Tennessee GeographyIntersecting with Tennessee History

A Unit Presented by

John M. Isabell

Geologic Map of Tennessee

Six Geologic Regions of Tennessee

• Blue Ridge Mountains• Great Valley of

Tennessee• Cumberland Plateau

• Highland Rim• Nashville Basin (aka

Central Basin)• Gulf Coastal Plain

Relief Map of Tennessee

Major Rivers & Lakes of Tennessee

• The Mississippi River• The Tennessee River• The Cumberland River

• Reelfoot Lake

Annual Precipitation in Tennessee

Climate Facts About Tennessee

• Average Summer Temperature is 85-95 degrees Fahrenheit

• Average Winter Temperature rarely falls below 10 degrees Fahrenheit

• Tennessee Averages 50 inches of Precipitation a year

Prehistoric Native American Groups in Tennessee

• Paleo-Indians (15,000 years ago) Hunters/Gatherers

• Archaic Indians (8,000 years ago) First to begin farming

• Woodland Indians (1000 –800 B.C.) First permanent settlements and were mound builders

• Mississippian Indians (1000 A.D.) Mound builders with large, complext societies

Mound near Nashville, TN

Old Stone Fort of Mississippian Era

Artist’s rendition of a Mississippian Village

Marble Statues of Mississippian Culture

Painting of Mississippian Era Indian circa 1565

Major Historic Native American Groups in Tennessee

• Cherokee• Chickasaw

• Creek (includes remnants of Yuchi)

• Shawnee

Detail Map of Location of Major Eastern Native American Tribes

Spanish Explorers in Tennessee

• Hernando de Soto (1540)

• Juan Pardo (1566

French Explorers in Tennessee

• Father Jacques Marquette & Louis Joliet (1673)

• Robert Cavalier de La Salle (1680-1682)

• Jean Couture (1696)

• French Traders establish trading post at Great Salt Lick/French Lick (Nashville)

English Explorers

• James Needham & Gabriel Arthur (1673)

Needham is killed by guide known as Indian John.

Long Hunters Explore Tennessee

• Dr. Thomas Walker explores into Kentucky and Tennessee: Names the Cumberland Gap after Lord Cumberland

• Daniel Boone also explores into Kentucky and Tennessee and leads many settlers through the Cumberland Gap

Stahlnaker: Indian Trader who may have given Thomas Walker Directions for the Cumberland

Gap

Daniel Boone leading settlers through the Cumberland Gap

Settlers Spread into Tennessee

• First settler is William Bean in 1768. Others soon follow and establish the settlement of Watauga.

• James Robertson leads first large group to what will become Watauga in 1770-1771.

The Watauga Association Commissioners

James Robertson

Two Journeys To Cumberland Settlements

• James Robertson leads party of men and livestock overland through the Cumberland Gap.

• They have some encounters with Native Americans, but have relatively easy trip.

• John Donelson leads women and children by riverboat on the Tennessee, Ohio and Cumberland Rivers

• They encounter horrid weather, hostile Native Americans and endure great hardships.

The Cumberland Settlements