This region consists of parallel linear hills separated by Bodian heading from the northeast to the southwest, which is the general direction of the entire Appalachian mountain range.
Most of these hills are low, but some of the upper hills are usually called mountains. Many tributaries join the formation of the Tennessee River in the Ridge & Valley area.
The Cumberland Plateau rises to the west of the Tennessee Valley,with an average height. This ground shape is part of the larger Appalachian plateau and consists mostly of flat tablelands.
The eastern edge of the plateau is relatively distinct, but the western cliff is irregular, as it has many long, twisted valleys separated by rocky cliffs with numerous waterfalls.
The Cumberland Mountains, with the peaks above, comprise the northeastern part of the Appalachian Plateau in Tennessee, and the southeastern part of the Cumberland Plateau divides the Sekoachi Valley.
The Cumberland Trail crosses the eastern cliff of the Cumberland Plateau and the Cumberland Mountains.
West of Cumberland Hill is the edge of the Highlands, an elevated plain that surrounds the Nashville Basin, a geological dome.
Each of these physiological provinces is part of the inner low plateaus of the larger inner plains.
The edge of the highlands is the largest geographical area in Tennessee, often divided into eastern and western halves.
The edge of the Eastern Highlands is characterized by relatively flat plains dotted with rolling hills, and the edge of the Western Highlands and the Western Nashville Basin is covered with uneven round handles with steep valleys separated by wind currents.
The Nashville Basin has rich and fertile farmland, and the porous limestone foundation stone very close to the surface lies behind both the Nashville Basin and the edge of the Eastern Highlands.
This results in karst which forms many caves, sinks, depressions, and streams underground.
West of the edge of the highlands is the western Tennessee Valley, which consists of about the width of the mountainous lands along the banks of the Tennessee River.
West of this is the coastal plain of the bay, a vast feature that starts from the Gulf of Mexico and extends north to southern Illinois.
The plain in the east begins with low rolling hills and wide valleys, known as the western Tenness ee highlands, and gradually rises to the west.
It ends at a steep deception overlooking Mississippi Bay, the western physiographic section of Tennessee, which is part of the larger Mississippi alluvial plain.
Known as the Mississippi bottoms, this flat wide strip contains lowlands, floodplains, and swamps.
hydrology
Tennessee is drained by three major rivers, Tennessee, Cumberland, and Mississippi.
The Tennessee River begins at the intersection of the Holston and Freshwood rivers in Knoxville, flows southwest into Chattanooga, and exits into Alabama before reappearing in the western part of the state and flowing north into Kentucky.
Its main tributaries include the Kleinch, Little Tennessee, Hawaii, Sekoachi, Elk, Beech, Buffalo, Duck, and Large Sand Rivers.
Its main branches in Tennessee are Obie, Kanye Fork, Stones, Harpeth, and Red Rivers.
Its tributaries are the Obion Rivers, Branched Deer, Hachi, Lusahachi, and Wolf. All three of these basins are tributaries of the Ohio River watersheds.
Most of West Tennessee is located in the lower Mississippi River watershed.
ecology
Tennessee is located within a biome of temperate deciduous forests known as the Eastern Deciduous Forest. It has eight ecological zones: Blue Ridge, Ridge & Valley, Central Appalachian, Southwest Appalachian, Inland Low Plateaus, Southeastern Plains, Mississippi Louise Valley Plains, and Mississippi Alluvial Plain areas.
Tennessee is the most biologically diverse inland state, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most biologically diverse national park, and the Duck River is the most biologically diverse waterway in North America.
Tennessee is home to 340 species of birds, 325 species of freshwater fish, 89 mammals, 77 amphibians, and 61 reptiles. The fir and fir forest in the southern Appalachian at the highest elevations of the Blue Ridge Mountains is the second most endangered ecosystem in the country.
Some of the large American chestnut trees that remain in the Nashville Basin grow and are used to help breed blight-resistant trees.
Central Tennessee is home to many unusual and rare ecosystems known as rice slabs, which occur in areas with shallow limestone rocks that are largely arid from the upper soil and contain many endemic plant species.
Common mammals found throughout Tennessee include white-tailed deer, red and gray foxes, coyotes, raccoons, opossums, wild turkeys, rabbits, and squirrels. Black bears are found in the Blue Ridge Mountains and on the Cumberland Plateau.
Tennessee has the third largest number of amphibian species, with the Great Smoky Mountains home to most of the world's salamander species.
The state ranks second in the country in terms of the diversity of freshwater fish species.
climate
Most of Tennessee has a humid subtropical climate, except some of the higher altitudes in the Appalachian Mountains, which are classified as a cooler temperate mountain or humid continental climate.
The Gulf of Mexico is the dominant factor in Tennessee's climate, with winds coming from the south responsible for most of the state's annual rainfall.
In general, the state has hot summers and mild to cold winters with generous rainfall throughout the year.
The highest monthly average rainfall usually occurs between December and April. The driest months, on average, are August to October.
The state receives average rainfall annually. Snowfall ranges from western Tennessee to the highest mountains of eastern Tennessee.
Summers are generally hot and humid, with most of the state averaging a significant rise.
Winters tend to be mild to cold, as the temperature drops at higher altitudes.
For areas outside the highest mountains, average overnight declines are generally near freezing.
The highest recorded temperature in Perryville was on August 9, 1930, while the lowest recorded temperature was in Mountain City on December 30, 1917.
While Tennessee is far enough off the coast to avoid any direct impact from a hurricane, its location makes it vulnerable to the remnants of tropical cyclones, which weaken above ground and can cause significant rainfall.
The average thunderstorms in the state annually are about 50 days, which can be severe with great cold and destructive winds.
Hurricanes are possible throughout the state, with western and central Tennessee the most vulnerable.
The state averages 15 hurricanes per year. It can be severe, and the nation is led in the percentage of total hurricanes that have deaths.
Winter storms occur as in 1993 and 2021 occasionally, and ice storms are fairly common. Fog is an ongoing problem in some areas, especially in eastern Tennessee.
Cities, towns, and provinces
Tennessee is divided into 95 counties, each with a county seat.
The state has 340 municipalities in total. The Office of Management and Budget identifies ten metropolitan areas in Tennessee, four of which extend to neighboring states.
Nashville is the capital of Tennessee and the largest city, with nearly 700,000 inhabitants.
Memphis, with a population of more than 630,000, was the largest city in the state until 2016 when Nashville overtook it.
It is located in Shelby County, the largest county in Tennessee by population and land area.
Knoxville, with a population of about 190,000, and Chattanooga, with about 180,000 inhabitants, is the third and fourth largest city, respectively.
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