1.
Tennessee River
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The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once known as the Cherokee River, among other names, as many of the Cherokee had their territory along its banks, especially in eastern Tennessee. Its current name is derived from the Cherokee village Tanasi, the Tennessee River is formed at the confluence of the Holston and French Broad rivers on the east side of present-day Knoxville, Tennessee. From Knoxville, it flows southwest through East Tennessee toward Chattanooga before crossing into Alabama and it loops through northern Alabama and eventually forms a small part of the states border with Mississippi, before returning to Tennessee. At this point, it defines the boundary between two of Tennessees Grand Divisions, Middle and West Tennessee and this waterway reduces the navigation distance from Tennessee, north Alabama, and northern Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico by hundreds of miles. The final part of the Tennessees run is in Kentucky, where it separates the Jackson Purchase from the rest of the state and it flows into the Ohio River at Paducah, Kentucky. The river has been dammed numerous times, primarily in the 20th century by Tennessee Valley Authority projects since the 1930s, a navigation canal located at Grand Rivers, Kentucky, links Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. The canal allows for a trip for river traffic going from the Tennessee to most of the Ohio River. Maps from the early 18th century call it Cussate, Hogohegee, Callamaco, a 1755 British map showed the Tennessee River as the River of the Cherakees. By the late 18th century, it had come to be called Tennessee, the river was a major highway to transport goods and explorers in the years when Tennessee was not yet settled. Some major towns that still exist today, and major ports at them were established by those who rode down the river, and settled along it. The Tennessee River begins at mile post 652, where the French Broad River meets the Holston River, in the late 18th century, the mouth of the Little Tennessee River was considered to be the beginning of the Tennessee River. Through much of the 19th century, the Tennessee River was considered to start at the mouth of Clinch River, at various points since the early 19th century, Georgia has disputed its northern border with Tennessee. Georgia made several attempts to correct what Georgia felt was an erroneous survey line in the 1890s,1905,1915,1922,1941,1947 and 1971 to resolve the dispute. Crews Townsend, Joseph McCoin, Robert F. Parsley, Alison Martin and Zachary H. Greene, writing for the Tennessee Bar Journal, a publication of the Tennessee Bar Association, appearing on May 12,2008. In 2008, as a result of a drought and resulting water shortage. In a two-page resolution passed overwhelmingly by the senate, Georgia declared that it, not its neighbor to the north
2.
Tennessee
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Tennessee is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th largest and the 17th most populous of the 50 United States, Tennessee is bordered by Kentucky and Virginia to the north, North Carolina to the east, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the south, and Arkansas and Missouri to the west. The Appalachian Mountains dominate the eastern part of the state, Tennessees capital and second largest city is Nashville, which has a population of 654,610. Memphis is the states largest city, with a population of 655,770, the state of Tennessee is rooted in the Watauga Association, a 1772 frontier pact generally regarded as the first constitutional government west of the Appalachians. What is now Tennessee was initially part of North Carolina, Tennessee was admitted to the Union as the 16th state on June 1,1796. Tennessee was the last state to leave the Union and join the Confederacy at the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, occupied by Union forces from 1862, it was the first state to be readmitted to the Union at the end of the war. Tennessee furnished more soldiers for the Confederate Army than any other state besides Virginia and this sharply reduced competition in politics in the state until after passage of civil rights legislation in the mid-20th century. This city was established to house the Manhattan Projects uranium enrichment facilities, helping to build the worlds first atomic bomb, Tennessees major industries include agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism. Poultry, soybeans, and cattle are the primary agricultural products, and major manufacturing exports include chemicals, transportation equipment. In the early 18th century, British traders encountered a Cherokee town named Tanasi in present-day Monroe County, the town was located on a river of the same name, and appears on maps as early as 1725. The meaning and origin of the word are uncertain, some accounts suggest it is a Cherokee modification of an earlier Yuchi word. It has been said to mean meeting place, winding river, according to ethnographer James Mooney, the name can not be analyzed and its meaning is lost. The modern spelling, Tennessee, is attributed to James Glen, the governor of South Carolina, the spelling was popularized by the publication of Henry Timberlakes Draught of the Cherokee Country in 1765. In 1788, North Carolina created Tennessee County, the county to be established in what is now Middle Tennessee. When a constitutional convention met in 1796 to organize a new out of the Southwest Territory. Other sources differ on the origin of the nickname, according to the Columbia Encyclopedia. Tennessee ties Missouri as the state bordering the most other states, the state is trisected by the Tennessee River. The highest point in the state is Clingmans Dome at 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome, which lies on Tennessees eastern border, is the highest point on the Appalachian Trail, and is the third highest peak in the United States east of the Mississippi River
3.
Kentucky
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Kentucky, officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state located in the east south-central region of the United States. Kentucky is one of four U. S. states constituted as a commonwealth, originally a part of Virginia, in 1792 Kentucky became the 15th state to join the Union. Kentucky is the 37th most extensive and the 26th most populous of the 50 United States, Kentucky is known as the Bluegrass State, a nickname based on the bluegrass found in many of its pastures due to the fertile soil. One of the regions in Kentucky is the Bluegrass Region in central Kentucky. In 1776, the counties of Virginia beyond the Appalachian Mountains became known as Kentucky County, the precise etymology of the name is uncertain, but likely based on an Iroquoian name meaning the meadow or the prairie. Kentucky is situated in the Upland South, a significant portion of eastern Kentucky is part of Appalachia. Kentucky borders seven states, from the Midwest and the Southeast, West Virginia lies to the east, Virginia to the southeast, Tennessee to the south, Missouri to the west, Illinois and Indiana to the northwest, and Ohio to the north and northeast. Only Missouri and Tennessee, both of which border eight states, touch more, Kentuckys northern border is formed by the Ohio River and its western border by the Mississippi River. The official state borders are based on the courses of the rivers as they existed when Kentucky became a state in 1792, for instance, northbound travelers on U. S.41 from Henderson, after crossing the Ohio River, will be in Kentucky for about two miles. Ellis Park, a racetrack, is located in this small piece of Kentucky. Waterworks Road is part of the land border between Indiana and Kentucky. Kentucky has a part known as Kentucky Bend, at the far west corner of the state. It exists as an exclave surrounded completely by Missouri and Tennessee, Road access to this small part of Kentucky on the Mississippi River requires a trip through Tennessee. The epicenter of the powerful 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes was near this area, much of the outer Bluegrass is in the Eden Shale Hills area, made up of short, steep, and very narrow hills. The Jackson Purchase and western Pennyrile are home to several bald cypress/tupelo swamps, located within the southeastern interior portion of North America, Kentucky has a climate that can best be described as a humid subtropical climate. Temperatures in Kentucky usually range from daytime summer highs of 87 °F to the low of 23 °F. The average precipitation is 46 inches a year, Kentucky experiences four distinct seasons, with substantial variations in the severity of summer and winter. The highest recorded temperature was 114 °F at Greensburg on July 28,1930 while the lowest recorded temperature was −37 °F at Shelbyville on January 19,1994, due to its location, Kentucky has a moderate humid subtropical climate, with abundant rainfall
4.
Georgia (U.S. state)
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Georgia is a state in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1733, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies, named after King George II of Great Britain, Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2,1788. It declared its secession from the Union on January 19,1861 and it was the last state to be restored to the Union, on July 15,1870. Georgia is the 24th largest and the 8th most populous of the 50 United States, from 2007 to 2008,14 of Georgias counties ranked among the nations 100 fastest-growing, second only to Texas. Georgia is known as the Peach State and the Empire State of the South, Atlanta is the states capital, its most populous city and has been named a global city. Georgia is bordered to the south by Florida, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean and South Carolina, to the west by Alabama, the states northern part is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountains system. Georgias highest point is Brasstown Bald at 4,784 feet above sea level, Georgia is the largest state entirely east of the Mississippi River in land area. Before settlement by Europeans, Georgia was inhabited by the mound building cultures, the British colony of Georgia was founded by James Oglethorpe on February 12,1733. The colony was administered by the Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America under a charter issued by King George II. The Trustees implemented a plan for the colonys settlement, known as the Oglethorpe Plan. In 1742 the colony was invaded by the Spanish during the War of Jenkins Ear, in 1752, after the government failed to renew subsidies that had helped support the colony, the Trustees turned over control to the crown. Georgia became a colony, with a governor appointed by the king. The Province of Georgia was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution by signing the 1776 Declaration of Independence, the State of Georgias first constitution was ratified in February 1777. Georgia was the 10th state to ratify the Articles of Confederation on July 24,1778, in 1829, gold was discovered in the North Georgia mountains, which led to the Georgia Gold Rush and an established federal mint in Dahlonega, which continued its operation until 1861. The subsequent influx of white settlers put pressure on the government to land from the Cherokee Nation. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law, sending many eastern Native American nations to reservations in present-day Oklahoma, including all of Georgias tribes. Despite the Supreme Courts ruling in Worcester v. Georgia that ruled U. S. states were not permitted to redraw the Indian boundaries, President Jackson and the state of Georgia ignored the ruling. In 1838, his successor, Martin Van Buren, dispatched troops to gather the Cherokee
5.
Mississippi
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Mississippi /ˌmɪsᵻˈsɪpi/ is a state in the southern region of the United States, with part of its southern border formed by the Gulf of Mexico. Its western border is formed by the Mississippi River, the state has a population of approximately 3 million. It is the 32nd most extensive and the 32nd most populous of the 50 United States, located in the center of the state, Jackson is the state capital and largest city, with a population of approximately 175,000 people. The state is heavily forested outside of the Mississippi Delta area, before the American Civil War, most development in the state was along riverfronts, where slaves worked on cotton plantations. After the war, the bottomlands to the interior were cleared, by the end of the 19th century, African Americans made up two-thirds of the Deltas property owners, but timber and railroad companies acquired much of the land after a financial crisis. Clearing altered the Deltas ecology, increasing the severity of flooding along the Mississippi, much land is now held by agribusinesses. The states catfish aquaculture farms produce the majority of farm-raised catfish consumed in the United States, since the 1930s and the Great Migration, Mississippi has been majority white, albeit with the highest percentage of black residents of any U. S. state. From the early 19th century to the 1930s, its residents were mostly black, whites retained political power through Jim Crow laws. In 2010, 37% of Mississippians were African Americans, the highest percentage of African Americans in any U. S. state, since gaining enforcement of their voting franchise in the late 1960s, most African Americans support Democratic candidates in local, state and national elections. Conservative whites have shifted to the Republican Party, African Americans are a majority in many counties of the Mississippi-Yazoo Delta, an area of historic settlement during the plantation era. Since 2011 Mississippi has been ranked as the most religious state in the country, the states name is derived from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary. Settlers named it after the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi, in addition to its namesake, major rivers in Mississippi include the Big Black River, the Pearl River, the Yazoo River, the Pascagoula River, and the Tombigbee River. Major lakes include Ross Barnett Reservoir, Arkabutla Lake, Sardis Lake, Mississippi is entirely composed of lowlands, the highest point being Woodall Mountain, in the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains,807 feet above sea level. The lowest point is sea level at the Gulf coast, the states mean elevation is 300 feet above sea level. Most of Mississippi is part of the East Gulf Coastal Plain, the coastal plain is generally composed of low hills, such as the Pine Hills in the south and the North Central Hills. The Pontotoc Ridge and the Fall Line Hills in the northeast have somewhat higher elevations, yellow-brown loess soil is found in the western parts of the state. The northeast is a region of black earth that extends into the Alabama Black Belt. The coastline includes large bays at Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, the northwest remainder of the state consists of the Mississippi Delta, a section of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain
6.
Virginia
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Virginia is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, as well as in the historic Southeast. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, the capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond, Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealths estimated population as of 2014 is over 8.3 million, the areas history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony, slave labor and the land acquired from displaced Native American tribes each played a significant role in the colonys early politics and plantation economy. Although the Commonwealth was under one-party rule for nearly a century following Reconstruction, the Virginia General Assembly is the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World. The state government was ranked most effective by the Pew Center on the States in both 2005 and 2008 and it is unique in how it treats cities and counties equally, manages local roads, and prohibits its governors from serving consecutive terms. Virginias economy changed from agricultural to industrial during the 1960s and 1970s. Virginia has an area of 42,774.2 square miles, including 3,180.13 square miles of water. Virginias boundary with Maryland and Washington, D. C. extends to the mark of the south shore of the Potomac River. The southern border is defined as the 36° 30′ parallel north, the border with Tennessee was not settled until 1893, when their dispute was brought to the U. S. Supreme Court. The Chesapeake Bay separates the portion of the Commonwealth from the two-county peninsula of Virginias Eastern Shore. The bay was formed from the river valleys of the Susquehanna River. Many of Virginias rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James, the Tidewater is a coastal plain between the Atlantic coast and the fall line. It includes the Eastern Shore and major estuaries of Chesapeake Bay, the Piedmont is a series of sedimentary and igneous rock-based foothills east of the mountains which were formed in the Mesozoic era. The region, known for its clay soil, includes the Southwest Mountains around Charlottesville. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a province of the Appalachian Mountains with the highest points in the state. The Ridge and Valley region is west of the mountains and includes the Great Appalachian Valley, the region is carbonate rock based and includes Massanutten Mountain. The Cumberland Plateau and the Cumberland Mountains are in the southwest corner of Virginia, in this region, rivers flow northwest, with a dendritic drainage system, into the Ohio River basin
7.
North Carolina
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North Carolina is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west, Virginia to the north, North Carolina is the 28th most extensive and the 9th most populous of the U. S. states. The state is divided into 100 counties, the most populous municipality is Charlotte, which is the second largest banking center in the United States after New York City. The state has a range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to 6,684 feet at Mount Mitchell. The climate of the plains is strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the falls in the humid subtropical climate zone. More than 300 miles from the coast, the western, mountainous part of the state has a highland climate. North Carolina is bordered by South Carolina on the south, Georgia on the southwest, Tennessee on the west, Virginia on the north, the United States Census Bureau places North Carolina in the South Atlantic division of the southern region. So many ships have been lost off Cape Hatteras that the area is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, the most famous of these is the Queen Annes Revenge, which went aground in Beaufort Inlet in 1718. The coastal plain transitions to the Piedmont region along the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, the Piedmont region of central North Carolina is the states most populous region, containing the six largest cities in the state by population. It consists of rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low mountain ridges. The Piedmont ranges from about 300 feet in elevation in the east to about 1,500 feet in the west, the western section of the state is part of the Appalachian Mountain range. Among the subranges of the Appalachians located in the state are the Great Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, the Black Mountains are the highest in the eastern United States, and culminate in Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet, the highest point east of the Mississippi River. North Carolina has 17 major river basins, the five basins west of the Blue Ridge Mountains flow to the Gulf of Mexico, while the remainder flow to the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 17 basins,11 originate within the state of North Carolina, but only four are contained entirely within the states border – the Cape Fear, the Neuse, the White Oak, and the Tar-Pamlico basin. Elevation above sea level is most responsible for temperature change across the state, the climate is also influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream, especially in the coastal plain. These influences tend to cause warmer winter temperatures along the coast, the coastal plain averages around 1 inch of snow or ice annually, and in many years, there may be no snow or ice at all. North Carolina experiences severe weather in summer and winter, with summer bringing threat of hurricanes, tropical storms, heavy rain
8.
Huntsville, Alabama
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Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County, the city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsvilles population was 180,105 as of the 2010 census, the Huntsville Metropolitan Areas population was 417,593 in 2010 to become the 2nd largest in Alabama. Huntsville metros population reached 441,000 by 2014, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named Huntsville to its Americas Dozen Distinctive Destinations for 2010 list. The first settlers of the area were Muscogee-speaking people, the Chickasaw traditionally claim to have settled around 1300 after coming east across the Mississippi. The 1805 Treaty with the Chickasaws and the Cherokee Treaty of Washington of 1806 ceded native claims to the United States Government, the area was subsequently purchased by LeRoy Pope, who named the area Twickenham after the home village of his distant kinsman Alexander Pope. Twickenham was carefully planned, with streets laid out on the northeast to southwest direction based on the Big Spring. However, due to anti-British sentiment during this period, the name was changed to Huntsville to honor John Hunt, both John Hunt and LeRoy Pope were Freemasons and charter members of Helion Lodge #1, the oldest Lodge in Alabama. In 1811, Huntsville became the first incorporated town in Alabama, however, the recognized birth year of the city is 1805, the year of John Hunts arrival. The citys sesquicentennial anniversary was held in 1955, and the bicentennial was celebrated in 2005, Huntsvilles quick growth was from wealth generated by the cotton and railroad industries. Many wealthy planters moved into the area from Virginia, Georgia, in 1819, Huntsville hosted a constitutional convention in Walker Allens large cabinetmaking shop. The 44 delegates meeting there wrote a constitution for the new state of Alabama, in accordance with the new state constitution, Huntsville became Alabamas first capital when the state was admitted to the Union. This was a designation for one legislative session only, and the capital was then moved to Cahawba, then to Tuscaloosa. In 1855, the Memphis and Charleston Railroad was constructed through Huntsville, Huntsville initially opposed secession from the Union in 1861, but provided many men for the Confederacys efforts. The 4th Alabama Infantry Regiment, led by Col. Egbert J. Jones of Huntsville, distinguished itself at the Battle of Manassas/Bull Run, the first major encounter of the American Civil War. The Fourth Alabama Infantry, which contained two Huntsville companies, were the first Alabama troops to fight in the war and were present when Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox in April 1865. Eight generals of the war were born in or near Huntsville, Huntsville was the control point for the Western Division of the Memphis &Charleston, and by controlling this railroad the Union had a direct connection to Charleston South Carolina. During the first occupation, the Union officers occupied many of the homes in the city while the other men camped on the outskirts
9.
Delaware Valley
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The Delaware Valley is the valley through which the Delaware River flows. By extension, this toponym is commonly used to refer to the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the Delaware Valley Metropolitan Area is located at the southern part of the Northeast megalopolis extending from Boston to Washington, D. C. metropolitan areas. The MSA has a population of over 6 million, while the CSA has a population of over 7.1 million. Philadelphia, being the major commercial, cultural, and industrial center. As of March 2011, the Philadelphia–Camden–Wilmington, PA–NJ–DE–MD Metropolitan Statistical Area constitutes the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the United States, Philadelphias media market ranks fourth, behind New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, in Nielsen Media Market size rankings. It also borders the New York metropolitan area located directly to the north of this area, such educational institutions as Delaware Valley Regional High School in Alexandria Township and Delaware Valley College in Doylestown Township are named after the region. Likewise, Frenchtowns now defunct newspaper The Delaware Valley News was another example of the usage, although much of the Trenton MSA is considered part of the Delaware Valley and often considered part of Philadelphias media market area, it is classified as part of New Yorks CSA. Within the Hispanic population, the vast majority are Puerto Ricans, there is a significant West Indian community. There is even a small Native American community known as Lenapehoking for Lenni-Lenape Indians of West Philadelphia. Philadelphias suburbs contain a concentration of malls, the two largest of which have at least 5,000,000 square feet of office space. Malls, office complexes, strip shopping plazas, expressways, and tract housing are common sights, and more and more continue to replace rolling countryside, farms, woods, and wetlands. However, due to opposition by residents and political officials. Older townships and large boroughs such as Cheltenham, Norristown, Jenkintown, Upper Darby, the fastest-growing counties are Chester, Montgomery, Bucks, and Gloucester. Upper Darby, in Delaware County is the largest township in the United States, sometimes Reading is included in the Delaware Valley Metro Area. The Delaware Valley has four seasons with ample precipitation and is divided by the 0 °C January isotherm. The region has two ski areas, Bear Creek Ski and Recreation Area in eastern Berks County and Spring Mountain in central Montgomery County. Using the -3 °C January isotherm as a boundary, all of the Delaware Valley is humid subtropical except for portions of Berks County, the warm-summer humid continental climate only exists in higher areas of Berks where all monthly temperatures average below 22 °C. The valley was the territory of the Susquehannock and Lenape, who are recalled in place throughout the region
10.
Watauga River
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The Watauga /wɑːˈtɑːwɡɑː/ River is a large stream of western North Carolina and East Tennessee. It is 78.5 miles long with its headwaters on the slopes of Grandfather Mountain and Peak Mountain in Watauga County, the Watauga River rises from a spring near the base of Peak Mountain at Linville Gap in Avery County, North Carolina. The spring emanates from the side of the Tennessee Valley Divide. On the other side of the divides at Linville Gap are the headwaters of the Linville River in the Upper Catawba Watershed, waters of the Linville River eventually reach the Atlantic Ocean, whereas waters of the Watauga River reach the Gulf of Mexico, hence the Eastern Continental Divide. After crossing into Johnson County, the Watauga River is first impounded by the Tennessee Valley Authority Watauga Dam, creating the 6 and this impoundment receives two important tributaries, the Elk River, and Roan Creek. Watauga Lake is bridged by Tennessee State Route 67 over Butler Memorial Bridge just as the watercourse enters Carter County, the Appalachian Trail crosses the river on Watauga Dam. Nearly 3 miles below Watauga Dam, on the Horseshoe section of the Watauga River, is the TVA Wilbur Dam, TVA releases approximately 130 cubic feet per second of discharged water back into the Watauga River during the summer months. Below Wilbur Dam the river flows north and then west into Carter County where it forms the northern limits of Elizabethton. Farther downstream on the Watauga River at the boundary between Carter County and Washington County is the old TVA Watauga Steam Plant, a portion of the boundary line between Washington County and Sullivan County is formed by the Watauga River. Boone Dam is located below the slack water confluence of both South Fork Holston River and the end of the Watauga River. The distance afloat between the TVA Watauga Reservoir and Boone Lake is approximately 20.6 miles, the true origin of the name of the Watauga River is probably lost to antiquity. Most documents agree the name is of Native American origin though which nation, tribe or language it descends, a North Carolina State University web page says the word Watauga is a Native-American word meaning the land beyond. Another source states Watauga is possibly derived from a Cherokee word, other common spellings include Watoda, Wattoogee, and Whatoga. Yet another source suggests the word comes from the Yuchi phrase meaning bass many. However, local reference to the name is attributed as meaning river or beautiful water. Another village called Watauga was located on the Little Tennessee River near Franklin, Wilbur Dam is the site of first hydroelectric dam constructed in Tennessee, going online with power production and distribution in 1912. Wilbur Dam was constructed by the former Tennessee Electric Power Company, Elizabethton acquired the moniker City of Power because of the early local access to hydro-generated electricity from Wilbur Dam. Whitewater rafting, kayaking, canoeing, fly fishing, and angling with fishing reels are all popular recreation activities pursued on the Watauga River, rainbow trout, brown trout, and striped bass are all caught in the Watauga River
11.
Asheville, North Carolina
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Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina, the citys population was 87,236 according to the 2013 estimates. It is the city in the four-county Asheville metropolitan area. Asheville is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center, before the arrival of the Europeans, the land where Asheville now exists lay within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation. In 1540, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto came to the area, bringing the first European visitors along with European diseases, the area was used as an open hunting ground until the middle of the 19th century. The history of Asheville, as a town, began in 1784, in that year, Colonel Samuel Davidson and his family settled in the Swannanoa Valley, redeeming a soldiers land grant from the state of North Carolina. Soon after building a log cabin at the bank of Christian Creek, Davidson was lured into the woods by a band of Cherokee hunters, Davidsons wife, child and female slave fled on foot overnight to Davidsons Fort 16 miles away. In response to the killing, Davidsons twin brother Major William Davidson and brother-in-law Colonel Daniel Smith formed an expedition to retrieve Samuel Davidsons body and avenge his murder. Months after the expedition, Major Davidson and other members of his family returned to the area. The United States Census of 1790 counted 1,000 residents of the area, Buncombe County was officially formed in 1792. The county seat, named Morristown in 1793, was established on a plateau where two old Indian trails crossed, in 1797, Morristown was incorporated and renamed Asheville after North Carolina Governor Samuel Ashe. For a time, an Enfield rifle manufacturing facility was located in the town, in late April 1865 troops under the overall command of Union Gen. Stoneman captured Asheville. Hartley, Stonemans Raid, p.362 After a negotiated departure, the years following the war were a time of economic and social hardship in Buncombe County, as throughout most of the defeated South. On October 2,1880, the Western North Carolina Railroad completed its line from Salisbury to Asheville, almost immediately it was sold and resold to the Richmond and Danville Railroad Company, becoming part of the Southern Railway in 1894. With the completion of the first railway, Asheville experienced a slow but steady growth as industrial plants increased in number and size, textile mills were established and plants were set up for the manufacture of wood and mica products, foodstuffs, and other commodities. The 21-mile distance between Hendersonville and Asheville of the former Asheville and Spartanburg Railroad was completed in 1886, by that point, the line was operated as part of the Richmond and Danville Railroad until 1894 and controlled by the Southern Railway afterward. Asheville had the first electric railway lines in the state of North Carolina. These would be replaced by buses in 1934, Asheville prospered in the decades of the 1910s and 1920s and at one point was the third largest city in the state, behind Charlotte and Wilmington
12.
Little River (Tennessee)
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Little River is a 60-mile river in Tennessee which drains a 380-square-mile area containing some of the most spectacular scenery in the southeastern United States. The first 18 miles of the river are all located within the borders of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the remaining 42 miles flow out of the mountains through Blount County to join the Tennessee River at Fort Loudon Lake in Knox County. Little River rises in Sevier County inside the park on the north slope of Clingmans Dome. Clingmans Dome is located directly on the Tennessee-North Carolina state line, approximately one mile below its source, Little River absorbs several smaller streams at an area known as Three Forks, where the river gains considerable strength. From here, the river is paralleled by the well-maintained Little River Trail which leads into Elkmont, located in a valley created by Little Rivers confluence with Jakes Creek, Elkmont was originally a logging camp for the Little River Lumber Company and a station on the Little River Railroad. In the 1920s a series of cabins and inholdings, including the Wonderland Hotel, were leased to private citizens, the leases remained intact until 2001, when the last lease expired. The road improves at Elkmont to become one which is suitable for most vehicles. This section of the river is navigable by kayak and canoe enthusiasts. The stream, like the road follows it, is quite sinuous. The road is built on the bed of the Little River Railroad that was used for logging purposes prior to the establishment of the park, along the course of Little River are several small waterfalls which feed into the river, which especially strong during wet weather. One waterfall, Meigs Falls, is visible from the road and is provided with a parking turnout, additionally, there are parking turnouts for trails leading to numerous places. The park service has established a picnic area at Metcalf Bottoms, providing an area for summer picnics. Just past Metcalf Bottoms, Little River becomes more rapid and volatile as it slices through Little River Gorge, among the gorges more notable landmarks is an area known as The Sinks. The Sinks is where the river flows over a waterfall into a large pool. Below the Sinks, Little River is navigable in high water with a canoe or kayak, continuing to follow TN73 the stream crosses into Blount County en route to its confluence with Middle Prong of Little River at an area known as the Townsend Y. The Middle Prong of Little River drains the watershed between Miry Ridge and Defeat Ridge, both of which descend from the crest of the Smokies. The Middle Prong is formed by the confluence of Lynn Camp Prong and Thunderhead Prong at the logging town of Tremont. From here, the continues northward, absorbing Spruce Flats Branch
I‑24 connects Paducah, Kentucky, at the mouth of the Tennessee River, with Chattanooga via Clarksville and Nashville. Much of this road's route in Kentucky and Tennessee actually lies outside the Tennessee Valley.
I‑26 is an east-west main route of the Interstate Highway System in the Northeast Tennessee. It runs from the junction of U.S. Route 11W and U.S. Route 23 in Kingsport, Tennessee, generally south and southeast to U.S. Route 17 in Charleston, South Carolina.
I‑40 runs west-east across the Tennessee portion of the Tennessee Valley, connecting Nashville with Knoxville and Asheville, North Carolina.
I‑59 runs along the border of the Tennessee Valley, connecting Chattanooga with New Orleans, Louisiana.
I‑65 is the main north-south road in the central part of the valley, connecting Birmingham, Huntsville, Decatur, and Nashville.
I-565 / SR 20 / US 72 Alt. is the main corridor of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area that links the Huntsville Metropolitan Area and the Decatur Metropolitan Area, along with all of the scientific research and space exploration institutions in North Alabama. The road also provides a vital link to I-65 for both urban and suburban areas.
I‑75 runs down the middle of the valley of East Tennessee. It connects Chattanooga and Knoxville with Atlanta, Georgia and Cincinnati, Ohio.
I‑81 is a north-south highway that connects areas east of Knoxville to the Tri-State area of Tennessee and Virginia.
