Physiographic Influences in the Development 

 of Tennessee 



By L. C. GLENN. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Purpose of paper. It is not primarily the purpose of the following 

 paper to describe in minute detail the physiographic features of the State, 

 but rather to set forth these features only in sufficient detail to show their 

 relationship to man's activities. The physiographic description will in 

 general be limited to such features and details as bear especially on the 

 development of the State. Perhaps no state is divided into more sharply 

 delimited and strongly marked physical features than Tennessee, and those 

 who desire primarily a description of these features will find them very 

 clearly presented in Safford's Geology of Tennessee. Safford's discus- 

 sion was written before the days of modern physiography, and yet he 

 shows the relation that the physical features bear to the character of the 

 rocks and their structure in a way that could hardly be improved upon 

 by a modern physiographer. 



Physiographic regions. The surface of the State may be divided into 

 six physiographic regions, which are as follows : 



1. The Appalachian Mountains, a narrow barrier on the eastern border. 



2. The Great Valley of East Tennessee, a broad depression containing 

 a succession of parallel ridges and valleys. 



3. The Cumberland Plateau, a broad barrier region. 



4. The Highland Rim or Plain. 



5. The Central Basin or Plain. 



6. The West Tennessee or Gulf Embayment Plain, subordinate to which 

 may be noted the western valley of the Tennessee River and the flood 

 plain of the Mississippi. These regions will be discussed in the order 

 above given. 



APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN REGION. 



General description. The eastern boundary of the State is formed by 

 the crest line of a linear series of ridges that extend from Georgia to Vir- 

 ginia and beyond. These ridges are usually sharply defined, steep-sided, 

 rough and very sparsely settled. They attain heights of 4,000 to 6,000 



