Big Ridge State Park
| Big Ridge State Park | |
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Big Ridge Lake
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| Type | Tennessee State Park |
| Location | Maynardville, Union County, Tennessee |
| Area | 3,687 acres (14.92 km2) |
| Open | Year round |
| Website | Official website |
Big Ridge State Park is a state park in Union County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park consists of 3,687 acres (14.92 km2) on the southern shore of the Norris Reservoir, an impoundment of the Clinch River created by the completion of Norris Dam in 1936. Much of the park's recreational focus is on Big Ridge Lake, a 45-acre (0.18 km2) sub-impoundment of Norris near the center of the park.
Big Ridge State Park was first developed by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the National Park Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s as part of the greater Norris Project. The park was one of three of the project's demonstration recreational areas that eventually became state parks (Norris Dam State Park and Cove Lake State Park are the other two). The park's recreational facilities opened in May 1934. The park is now operated and maintained by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
Big Ridge State Park is located in the Appalachian Ridge-and-Valley range, which is characterized by narrow elongate ridges flanked by fertile stream valleys. The park's topography is dominated by three such ridge systems running roughly parallel to one another, the two northernmost of which are bisected by the Big Ridge Lake inlet of Norris Lake. The northernmost ridge is known as "Lone Mountain" west of the inlet and "Big Ridge" east of the inlet. The central ridge is known as "Bluebird Ridge" west of the inlet and "Pinnacle Ridge" east of the inlet. The southernmost ridge, which is not bisected by the inlet, is known as "Chestnut Ridge." The northern and central ridge systems are divided by Dark Hollow, a narrow valley that spans the entire park. The central and southern ridges are divided by a valley known as Blue Mud Valley west of the inlet and Poor Land Valley east of the inlet.
The Clinch River flows southwestward from its source in Virginia through much of northeastern Tennessee before emptying into the Tennessee River near Kingston. Norris Dam, located 80 miles (130 km) upstream from the Clinch's mouth, retains a reservoir that spans a 73-mile (117 km) stretch of the river and covers nearly 34,000 acres (140 km2). Big Ridge State Park is located 99 miles (159 km) above the river's mouth, at the confluence of the Clinch River and Mill Creek. The two streams converge at a mile-wide section of the lake known as Loyston Sea, named after the community of Loyston which was once situated in the lower Mill Creek valley.
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Wikipedia