Grassy Cove

Grassy Cove is an enclosed valley in Cumberland County, Tennessee, United States. The valley is notable for its karst formations, which have been designated a National Natural Landmark. Grassy Cove is also home to a small unincorporated community.

Grassy Cove is located atop the Cumberland Plateau, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Crossville and 5 miles (8.0 km) west of the plateau's Walden Ridge escarpment. The mountains that surround the cove are part of the southern fringe of the Cumberland Mountains. The cove is geologically related to the Sequatchie Valley, a large narrow valley stretching just opposite the mountains to the south. Tennessee State Route 68 passes through the northern part of Grassy Cove, providing the valley's only major road access.

Grassy Cove is walled in by 2,930-foot (890 m) Brady Mountain to the west, 2,930-foot (890 m) Bear Den Mountain on the east, and 2,828-foot (862 m) Black Mountain to the north. Brady and Bear Den both converge in a V-shaped formation to enclose the cove to the south. Just beyond this convergence, Hinch Mountain— the highest point in Cumberland County— rises to 3,048 feet (929 m). The southern slopes of Hinch descend drastically to the Sequatchie Valley. The elevation of Grassy Cove is just over 1,500 feet (460 m), whereas the elevation of the Sequatchie Valley is roughly 900 feet (270 m).

Both the Sequatchie Valley and Grassy Cove were part of an anticline that formed as rock strata were bent upward by thrust faulting to form a large ridge during the Paleozoic era (appx. 250 million years ago). During the Mesozoic era, continued erosion along this ridge exposed its younger, more soluble limestone layers. Over subsequent millennia, the limestone dissolved, forming a series of sinkholes that eventually coalesced to create the Sequatchie Valley. Grassy Cove is one such sinkhole that has yet to coalesce with the rest of the Sequatchie Valley.

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