Tennessee Landforms


    arches     waterfalls     rocks     peaks     balds     sinkholes     lakes     regions     county

Revised Thu, 14 Mar 2024 09:15:55 -0600 (908 falls, 368 arches, 258 lakes, 49 rocks, 43 sinkholes, 20 balds, 13 peaks). Corrections and additions welcomed.

This site has GPS waypoints (latitude/longitude WGS84) and maps to interesting landforms in Tennessee. Some of these landforms are on private property, get permission first. Other formations are diffcult to access because they are off-trail. Many of the locations for waterfalls and lakes were harvested from the USGS database. WARNING: Some of the waypoints are extrapolated from descriptions or trail maps (class B1 data). Many of the waypoints are from site visits with GPS. Over time, more of the sites will be visited and waypoints verified. Sites whose location are particularly "uncertain" are noted with "?". Many of the sites do not have "official" names. Get out and enjoy the natural wonders of Tennessee!

arches This section provides the location of over 368 arches, natural bridges, and rock windows in Tennessee.
waterfalls This section provides the location of over 908 waterfalls in Tennessee.
rocks This section provides the location of rock chimneys, rock gardens, and other curious rock formations in Tennessee
peaks This section provides the location of the 13 Tennessee mountain peaks over 6000' and high points for each county.
balds This section provides the location of the grassy balds along the mountain tops of East Tennessee.
sinkholes This section provides the location of sinkholes that have depths over 100' and sinkholes of distinction for each county.
lakes This section provides the location of over 258 lakes and reservoirs in Tennessee.
regions This section provides the location of various geological regions, craters, and natural areas of Tennessee.
county This section lists the landforms by county.
Supplements include
Great Smoky Mountains landforms (TN/NC)
Big South Fork landforms (TN/KY)
Cherokee National Forest landforms
Cumberland Trail landforms
Pogue Creek landforms

Maps of the landforms include Maptech, CalTopo, google maps, mytopo, TerraServer satellite/aerial images, and Mapquest. For some formations there are also pictures and additional information. The USGS topo maps use CONUS 1927 datum, which can be more than 200m off (north-south) from WGS84 for UTM, but is typically only 7m off for latitude/longitude in Tennessee. There is also a clickable map that displays the locations of waterfalls, natural bridges, etc. all on the same map, or a Google locator map select address or click on map.

Waypoints

Download waypoints (WGS84)

Download these waypoint files (.gpx) and use EasyGPS (free) to upload the waypoints from your PC to your GPS. Maptech .mxf waypoint files are also provided, CSV format. You can use gpsvisualizer.com or CalTopo.com to upload and view the gpx files on google map. These files are continually being updated, so be sure you have downloaded the latest version. Last revised Thu, 14 Mar 2024 09:15:55 -0600
These are just plain-text files, so you can easily harvest latitude/longitude values for your own purposes. The waypoint names consist of a county abbreviation, landform type, and count within the county. See the links below for software for uploading/downloading and viewing the waypoints on a single map. ( the need for accurate directions humor)

As if you didn't have enough maps to choose from already, this clickable state map will show arches, waterfalls, etc. all on a single scalable map. Also, USAPhotoMaps (shareware) will display multiple waypoints on the same topo or aerial image. See the commercial GPS/mapping products below, too.

Related information

Links

Tennessee


Cherokee National Forest (CNF) and CNF landforms
Big South Fork (BSF) and landforms of the BSF
Great Smoky Mountains (GSMNP) and landforms of the GSMNP or Smoky Mountains campsites or Smoky Mountains hiking trails
Obed Wild and Scenic River (OWSR) and OWSR landforms
Scott's Gulf and virtual tour and "fixed" mouseover map and map
Bridgestone/Firestone Centennial Wilderness and Scott's Gulf landforms and WMA map
Swan Conservation Trust
Friends of South Cumberland State Recreation Area
Bridal Veil Wilderness Preserve (bvwp) private and bvwp waterfalls
Geology and History of the Cumberland Plateau and touring the Cumberland Plateau and Cumberland Plateau's nature trails
Sutherland's info and photos Cumberland Plateau
East Tennessee geotourism map/guide
Tennessee scenic byways
Nature Conservancy of Tennessee preservation areas
Land Trust for Tennessee
Tennessee Convervationist
Tennessee Sierra Club
Cumberland Trail (CT) or here or CT trails on google map and elevation profiles, and Cumberland Trail landforms and GPS tracks or here
Appalachian Trail (AT) and shelter info
Benton MacKaye Trail (BMT) maps and elevation profiles see Chris's elevation maps Sgt Rock's BMT Guide GPS files
Pinhoti Trail and elevation profile and google map
Tennessee Trails Association and Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association TSRA
some Tennessee trails maps and GPS data
Chattanooga wild trails maps
Natchez Trace
Land Between the Lakes
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency TWRA Wildlife Management Areas WMA and watchable wildlife
Mississippi Alluvial Valley in Tennessee birders
TN watchable wildlife
TN recreation info
old photos of TN waterfalls, rock formations, natural bridges, towers
TVA natural areas and camping and recreation areas and TVA trails
USGS GNIS map name query search
TN waterfalls (74) list/maps from USGS database
USGS landforms and features by county with maps and latitude/longitude
county line and USGS points of interest on google map
Tennessee lookout towers maps/GPS data of fire tower locations

Geology
TN physiography illustration
geologic map of Tennessee or here or here
TN counties and landform regions
geology of GSMNP Mt Leconte/ Abrams Falls
geology of Cades Cove and another
Abrams Falls geology
Mt Leconte geology
geology of Ocoee River and the whitewater center geology
karst regions/aquifers of TN and limestone geology and karst map and sinkholes
caves-per-county map 2013
TN geology and geologic history
Tennessee Division of Geology
East Tennessee Geological Society and TN GIS data
recent TN earthquakes
TN TN earthquake info and seismic hazard map and 2014 TN seismic hazard map
East TN coal fields or here and OSM reports
Kentucky geology
Kentucky landforms waterfalls, arches and map
Georgia waterfalls

Maps
tn geospatial GIS data or TN GIS data and UT's TN map info
maps of national parks in Tennessee
clickable (zoom/pan) GSMNP trail map and interactive 1931 park map
clickable USGS quadrangle map of GSMNP, zoom/pan
our clickable TN map/location selector or Google locator map select by address or click on map
Google map with distance and elevation tools or google map with profiles and contours and more elevation data or maplorer.com
Our google map with tracking and elevation profiles
another google map nexrad
mytopo (a few glitches from new FS maps)
GSMNP park maps (pdf's) '03
smoky mountains topo maps
TN USGS 7.5 topo quad maps by county
TN USGS topo quad index map
TN TNMap TN GIS data
TN USGS map and GIS data topo tiffs
USGS topo quads (tiffs) and map symbols legend
new USGS topos (pdf) and older topos (geo pdfs)
Gmap4 hi res topos or CalTopo.com historic topos and hires topos with track-draw/profiles/print and gpx import ★ ★
elevation data 10m DEM and TN DEMs
Topoquest USGS map finder
National Geographic TrailSmart topo CD , trail maps on topo, GPS-ready for BSF and GSMNP.
TN county maps pdf or Google county map
History of County Formations in Tennessee 1776-1985 or historic 1888 county maps
1786 state of Franklin
TDOT state google map road conditions
TWRA maps WMA's, some lakes
East TN landform map and WorldAtlas Tennessee landforms
historical maps of the Great Smoky Mountains
TN geologic maps and karst map
TN historical maps or here or here or here or here
various generations of TN topo maps or here or here
pre-1945 USGS topographic maps and USGS and historic/current pdf's Historical Quadrangle Scanning Project (HQSP)
geographic center of Tennessee and waymark
remotest point in Tennessee
3-D fly thru maps Cades Coves, TN river gorge, Albright Grove
ravenmaps.com state map or gisgeography state maps
geology.com Tennessee maps county, elevation
My Google maps     arches     falls     GSMNP     BSF     towers     greenways     blueway     county high points     AT shelters
    (most have iPhone google map option)

Google Earth KML files based on our waypoints:
   TN waterfalls falls.kmz and arches arches.kmz
   Big South Fork landforms bsf.kmz
   Smoky Mountains landforms gsmnp.kmz or campsites camp.kmz or trails.kmz trails (2/22/08)
   TN lookout towers towers.kmz
   Appalachian Trail shelters atshelters.kmz and parking atparking.kmz
   Oak Ridge greenways gw.kmz
Google Earth has the Smoky Mountain Park trails built-in (though inaccurate and incomplete), you can also download KML files for the Smoky Mountains trails trails.kmz, or Appalachian Trail centerline at09.kmz (4 MB) from 2009 ATC data or the Big South Fork trails (0.5 MB). Also, here is a topographic map overlay. You can also view KML/KMZ file with the Google maps by entering the URL into the search box at maps.google.com, for example, view the BSF trails
United Kingdom ornance survey maps

Books
Plumb's Waterfalls of Tennessee ratings, directions (2nd edition)
McDade's Natural Arches of the Big South Fork (10+ in TN)
Corgan/Parks Natural Bridges of Tennessee 1979 bulletin (36+)
Barr's Caves of Tennessee (700+) 1961 bulletin or Mathews Descriptions of Tennessee Caves 1971 bulletin
Tennessee Topography, bulletin #86, David Starnes, 2009.

A study of the topography of Tennessee, including area data; high and low elevations; elevations of cities, towns, and rural communities; major topographic features; and a general description of the topography and water features of each of the state's 95 counties. Includes topographic indexes for each county and measurements of land and water area and physiographic provinces; a summary of Tennessee's physiographic provinces, general geology, and drainage basins, plus a brief discussion of topographic maps; 4 appendixes, a glossary, and a list of suggested readings and additional resources


books about exploring Tennessee
Cherokee National Forest Hiking Guide Skelton, 2005
The Longstreet Highroad Guide to the Tennessee Mountains, online, trail info, history
Manning, 100 Trails of the Big South Fork
Manning 40 Hikes in Tennessee's South Cumberland
Manning The Historic Cumberland Plateau
Means Hiking Tennesse Trails
Smoky Mountain Hiking Trails trail narratives, elevation profiles, map
Murless/Stallings Hiker's Guide to the Smokies
Wise Hiking Trails of the Great Smoky Mountains
Roark Hiking Tennessee

GPS info     Bring a compass. It's awkward when you have to eat your friends.

Credits
Though any mistakes are mine, the following folks have been helpful in assembling this data: Todd Fife, Bob Wheeley, Howard Duncan, Russ Manning, Keith Garnes, Brad/Sue Neff, John Burns, Arthur McDade, Tom Des Jean, Tim Smith, Tom Van Bebber, David Straight, Kevin Baker, Ned Sanders, Jack Dempsey, Ken Wise, Eric Dennis, Jack Waters, Tim Watson, Mike Maples, Robert Robbins, Victor Fife, Andy Martin, Bill Patrick, Wendell Dingus, Sadhish Siva, Tommy Rhea, Gary Matthews, Rick Angelin, Andrew Jones, Dana Koogler, Byron Hartzler, Stephen Kasten, Bob Lochbaum, Michael West, Robert Schuffert, Chuck Sutherland, Doyle Newburry, Randy Gardner, Marty Silver, Benjamin Trotter, Byron Hartzler, Dan Koerner, Nora Beck, Steve Higdon, Brian Pickett, Dave Aldridge, Duane Ridenour,Christopher Lewis,Jon Zetterberg, Thomas Mabry, Randy Tarpley, James Locke, Gene Hale, Chris Oliver, Kristen Bobo, Jim Fox, Ronnie Phipps, Barry Cole, Craig McBride, Mike Gourley, Glenn Reider, Thomas Mabry, Andy Kunkle, Mark Oleg, Ron Durant, Travis Bow, Ken Pasternack, Byron Hartzler, Sharon Blackstock, Brian Solomon, Chad Harrold, Kelli Lewis,Wendy Von Fronk,Steve Rogers, Meredith Odell, Daniel Hutchison, Jeff Thompson, Michael Bose, Jason Horton, Caleb Griffin, Ryan Gardner, Gary Stephens, Seth Yancey, Shauna Wilson, Mark Morrison, David Starnes, Scott Morell, Salah Ayoupi, Terry Wilks, Wes Hayes, Mervin Wood, Dwight Haston, Joette Carter, Bill Stowell, Kevin Adams, and Greg Plumb.

 

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visitors since 12/20/02
© Tom Dunigan 2002
Last modified: Thu, 14 Mar 2024 09:15:55 -0600 1229564

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