The Flag of Tennessee
Tennessee ( TEN -iss-EE , TEN -iss-ee ), officially the State of Tennessee , is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States . It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina to the east, Georgia , Alabama , and Mississippi to the south, Arkansas to the southwest, and Missouri to the northwest. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. Tennessee is geographically, culturally, and legally divided into three Grand Divisions of East , Middle , and West Tennessee . Nashville is the state's capital and largest city, and anchors its largest metropolitan area. Other major cities include Memphis , Knoxville , Chattanooga , and Clarksville . Tennessee's population as of the 2020 United States census is approximately 6.9 million.
Tennessee is rooted in the Watauga Association , a 1772 frontier pact generally regarded as the first constitutional government west of the Appalachian Mountains . Its name derives from Tanasi (ᏔᎾᏏ ), a Cherokee town in the eastern part of the state that existed before the first European American settlement. Tennessee was initially part of North Carolina, and later the Southwest Territory , before its admission to the Union as the 16th state on June 1, 1796. It earned the nickname "The Volunteer State" early in its history due to a strong tradition of military service. A slave state until the American Civil War , Tennessee was fairly politically divided, with its western and middle parts supporting the Confederacy , and most of the eastern region harboring pro -Union sentiment. As a result, Tennessee was the last state to officially secede from the Union and join the Confederacy , and the first former Confederate state readmitted to the Union after the war had ended during the Reconstruction era .
During the 20th century, Tennessee transitioned from a predominantly agrarian society to a more diversified economy. This was aided in part by massive federal investment in the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the city of Oak Ridge , which was established during World War II to house the Manhattan Project 's uranium enrichment facilities for the construction of the world's first atomic bombs . After the war, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory became a key center of scientific research. In 2016, the element tennessine was named for the state, largely in recognition of the roles played by Oak Ridge, Vanderbilt University , and the University of Tennessee in its discovery. Tennessee has also played a major role in the development of many forms of popular music , including country , blues , rock and roll , soul , and gospel . (Full article... )
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee . It is the seat of Shelby County , in the southwesternmost part of the state, and is situated along the Mississippi River . With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census , Memphis is the second-most populous city in Tennessee after Nashville .
Memphis is the fifth-most populous city in the
Southeast , the nation's
28th-most populous overall, as well as the largest city bordering the Mississippi River and third largest
metropolitan statistical area behind
Greater St. Louis and the
Twin Cities on the Mississippi River. The
Memphis metropolitan area includes
West Tennessee and the greater
Mid-South region , which includes portions of neighboring
Arkansas ,
Mississippi and the
Missouri Bootheel . One of the more historic and culturally significant cities of the
Southern United States , Memphis has a wide variety of landscapes and
distinct neighborhoods . (
Full article... )
List of selected articles
History of Tennessee List of Tennessee state symbols Nashville, Tennessee List of governors of Tennessee Governor of Tennessee East Tennessee Middle Tennessee West Tennessee Knoxville, Tennessee Tennessee River Chattanooga, Tennessee Clarksville, Tennessee Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Cleveland, Tennessee Dolly Parton Tennessee State Guard University of Memphis Toqua (Tennessee) Great Smoky Mountains Great Smoky Mountains Interstate 40 in Tennessee Old Crow Medicine Show Swaggerty Blockhouse Unicoi Mountains Old City, Knoxville Nashville Americans Valerie June Battle of Fort Donelson Battle of Fort Henry Collierville, Tennessee Vanderbilt University Tennessee whiskey Jack Daniel's Grand Ole Opry Battle of Nashville Nashville Superspeedway Johnny Cash Carl Perkins Tennessee Waltz Morristown, Tennessee Fainting goat Bessie Smith Cookeville, Tennessee Murfreesboro, Tennessee Bob Corker Edgar Evins State Park Graceland Bledsoe Creek State Park Dollywood Tennessee Valley Authority Black Patch Tobacco Wars Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The following are images from various Tennessee-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 The
Ryman Auditorium , home of the "Grand Ole Opry" in Nashville (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 2 Offices of
The Tennessean in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 3 The Southwest Territory in 1790 (from
Tennessee )
Image 4 The
resort city of
Gatlinburg borders the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park , which is the most visited national park in the United States. (from
Tennessee )
Image 7 in 1946 the U.S. Post Office issued a
commemorative stamp celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tennessee statehood. (from
Tennessee )
Image 8 Howard Baker served as
Senate Minority and Majority Leader from 1977 to 1985, and was known as "The Great Conciliator" (from
Tennessee )
Image 10 in 1946 the U.S. Post Office issued a
commemorative stamp celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tennessee statehood. (from
Tennessee )
Image 11 Howard Baker served as
Senate Minority and Majority Leader from 1977 to 1985, and was known as "The Great Conciliator" (from
Tennessee )
Image 12 Cedar glades are an ecosystem that is found in regions of Middle Tennessee where limestone bedrock is close to the surface (from
Tennessee )
Image 13 The Hermitage , plantation home of President
Andrew Jackson , now a museum in
Davidson County (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 14 Calutron operators at the
Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge during the
Manhattan Project (from
Tennessee )
Image 15 The
Battle of Franklin , November 30, 1864 (from
Tennessee )
Image 16 Established in 1942,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest national laboratory in the Department of Energy system (from
Tennessee )
Image 17 The
1982 World's Fair in Knoxville (from
Tennessee )
Image 18 Interstate 40 traverses Tennessee from east to west, and serves the state's three largest cities. (from
Tennessee )
Image 19 Reconstruction of
Fort Loudoun , the first British settlement in Tennessee (from
Tennessee )
Image 21 A geomap showing the counties of Tennessee colored by the relative range of that county's median income. (from
Tennessee )
Image 22 Established in 1942,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest national laboratory in the Department of Energy system (from
Tennessee )
Image 24 Memphis International Airport , the hub of
FedEx Corporation , is the busiest cargo airport in the world (from
Tennessee )
Image 25 Memphis became known as the "Cotton Capital of the World" in the years following the Civil War (from
Tennessee )
Image 26 Mount Le Conte in the
Great Smoky Mountains is the tallest mountain in eastern North America, measured from base to summit (from
Tennessee )
Image 27 Conquistador Hernando de Soto , first European to visit Tennessee (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 28 A View of Memphis, Tennessee , 1871 (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 29 The
resort city of
Gatlinburg borders the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park , which is the most visited national park in the United States. (from
Tennessee )
Image 30 Memphis became known as the "Cotton Capital of the World" in the years following the Civil War (from
Tennessee )
Image 31 Chart showing poverty in Tennessee, by age and gender (red = female) (from
Tennessee )
Image 32 1861 Bank of Tennessee 1 dollar banknote (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 33 The
Ocoee River was home to the
1996 Summer Olympics whitewater slalom events, the only Olympic sporting event ever held in the state. (from
Tennessee )
Image 34 Memphis International Airport , the hub of
FedEx Corporation , is the busiest cargo airport in the world (from
Tennessee )
Image 35 Nashville's replica of the
Parthenon (built 1897) (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 36 Fall Creek Falls , the tallest waterfall in the eastern United States, is located on the Cumberland Plateau (from
Tennessee )
Image 38 A
Nissan Leaf , one of six models manufactured at the
Nissan Smyrna Assembly Plant , the largest automotive assembly plant in North America (from
Tennessee )
Image 39 The
Battle of Franklin , November 30, 1864 (from
Tennessee )
Image 40 Calutron operators at the
Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge during the
Manhattan Project (from
Tennessee )
Image 41 Cedar glades are an ecosystem that is found in regions of Middle Tennessee where limestone bedrock is close to the surface (from
Tennessee )
Image 42 Map of counties in Tennessee by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census
Non-Hispanic White 50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90%+
Black or African American 50–60%
(from
Tennessee )
Image 43 The Southwest Territory in 1790 (from
Tennessee )
Image 44 Offices of
The Tennessean in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 45 Map of counties in Tennessee by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census
Non-Hispanic White 50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90%+
Black or African American 50–60%
(from
Tennessee )
Image 46 Al Gore served as a
United States Senator from Tennessee (1985–1993) and as
Vice President of the United States (1993–2001) (from
Tennessee )
Image 48 The
Grand Ole Opry , which was recorded in
Nashville 's
Ryman Auditorium from 1943 to 1974, is the longest-running
radio broadcast in US history. (from
Tennessee )
Image 50 Surveyor
Daniel Smith's "Map of the Tennassee State" (1796) (from
Tennessee )
Image 51 Reconstruction of
Fort Loudoun , the first British settlement in Tennessee (from
Tennessee )
Image 52 Chart showing poverty in Tennessee, by age and gender (red = female) (from
Tennessee )
Image 53 The Hermitage , plantation home of President
Andrew Jackson in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 54 The
1982 World's Fair in Knoxville (from
Tennessee )
Image 55 Köppen climate types of Tennessee, using 1991–2020
climate normals . (from
Tennessee )
Image 57 Al Gore served as a
United States Senator from Tennessee (1985–1993) and as
Vice President of the United States (1993–2001) (from
Tennessee )
Image 58 A
Nissan Leaf , one of six models manufactured at the
Nissan Smyrna Assembly Plant , the largest automotive assembly plant in North America (from
Tennessee )
Image 59 The
Ocoee River was home to the
1996 Summer Olympics whitewater slalom events, the only Olympic sporting event ever held in the state. (from
Tennessee )
Image 60 The
Grand Ole Opry , which was recorded in
Nashville 's
Ryman Auditorium from 1943 to 1974, is the longest-running
radio broadcast in US history. (from
Tennessee )
Image 61 Mount Le Conte in the
Great Smoky Mountains is the tallest mountain in eastern North America, measured from base to summit (from
Tennessee )
Image 62 Fall Creek Falls , the tallest waterfall in the eastern United States, is located on the Cumberland Plateau (from
Tennessee )
Image 64 Köppen climate types of Tennessee, using 1991–2020
climate normals . (from
Tennessee )
Image 66 Interstate 40 traverses Tennessee from east to west, and serves the state's three largest cities. (from
Tennessee )
Image 67 Vanderbilt University in Nashville is consistently ranked as one of the top research institutions in the nation (from
Tennessee )
Image 69 Workers at the
Norris Dam construction camp site in 1933 (from
Tennessee )
Image 70 Workers at the
Norris Dam construction camp site in 1933 (from
Tennessee )
Image 71 The Tennessee at Chattanooga , 1872, by
Harry Fenn (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 72 Surveyor
Daniel Smith's "Map of the Tennassee State" (1796) (from
Tennessee )
Image 74 A geomap showing the counties of Tennessee colored by the relative range of that county's median income. (from
Tennessee )
Image 75 The Hermitage , plantation home of President
Andrew Jackson in Nashville (from
Tennessee )
Image 78 John Bell (from
History of Tennessee )
Image 79 Vanderbilt University in Nashville is consistently ranked as one of the top research institutions in the nation (from
Tennessee )
... that community opposition to the routing of Interstate 40 through Memphis, Tennessee , led to a landmark United States Supreme Court ruling in Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe ?
... that silver dimes kept a Tennessee TV station on the air?
... that the owner of a Tennessee TV station denied that he had named it after himself, telling a reporter, "I'm not that much of an egotist"?
... that Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park , modeled on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. , was created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the statehood of Tennessee in 1996?
... that in 2015, GracePointe Church , Nashville, Tennessee , became one of the first evangelical megachurches to openly support full equality for LGBTQ people?
... that when Nashville 's Eighth Avenue South Reservoir ruptured in 1912, one family was swept away while still lying in bed?
Category puzzle
Select [►] to view subcategories