342 



TENNESSEE. 



riiverging in different directions. In the western part of New York, there are three circular 

 ibrts about 8 miles distant from each other, which have been thought to have enclosed and de- 

 fended an ancient city. The American traveler, Captain Carver, describes an extensive work 

 m the northern part of Wisconsin, about a mile in circuit, and requiring for its defence 5,000 

 men. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. TENNESSEE. 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



1. Boundaries and Extent. Tennessee is bounded N. by Kentucky ; E. by North Caro- 

 lina ; S. by Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi ; and W. by the river Mississippi, separating 

 it from Missouri and Arkansas. Its length is about 430 miles ; its breadth 104. It lies be- 

 tween 35° and 3G° 36' N. lat., and between Sl° 30' and 90= 10' W. long., and contains 

 45,000 square miles. 



2. JMountains. The Cumberland Jlfountains, extend through the State from northeast to 

 southwest, dividing it into two sections, which geographers distinguish as East and West Ten- 

 nessee. In East Tennessee are many parallel ridges, the most lofty of which are the Laurel, 

 Stone., Yellow., Iron., Bald., and Unaka JMountains. All these are peaks of a continued chain, 

 Walden''s and Copper Ridge, and Church., PowcWs, and Barfs JMountains., are in the north- 

 east. The summits of some of these mountains exhibit plateaus of considerable extent, which 

 admit of good roads, and are inhabited and cultivated. The mountains and hills subside as 

 they approacli the Mississippi and Ohio. 



3. Valleys. The valleys of the small rivers are extremely beautiful, and rich beyond any 

 of the same description in the Western States. The valleys of the great streams of the Tennes- 

 see and Cumberland, differ little from the alluvions of the other great rivers of the West. On 

 the small valleys are many fine plantations, and yet so lonely that they seem lost among the 

 mountains. 



4. Rivers. The Tennessee rises in the Alleghany Mountains, traverses East Tennessee, 

 and the nortliern section of Alabama, re-enters Tennessee, crosses its whole width into Ken- 

 tucky, and passes into the Ohio, 57 miles above its junction with the Mississippi. It is near 

 1,200 miles in length, and is the largest tributary of the Ohio. It has numerous branches, and 

 is navigable for boats for 1,000 miles; most of the branches rise among the mountains, and 

 are too shallow for navigation, except during the floods which take place occasionally, at all 

 seasons of the year, and admit flat boats to be floated down to the main stream. The principal 

 branches are the Holston and Clinch, from the southwestern part of Virginia, and the French 

 Broad and Hiwassee, from North Carolina. The current of the Tennessee is in general rapid, 

 and is favorable only to downward navigation. At Muscle Shoals, the river expands to a 

 width of several miles, and is very shallow. The principal tributaries of the Tennessee are 

 the Elk and Duck. The River Cumberland rises in the Cumberland mountains in Kentucky, 

 md after a course of nearly 200 miles in that State, passes into Tennessee, through which it 

 -flakes a circuit of 250 miles, when it re-enters Kentucky and falls into the Ohio. In Tennes- 

 iQQ it has several branches ; it is a broad, deep, and beautiful stream ; steamboats of the largest 

 size ascend this river to Nashville, and keel-boats, in moderate stages of the water, 300 miles 

 further. The Obion, Forked Deer, Big Hatchy, and Wolf rivers, in the western part of this 

 State, flow into the Mississippi ; these are all navigable for boats. No part of the western 

 country is better watered than Tennessee. 



5. Climate. The climate is delightful, being milder than in Kentucky, and free from the 

 intense heat which prevails in the southern portion of the Mississippi valley. Snows of some 

 depth are frequent in the winter, but the summers, especially in the higher regions, are mild. 

 In these parts the salubrity of the climate is thought to equal that of any part of the United 

 States ; but the low valleys, where stagnant waters abound, and the alluvions of the great 

 rivers, are unhealthy. 



6. Soil. The soil in East Tennessee is remarkably fertile, containing great proportions of 

 •ime. In West Tennessee, the soil is various, and the strata descend from the mountains in 

 the foUowmg order ; first, loamy soil, or mixtures of clay and sand ; next, yellow clay ; thirdly, 

 a mixture of red sand and red clay ; lastly, white sand. In the southern parts, are immense 

 beds of oyster shells, on high table land, at a distance from any stream ; some of these shells 

 are of an enormous size. The soil of the valleys and alluvions is extremely fertile. 



