Polk County, Tennessee
| Polk County, Tennessee | |
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Polk County Courthouse in Benton
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 Location in the U.S. state of Tennessee |
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 Tennessee's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | November 28, 1839 |
| Named for | James K. Polk |
| Seat | Benton |
| Largest town | Benton |
| Area | |
| • Total | 442 sq mi (1,145 km2) |
| • Land | 435 sq mi (1,127 km2) |
| • Water | 7.7 sq mi (20 km2), 1.7% |
| Population | |
| • (2010) | 16,825 |
| • Density | 39/sq mi (15/km²) |
| Congressional district | 3rd |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 |
| Website | www |
Polk County is a county located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,825. Its county seat is Benton. The county was created November 28, 1839 from parts of Bradley and McMinn counties. The county was named after then-governor (and future president) James K. Polk.
Polk County is included in the Cleveland, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Chattanooga-Cleveland-Dalton, TN-GA-AL Combined Statistical Area.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 442 square miles (1,140 km2), of which 435 square miles (1,130 km2) is land and 7.7 square miles (20 km2) (1.7%) is water. The total area is 1.65% water. Located in the extreme southeastern corner of Tennessee, it is the state's only county to share borders with both Georgia and North Carolina.
Much of the terrain of eastern Polk County is mountainous, including Big Frog Mountain, constituting part of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Large tracts of Polk County are part of the Cherokee National Forest. The Ocoee River, site of whitewater slalom events in the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympic Games, runs through Polk County and is vital to one of the county's major industries, whitewater rafting. The calmer Hiwassee River, a tributary of the Tennessee River which flows through northern Polk County, is also used for rafting and tubing.
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