The Intermontane West

Native Americans

Many of the first settlers of America were the Native Americans.  However, when European settlers discovered the sprawling landscapes, they decided to take it for themselves.  This led to the displacement of the original settlers.  Native American groups have experienced a great amount of mistreatment and disregard.

In the Intermontane, the major indigenous tribes were the Nez Perce, Paiute, Navajo, Hopi, Anasazi, Hohokam, and Mogollon.  When the first Europeans arrived, the Navajo, Hopi, Pueblo, Apache, and Utes were living on the landscape, growing maize and creating pottery and weavings.

Like the Intermontane, Native Americans once occupied Tennessee.  The two major tribes were the Cherokee and the Chicksaw.  The Cherokee claimed southeastern Tennessee and northeast Georgia and the Chicksaw maintained most of western Tennessee as their hunting grounds.  Interestingly, I am part Cherokee, so perhaps that is where my love for Tennessee comes from!

http://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Indians_of_Tennessee

http://www.firstpeople.us/pictures/art/1024x768_Pictures/Navajo-Indians-Shiprock-New-Mexico-1024x768.html

http://go.webassistant.com/wa/upload/users/u1000170/pages/0710-640854706ndHGIRg7dAO/w020.jpg

The Rocky Mountains

Tennessee’s Version of the Rockies—The Great Smoky Mountains

Although Tennessee is mainly made up of flat terrain, one mountainous region is worth noting.  The Great Smoky Mountains are located along the border of Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Cherokee, North Carolina.  I mean, look at how gorgeous they are!  It's no wonder thousands of people travel to Tennessee to catch a glimpse of these beauties! 

The Great Smoky Mountain National Park is a major tourist attraction for Tennessee.  Many people go to visit the rocks that are over a billion years old!  Mainly composed of granite, sandstone, and slate, the Smokies are quite a sight to see!

http://www.visitmysmokies.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/great_smoky_mountains_national_park.jpg

http://www.visitmysmokies.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/The-Great-Smoky-Mountains-National-Park.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Smoky_Mountains_National_Park

The Great Plains

Riparian Water Rights

Current water rights are allocated by each state, which can cause conflict and eventual drought for surrounding states.  Western states employ prior appropriation that allows the usage of water for “any useful or beneficial purpose.”  Eastern states, like the Great Plains follow riparian rights, which allow water rights to owners of water frontage land for reasonable use.  In other words, water rights are acquired by ownership of property touching on a watercourse or overlying an aquifer.

Tennessee is to some extent a regulated riparian state. There is little regulation and legislation regarding water in Tennessee compared to surrounding states.  However, Tennessee still follows the “reasonable use” riparian rights.  Fortunately, if conflict surrounds a water law it is usually because there is too much water rather than not enough.    

http://images.flatworldknowledge.com/mayerlpei/mayerlpei-fig33_002.jpg

http://eerc.ra.utk.edu/divisions/wrrc/water_supply/chapter3.htm

The Midwest

The Midwest and Tennessee
Tennessee is adjacent to the Midwest so it is fairly similar, especially in terms of geography.  Tennessee like the Midwest is an area of cultural intensity.  Populated by farmers, white Protestants, and a clustered urban black population. 

Franklin is a small, rural town similar to many Midwestern cities. There are gently rolling hills but mostly flat terrain—ideal for farming.

Tennessee’s popular crops mirror the Midwest.  Soybeans and corn being the most popular.

http://livability.com/sites/default/files/styles/node_article_610x398_scale_crop/public/3060408BM2850_3.jpg?itok=dFobEfpY

The Ozarks

Hillbillies

“Hey ya’ll. I’m fixin’ suppa and we gon eat at half past.  Gon and wash up now.”

This is an example of typical sentence heard in Tennessee.  When I first traveled to Franklin, I was only really familiar with Valley Girl, California vernacular.  Words like supper were something I saw in movies or The Beverly Hillbillies.  I equated these phrases with Southerners and just assumed that they had a lower IQ.  This is a common misconception thanks to the stereotypical hillbilly moniker.

In fact, I found that most “hillbillies” are really just simple people, living within necessary means.  They do not have flamboyant houses or cars and that is the way they like it!  I have spent time on many a farm in Tennessee because most people have them in their backyard.  Actually, it is quite relaxing and humbling to be in a self-sustaining home.  My favorite part of Franklin is the down-home feel and if that means I’m a hillbilly than pass that moonshine on down!

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRD4DEHw6Pmo5UQv2CPl3hd1E58kQwDI-hQ_IHMSCAtUcUYFLB_IDKa6u7t8w1wRKvXPpBmMMi4eW-tspFkpm0MaPjbndDBMpIl0qQnjD8bARceToTJk85DxV9VnigBUbFwVpBffsuFz4/s1600/Anatomy+of+a+Hillbilly.jpg

The Coastal South

Natural Disasters

Fortunately for many Tennesseans, horrific natural disasters are not prone to the area.  Unlike, the Coastal South, specifically Louisiana, Tennessee has a very low hurricane rate.  Although slow-rise flodding has occured in the past, Tennessee is typically safe from hurricanes, since the state lies further inland.

Interestingly, the chance of an earthquake occurring in Tennessee is significantly lower than the national average.  However, the risk of tornado damage in Tennessee is much higher than the national average. 

I suppose every destination is susceptible to a natural disaster.  Therefore, when deciding where to live, the resident must take into account which disaster you believe poses the least amount of threat. 

http://www.usa.com/nashville-tn-natural-disasters-extremes.htm

http://www.tn.gov/tsla/exhibits/disasters/