Regions of Tennessee

The Physical Regions of Tennessee

The state of Tennessee is divided into regions that differ dramatically in elevation, ranging from over 6,000 feet above sea level in the mountains of East Tennessee to only 200 feet above sea level in far West Tennessee. Look at the map key for the map below and note that dark green indicates the lowest elevations. What color indicates the higest elevation in Tennessee?

Imagine walking across Tenneessee, starting in the east. As you travel west from the North Carolina border, you first move down into The Great Valley of East TN. Then you climb up again onto the top of the steep-sided Cumberland Plateau, once called the Cumberland Table-Land. In what region is Knoxville?

Going down from the Plateau, you move into The Central Basin, rimmed by The Highland Rim. In what region is Nashville?

After crossing the Western Valley of the Tennessee River, you encounter the relatively flat Coastal Plain, finally reaching the Mississippi River.

Junior Naturalist Challenge:

Make a salt-dough map of TN, as follows:

Cut a piece of poster board into the basic shape of Tennessee and mark the borders of the main features.

Using home-made play dough or salt clay, start covering the map –

Make two “snakes” out of blue clay. Lay one on the course of the Mississippi River and one on the western course of the Tennessee River. Flatten the snakes into ribbons

Make a thick “slab” of several layers of brown clay to form the Cumberland Plateau. Lay it in place. “Gouge” out the Sequatchie Valley on the southern side.

Lay a thinner “slab” between the Cumberland Plateau and the Tennessee River. “Scoop out” the Central Basin.

Place a thin “slab” between the Tennessee River and the Mississippi River.

Make a “mountain range” along the North Carolina border. This should be higher in elevation than the rest of the map. (Go ahead and overlap into North Carolina, since the border runs along the tops of the mountains.)

Between the mountains and the Plateau, create a series of “ridges and valleys”.

. Last Modified on December 5, 2005