Facts At A Glance

General Information on the State of Tennessee

Statehood: June1, 1796 sixteenth state

Origin of Name: The name was probably adapted from the name of the principal Cherokee village, Tenasie.

State Capital:Nashville, settled in 1780, incorporated in 1784.

State Nickname:"Volunteer State," originated during the War of 1812,in which volunteer soldiers from Tennessee displayed marked valor in the battle of New Orleans. Tennessee has also been called the "Big Bend State," for the bend in the Tennessee River; and at one time the "Hog and Homminy State," for it's argricultural products.

State Motto: Agriculture and Commerce


State Flag:A blue circular feild with a border of white is in the center of a red flag.Tree five-pointed stars in the feild represent the states's tree general divisions-East, Middle, and West Tennessee. On the free, or fly, side of the flag is a blue bar separated from the red flag by a narrow band of white.

State Bird: Mockingbird

State Animal: Raccoon

State Wild Flower: Passionflower

State Tree: Tulip popular

State Cultivated Flower: Iris

State Insects: Firefly and ladybug

State Slogan: "Tennessee-America at its best"

State Population Information

Population: 4,591,120,seventeenth among the states(1980 cesus)

Population Density: 109 people per sq. mi. (42 people per km.)

Population Distribution:In 1960 , for the first time in the state's history , more people were living in cities and towns than on farms and in rural areas. According to the 1980 census, 60 percent of all Tennesseans lived in towns and cities of 2,500 or more; 36 percent lived in towns with more than 25,000; 35 percent lived in the twelve largest cities.

Memphis ................646,174
Nashville...............455,651
Knoxville ..............175,045
Chattanooga........ ....169,728
Clarksville..............54,777
Jackson..................49,131
Johnson City.............39,753
Murfreesboro.............32,845
Kingsport................32,027
Oak Ridge................27,662
Columbia.................26,571

Geography

Borders: Tennessee is bunded on the east by North Carolina,on the north by Virginia and Kentucky, on the west by Missouri and Arkansas across the Mississippi River, and on the south by Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.

Highest Point:Clingmans Dome, 6,643 ft. above sea level.

Lowest Point: In Shelby County, on the Mississippi River , 182 ft. above sea level.

Greatest Distances:

Area:42,114 sq. mi.

Rank in Area Among the States: Thirty-fourth

This page was created by:
 Kacie L. & Randy in Mrs. Corbett's Fifth Grade Class
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