📘 A city glued to one bank

What you’ll learn

1. West Tennessee floorRead west tennessee floor from the window.A city glued to one bank; The long way across a short state.
2. Middle basin and rimRead middle basin and rim from the window.Then the land drops into a bowl; The rim that rings it.
3. East valley and SmokiesRead east valley and smokies from the window.A city stuffed into a trough; A river is born under you.
4. TVA and three divisionsRead tva and three divisions from the window.They rebuilt the river; A secret city on the power.

Questions this course answers

Grounded in trusted sources

• Encyclopaedia Britannica — Tennessee: stretches 432 miles (695 km) east to west and 112 miles (180 km) north to south; three grand divisions East, Middle, and West; East Tennessee the Great Smoky Mountains and Cumberland Plateau; Middle Tennessee the Central Basin and Highland Rim with Nashville; West Tennessee flat, rich soil, Memphis
• Edward T. Luther, Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture — “Geologic Zones”: narrow state with long axis east–west across the grain of the geology; three grand divisions each divisible into three geologic zones; West Tennessee begins at the northward-flowing reach of the Tennessee River; Mississippi River Flood Plain parts less than 200 feet above sea level; Plateau Slope 200–300 feet higher; Western Valley / Kentucky Lake about 360 feet; climb of more than 400 feet to the Western Highland Rim, then about 300 feet down into the Central Basin; rise of about 500 feet onto the Eastern Highland Rim and about 1,000 feet more to the Cumberland Plateau; eastern edge of the plateau about 750 feet above the Valley and Ridge; Unaka / Clingman’s Dome more than 6,600 feet down to about 1,000 feet near Pigeon Forge; New Madrid seismic zone under northwestern West Tennessee
• Tennessee Code Annotated Title 4, Chapter 1, Part 2 (§§ 4-1-201 to 4-1-204) — eastern, middle, and western grand divisions defined by listed counties; Tenn. Code Ann. § 16-2-101 — Supreme Court administered by those three grand divisions
• Constitution of the State of Tennessee, Schedule § 2 / modern practice as described in the Tennessee Encyclopedia “Government” — no more than two of the five Supreme Court justices from any one grand division
• Tennessee Secretary of State — State Symbols: flag designed by LeRoy Reeves, Third Regiment, Tennessee Infantry; three white stars represent the three grand divisions, bound by an endless blue circle; adopted by the General Assembly 17 April 1905 (Public Acts 1905, ch. 498)
• Tennessee Encyclopedia — “Government”: President George Washington signed the act admitting Tennessee as the sixteenth state on 1 June 1796; constitution drafted at Knoxville, January–February 1796; legislature required to choose a permanent capital by 1843
• Tennessee Encyclopedia — “Capital Cities” / “Knoxville” (Steve Cotham): Knoxville the first capital from the 1796 constitution through 1812, again 1817–1818; Nashville chosen as the permanent capital in 1843
• Tennessee Encyclopedia — “Nashville (Metropolitan Nashville/Davidson County)”: William Strickland’s Greek Revival capitol, completed 1859

Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.

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