156 RESOURCES OF TENNESSEE 



In a general way there is considerable similarity in the texture of the 

 upland soils. Throughout the State the prevailing types are silt loams 

 and loams, and there is one large area, the Cumberland Plateau, covered 

 with fine sandy loams. True clay soils are rare, and true sandy soils are 

 almost unknown except along the river banks. The subsoils are heavier 

 than the surface ones and include heavy silt loams, clay loams and clays. 



FIG. 1. Map showing the physiographic divisions of Tennessee. 

 U. Unaka Chain, or Smoky Mountains. 

 V. Valley of East Tennessee. 

 C. Cumberland Plateau. 

 HH. Highland Rim. 

 B. Central Basin. 

 S. Slope of West Tennessee. 

 M. Mississippi Bottoms. 



For convenience in reference, as well as for other reasons, each of the 

 natural divisions of the State is considered separately. They differ ap- 

 preciably in both elevation and topography. East Tennessee is the most 

 elevated and contains the Smoky Mountains on its eastern border and the 

 parallel ridges and valleys which make up the broad depression of the 

 Great Valley of East Tennessee, lying between the Smoky Mountains and 

 the Cumberland Plateau. Middle Tennessee has been likened to a dinner 

 plate, the Central Basin corresponding to the bottom of the plate ; and the 

 Highland Rim to the rim of the plate. The hills of the Basin are inclined 

 to be either isolated or in groups rather than forming parts of ridges. 



The Cumberland Plateau, which forms a part of both East and Middle 

 Tennessee, must, however, be considered separately, as it is distinctly dif- 

 ferent in both soil and climate from any other large area in the State. 



West Tennessee has the lowest elevation of the three divisions of the 

 State, and may be described as an undulating slope, extending from the 

 Highland Rim on the east to the Mississippi River on the west. 



THE SMOKY MOUNTAINS. 



The Smoky Mountain section is a narrow belt from two to twenty miles 

 wide along the eastern border of the State, and has an area of about 2000 

 square miles. The altitude varies from 2000 to 6000 feet, with occasional 



