mentioned in having but few hard rocks, these occurring only in a narrow belt north of Savan nah and bordering the Tennessee River. It is a great plain, that with the exception of a belt about 20 miles 'wide next to Tennessee River, slopes gradually toward the Mississippi. For the most part, the surface is gently rolling, but in places is furrowed with low valleys border ing streams that flow in sluggish currents to the Mississippi. Its area is 8,850 square miles, with an average elevation of 500 feet It abruptly terminates in a line of bluffs that over looks the great alluvial plain or bottom lands of the Mississippi River, next to be mentioned. (8) The Mississippi Bottoms constitute the eighth and last of the natural divisions of the State. It is a low, flat plain, studded with lakes and originally clothed with dark forests. Much of its area lies below the high water of the Mississippi, and as a result there are many swamps and marshes. The area of this division is 950 square miles, and its elevation above the sea is 300 feet.
A very singular topographic fenture already referred to is Sequatchie Valley, which is a deep trough extending in a northeasterly direc tion from the south boundary of • the State, dividing the southern end of the Cumberland tableland into two unequal arms, the eastern one being known as Walden's Ridge. The valley has its head about midway between the north ern and southern boundaries of the State, and is about 60 miles long and from three to five miles wide. It is enclosed by rocky walls, approximately 1,000 feet high, and through its centre flows the beautiful Sequatchie River.
The highest point in the State appears to be Mount Guyot, which is near the corner of Cocke and Sevier counties, and which stands 6,636 feet above sea-level. Other points that exceed 6,000 feet are Mount Henry, Roan Mountain, Clingmans Dome, High Knob. Mount Le Conte, Mount Curtis, Mount Safford and Master Knob. They all, with few exceptions, are on or near the line that separates Tennessee from North Carolina. There are a few points near the eastern border of the Cumberland Plateau which rise above 3,000 feet.
The Allegany range of Pennsylvania and Virginia becomes the Cuniberland Plateau in Tennessee, and Sand ldountain in Alabama. The Blue Ridge of Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina takes the name of Unalca or Smolcy Mountains in Tennessee. Many of the long, straight valleys of the valley of East Tennessee lying between the parallel ridges and overlooked b,N them are rich, p, %lions and centres of industry, int( ' igence and a diversified system of agriculturc raking the State altogether it will be seen that the topog raphy is greatly cliver.ified The great ele vations on the cab'. tli C Ull3CL clue low valley.
of the Mississippi on the west. Between these are three great plateaus ,and two marvelously fruitful valleys, all differing in height, area, soils, climate and products. It is indeed a State of the greatest variety in natural features.
Drainage.— The Missiscippi, the Tennessee and the Cumberland form the great drainage basins of the State. The Tennessee and Cumberland are tributaries of the Ohio, which in turn flows lilt° the ppi so that all the streams which drain the State. with the exception of a few insignificant ones that flos through a small area next to the Georgia line, find their way through the Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico. Of all the streams- in the State, the Tennessee and its afiluents, the Holston, the Clinch, the French Broad, the Elk and Duck rivers may be considered the main arterial currents and with their tributaries they drain over 40,000 square miles, about 32,000 of which are in the State of Tennessee. The Tennessee River is formed by the junction of the Holston and French Broad rivers, fuur and one-half miles above Knoxville, Tenn., flows thence southwest into and through northern Alabama and from the northeast corner of Mississippi, nearly due north, entering the Ohio at Paducah, 652 miles from the junction of French Broad and Holston rivers. Its principal tributaries are the Clinch, navigable for 60 miles, the Hiwassee, navigable 41 miles, the Little Tennessee, the Duck and the Elk. The Tennessee is navigable from the junction of the French Broad and Holston rivers to its mouth, except during extreme low water of late summer and fall. Formerly the three main obstructions to navigation at low water were Hale's Bar, 33 miles below Chattanooga, Muscle Shoals, six and one-half miles above Florence, Ala., and the Calbert and Bee Tree Shoals, Riverton, Ala. The Hale's Bar lock and dam, built at a cost of about $11,000,000, dam of solid concrete, 1,200 feet long•and about 52 feet average height, lock 60 feet by 267 feet, lift at low water 37.5 feet, forming a pool which gives a depth of 6 feet in front of Chattanooga, 33 miles up the river, was com pleted and opened to navigation in 1913. This lock and dam was built largely by the Chatta nooga and Tennessee Power Company and supplies an enormous amount of electric energy. There is now a lateral canal having a depth of five feet, in two sections, around Muscle Shoals, and a canal with a depth of seven feet around Colbert and Bee Tree Shoals. The river is now navigable the entire year from Riverton to the mouth, 226 miles, for steam boats of three feet draft. There are other shorter sections in which navigation is possible the year round. The traffic on the river in 1914 was 967,528 tons, valued at $21,120,489, con sisting principally of general merchandise, live stock, farm products, timber, ore, sand and gravel. The Cumberland River was given its name by a party of Virginians, under Dr. Thomas Walker. They penetrated this section in 1748 and gave the name Cumberland to the river, mountains and gap of that name, in honor of the royal English Duke of Cuinberland, then Prime Minister. The Indians called it the Warioto, and the early French traders the Chauvanon (the river of the Shawnees).