Stretching from the Mississippi River to the Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee is divided into three distinct regions--West, Middle, East--which are diverse yet share history, tradition, and natural beauty. East Tennessee, a thickly wooded terrain, is the site of the Smokies; Middle Tennessee, rolling farmland and pastures, lies between the Cumberland Plateau and the lower Tennessee River; West Tennessee, its western edge in the Mississippi Floodplain, is closely linked to the Deep South cotton economy. This east south central state is bordered by Kentucky and Virginia on the north, by North Carolina to the east, by Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the south, and by Arkansas and Missouri on the west. The Tennessee name is derived from the Indian word Tanasi, the name of a Cherokee village on Little Tennessee River. Its nickname, The Volunteer State, came from the large number of Tennesseans who volunteered for service in the War of 1812 and the Mexican War. The state offers such popular recreation opportunities as world class golf facilities, horseback riding, hiking, camping, white water rafting, and cavern exploration. Its professional sports include the NFL Titans and automobile racing. Population is estimated at 5,256,000.

Tennessee has seven land regions: the Blue Ridge, the Appalachian Ridge and Valley, the Appalachian Plateau, the Highland Rim, the Nashville Basin, the Gulf Coastal Plain, and the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. Major rivers are the Tennessee and Cumberland, and the Mississippi along the western border. Important natural resources are good climate, fertile soil, abundant coal and hydroelectric power, thick forests, and waterways. Principal cities are Nashville the capital, Memphis the largest, and the industrial centers of Knoxville and Chattanooga; also, Clarksville, Jackson, Johnson City, and Bristol. Some famous Tennesseans are frontier congressman Davy Crockett; former governor Sam Huston; Father of the Blues W.C. Handy; entertainers Roy Acuff, Dinah Shore, Dolly Parton, Aretha Franklin; opera star Grace Moore; author Alex Haley; poet John Crowe Ransom; and NFL great Lynn Swann.

The Tennessee economy is based largely on manufacturing, trade, services, tourism, finance, insurance, real estate, construction, lumber, mining, and fisheries. Chief manufactures are chemicals, foods, transportation and electronic equipment, industrial machinery, fabricated metals, rubber and plastic products, paper, printing, and publishing. The state's most important farm product is cattle, followed by tobacco, tomatoes, cotton, soybeans, grain, corn, and dairy foods. The state is served by excellent road and rail systems, international airports at Memphis and Nashville, and major ports at Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Knoxville.

Points of interest include Lookout Mountain, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cherokee National Forest, Cumberland Gap National Park, American Museum of Science and Energy at Oak Ridge, Beale Street Historic District of Memphis, Amish Marketplace in Ethridge, the Appalachian Arts Craft Shop, Audubon Acres, Scenic Bakers Bluff, Belle Meade Plantation, Blues City Cultural Center, and Chattanooga Star Riverboat. Other popular attractions include the Heritage home of President Andrew Jackson, the homes of Presidents Andrew Johnson and James K. Polk, Davy Crockett Cabin Museum, Knoxville Zoo, Memphis Botanical Gardens, Nashville's Grand Old Opry, Tennessee Aquarium, the Graceland home of Elvis Presley, Casey Jones Home & Museum, Mississippi River Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame Museum, and the Chickanooga National Military Park.

The Tennessee region was occupied by Creek and Yuchi peoples when the European invasion began in 1541 with the Spanish expedition lead by Hernando de Soto in his unsuccessful search for gold and silver. By the late 1600s both the French and British laid claim to the region in their competition for Indian trade. The contest ended with the conclusion of the French and Indian War when France ceded all claims to land east of the Mississippi to Great Britain, who lost it to the American Colonies in the Revolutionary War, following the 1769 permanent settlement by Virginians. Tennessee was admitted to the Union on June 1, 1796, as the 16th state. It seceded from the Union in 1861 and became the site of more Civil War battles than any other state except Virginia. The state's economic progress accelerated after the 1930s with the TVA hydroelectric and flood control dams. During World War II the federal government built a city at Oak Ridge which helped produce the atomic bomb.

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