountains (also called The Smokies) are a mountain range and national park in the southern Appalachians. The mountains lie on the border between North Carolina and Tennessee, in the eastern United States. The highest point in the park is Clingmans Dome, which is 2025 meters high. The national park is also included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The name comes from the mist that often hangs over the tops of the mountains.

TENNESSEE

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is located in eastern North Carolina and part of Tennessee and is guarded by the town of Cherokee. The Great Smoky Mountains is one of the most visited parks in the United States of America and is visited by around 9 million tourists annually. The mountain range in which the park is located reaches considerable heights, sixteen peaks here exceed the height limit of 1800 meters above sea level.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which was established on June 15, 1934, today occupies an area of 521,086 hectares. The border between the states of Tennessee and North Carolina passes through the park. The park got its name from the fog that hangs in the mountains and resembles smoke rising from the valley. The name was given to the park by an ancient Indian tribe living in North America, whose culture was among the most advanced in this part of America. These people were mainly engaged in agriculture and even had their own writing, and in the 19th century it became a separate sovereign nation with rights and responsibilities. Even so, they were eventually forcibly evicted by then-President Andrew Jackson to Oklahoma in 1838. This involuntary journey of theirs was later called the Trail of Tears and more than 5,000 members of the tribe perished on it.

The park is proud of its beautiful, untouched and wild nature, which has become home to many animals. Very often you can come across a bear, for example, so you need to be careful and considerate. It is also home to probably the largest number of salamander species in the world. There are also more than 3,500 plant species in the park, such as rhododendrons, mountain magnolias and orchids, so the landscape shines with all kinds of colors of their flowers. Due to its numerous natural beauties, the national park ranks among the most beautiful mountain areas in the Appalachian Mountains and has been on the UNESCO List of Natural Monuments since 1983.

The highest peak of the park is Clingmans Dome with a height of 2024 meters above sea level located in the state of Tennessee. All interesting places in the park are accessible by marked hiking trails. The most famous trail crossing the entire Appalachian Mountains is the Appalachian Trail leading from Maine to Georgia. There are 1,368 km of unpaved trails and roads in the Great Smoky Mountains Park. A single paved road, Route 441, crosses the mountain range from north to south, looping around the Newfound Gap Road lookout. From here you have a unique and extraordinary view of the highest mountain. One of the most visited places in the park is Mount Le Conte, which is 2,010 meters above sea level. The 24-meter-high Laurel Falls is also a popular destination for tourists.