State of Tennessee | |||||
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Nickname(s): The Volunteer State | |||||
Motto(s): Agriculture and Commerce | |||||
Official language | English | ||||
Demonym | Tennessean | ||||
Capital (and largest city) |
Nashville | ||||
Largest metro | Nashville Metropolitan Area | ||||
Area | Ranked 36th | ||||
• Total | 42,143 sq mi (109,247 km2) |
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• Width | 120 miles (195 km) | ||||
• Length | 440 miles (710 km) | ||||
• % water | 2.2 | ||||
• Latitude | 34° 59′ N to 36° 41′ N | ||||
• Longitude | 81° 39′ W to 90° 19′ W | ||||
Population | Ranked 16th | ||||
• Total | 6,651,194 (2016 est.) | ||||
• Density | 157.8/sq mi (60.9/km2) Ranked 20th |
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• Median household income | $47,330 (42nd) | ||||
Elevation | |||||
• Highest point |
Clingmans Dome 6,643 ft (2025 m) |
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• Mean | 900 ft (270 m) | ||||
• Lowest point |
Mississippi River at Mississippi border 178 ft (54 m) |
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Before statehood | Southwest Territory | ||||
Admission to Union | June 1, 1796 (16th) | ||||
Governor | Bill Haslam (R) | ||||
Lieutenant Governor | Randy McNally (R) | ||||
Legislature | General Assembly | ||||
• Upper house | Senate | ||||
• Lower house | House of Representatives | ||||
U.S. Senators |
Lamar Alexander (R) Bob Corker (R) |
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U.S. House delegation | 7 Republicans, 2 Democrats (list) | ||||
Time zones | |||||
• East Tennessee | Eastern: UTC -5/-4 | ||||
• Middle and West | Central: UTC -6/-5 | ||||
ISO 3166 | US-TN | ||||
Abbreviations | TN, Tenn. | ||||
Website | www |
Tennessee state symbols | |
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Living insignia | |
Amphibian | Tennessee cave salamander |
Bird |
Mockingbird Bobwhite quail |
Butterfly | Zebra swallowtail |
Fish |
Channel catfish Smallmouth bass |
Flower |
Iris Passion flower Tennessee echinacea |
Insect |
Firefly Lady beetle Honey bee |
Mammal |
Tennessee Walking Horse Raccoon |
Reptile | Eastern box turtle |
Tree |
Tulip poplar Eastern red cedar |
Inanimate insignia | |
Beverage | Milk |
Dance | Square dance |
Firearm | Barrett M82 |
Food | Tomato |
Fossil | Pterotrigonia (Scabrotrigonia) thoracica |
Gemstone | Tennessee River pearl |
Mineral | Agate |
Motto | Agriculture and Commerce |
Poem | "Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee" by William Lawrence |
Rock | Limestone |
Slogan | Tennessee – America at its Best |
Song | Nine songs |
Tartan | Tennessee State Tartan |
State route marker | |
State quarter | |
Released in 2002
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Lists of United States state symbols |
Tennessee (/tɛnɪˈsiː/; Cherokee: ᏔᎾᏏ, translit. Tanasi) is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th largest and the 16th most populous of the 50 United States. Tennessee is bordered by Kentucky and Virginia to the north, North Carolina to the east, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the south, and Arkansas and Missouri to the west. The Appalachian Mountains dominate the eastern part of the state, and the Mississippi River forms the state's western border. Nashville is the state's capital and largest city, with a population of 660,388. Tennessee's second largest city is Memphis, which has a population of 652,717.
The state of Tennessee is rooted in the Watauga Association, a 1772 frontier pact generally regarded as the first constitutional government west of the Appalachians. What is now Tennessee was initially part of North Carolina, and later part of the Southwest Territory. Tennessee was admitted to the Union as the 16th state on June 1, 1796. Tennessee was the last state to leave the Union and join the Confederacy at the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. Occupied by Union forces from 1862, it was the first state to be readmitted to the Union at the end of the war.