Tennessee River/Cumberland River

Tennessee River/Cumberland River (HM25UR)

Location: Memphis, TN 38103 Shelby County
Buy Tennessee State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 35° 8.968', W 90° 3.504'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 289 views
Inscription
Tennessee River

Originally one of the wildest rivers east of the Mississippi, the Tennessee has become a major waterway in the southeastern United States.

From headwaters above Knoxville, Tennessee the Tennessee first flows south on a U-shaped journey to its most on the Ohio River, 652 miles away. Past Chattanooga, Tennessee, it turns west through the Cumberland Plateau, once the site of the Narrows, a 20-mile gauntlet of hazards with names like "the Boiling Pot" and "the Suck". Muscle Shoals in northwest Alabama was the river's worst obstacle, resisting the hardiest boatmen. Northbound to its mouth at Paducah, Kentucky, the river was calmer, and Union forces used it as an invasion route during the Civil War.

Congress created the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1933 to solve the river's problems and produce electrical power. Today, 50 TVA dams regulate the Tennessee basin flow, producing the bulk of the electricity used in the seven states of the Tennessee Valley. Nine dams on the main river submerge the old perils, and barge traffic now runs freely the length of the river.

Cumberland River

The Cumberland's 693-miles crescent begins as a small mountain stream rising from headwaters in the coal country of Harlan County in southern Kentucky.



It was an early route west for pioneers in the 1700s. French Lick, now Nashville, Tennessee, became the first major settlement on the Cumberland in 1708. After a 68-foot plunge down the Cumberland Falls, today's river reaches Wolf Creek Dam, the first of 10 dams that ensure a navigable channel on the river's lower two-thirds.

The Cumberland River's Lake Barkley and the Tennessee River's Kentucky Lake run parallel a few miles apart from northern Tennessee into southern Kentucky. Here, the lower river passes the site of Fort Donelson, where Union naval forces scored their first major victory in the Civil War. The Land Between the Lakes, a 40mile strip between them, has been transformed by TVA into a model recreational and educational preserve.

The rivers take separate routes north, and the Cumberland empties into the Ohio River 12 miles east of the mouth of Tennessee.
Details
HM NumberHM25UR
Tags
Placed ByMud Island River Park
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, March 8th, 2018 at 1:02pm PST -08:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)15S E 767976 N 3893580
Decimal Degrees35.14946667, -90.05840000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 35° 8.968', W 90° 3.504'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds35° 8' 58.08" N, 90° 3' 30.24" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)901
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 25 Riverside Dr, Memphis TN 38103, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. What year was the marker erected?
  9. This marker needs at least one picture.
  10. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  11. Is the marker in the median?