In Tennessee, the Cumberland Plateau forks toward the south forming Sequatchie Valley. Bledsoe County is at the north part of the fork, and is cut in two by the valley. It is pretty and unspoiled. Highway 127 runs down the middle of the valley and through Pikeville. Fall Creek Falls, a gigantic state park, overlaps Van Buren and Bledsoe counties. The Bledsoe State Forest occupies the northwest corner.

Blount County, in East Tennessee, is part of the Knoxville Metro Area. It encompasses the McGhee Tyson airport and the cities of Alcoa, Maryville, Townsend, Walland, Friendsville, Louisville and Rockford.

Cumberland County is roughly midway between Knoxville and Nashville atop the Cumberland Plateau. I-40 skirts the county seat, Crossville. The altitude mitigates the southern summer, and makes it a pleasant place for a vacation. Tourism is a significant part of the local economy. There are a disproportionate number of resorts, golf courses, and other such areas catering both to tourists and the large number of people who decide to make their vacation permanent. Industries include publishing, ceramics, baked goods, stationery products, knit products, and canned goods. Visitors enjoy several resorts, (two of which are clothing optional), a jewel of a state park, an unusually large playhouse, and outlet malls. But this area is emphatically not overrun with development. There is plenty of publicly owned wilderness for hikers and canoers.

DeKalb County is located in the rolling hills of eastern middle Tennessee. It is adjacent to the Cumberland Plateau and is the home of beautiful Center Hill Lake. The county seat is Smithville, other incorporated towns include Alexandria, Dowelltown and Liberty.

Dickson County, Tennessee, lies west of Nashville. The county seat is Dickson. Other towns include Charlotte, White Bluff, Burns, Vanleer, Sladen, and Cumberland Furnace.

Fayette County, located in the southwest corner of Tennessee, contains nine incorporated towns: Braden, Gallaway, LaGrange, Moscow, Oakland, Piperton, Rossville, Somerville and Williston.

Fentress County (county seat Jamestown) is located in the north part of the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. It includes part of the very large Big South Fork National Recreational Area, the historic German settlement, Allardt, and the historic English settlement, Rugby. The Highland Manor Winery is well worth a visit. There are many unusual places to stay, including an old schoolhouse! Even if you aren't interested in riding, East Fork Stables would help you find interesting lodging. And even if you aren't Episcopalian, attend Christ Church in Rugby Sunday morning.

Grundy County is on the southwest part of the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. It has two State Natural Areas, Savage Gulf and Grundy Forest. Of special interest to the visitor is Monteagle at the edge of the mountain with spectacular views.

Located in the Upper Cumberland region of Middle Tennessee. Gainesboro is the county seat.

County in the extreme northwest corner of Tennessee. Named for Reelfoot Lake, which was formed by the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812.

West Tennessee county located about 80 miles northeast of Memphis and 120 miles west of Nashville. Jackson is the principal city.

Lynchburg (the home of Jack Daniel's Distillery) is the only town in this small county in southern Middle Tennessee. Lynchburg and Moore County share a single consolidated government.

The county seat of Morgan County is Wartburg. That name may sound amusing in English, but it is German. Morgan County has part of the huge Big South Fork National Recreational Area. Rugby is a historic English communist settlement at the entrance to Big South Fork. Morgan County also boasts Frozen Head State Park.

Pickett County lays across the northwest edge of the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee, its northern border being the Kentucky state line. The county seat is Byrdstown. Although it is one of the least populated counties in Tennessee, it has parts of three important attractions. The remarkably pure and clear Dale Hollow Lake is of interest even to scuba divers. The 600+ miles of shoreline give a lot of room for fishermen. At the opposite, or eastern end of the county is Pickett State Park and the enormous Big South Fork National Recreational Area.

Rhea county lies across the eastern edge of the Cumberland Plateau - part highland, part lowland. Driving from Crossville to Spring City, one passes through aptly named Grandview while descending off the mountain. Highway 27 runs through Rhea county between the plateau to the west and the Tennessee River on the east passing through the county seat, Dayton, on its way to Chattanooga. Dayton is known for the Scopes trial of "Inherit the Wind" fame.

Roane County (in East Tennessee) includes Kingston, Harriman, Rockwood, part of Oliver Springs, and part of Oak Ridge.

Nestled atop the Cumberland Plateau and located on the Kentucky border, Scott County offers quite, clean air and a comfortable country atmosphere. The geology here is quite unlike any other in Tennessee, this side of the Appalachian Mountains. This area is mostly hill country, with sandy mountainsides and steep sandstone formations. The climate is mild with no extremes in either hot or cold, and the area receives abundant rainfall of about 52 inches per year. Visitors to the area can enjoy 18 holes of golf or a game of tennis at the Crooked Creek Golf Course, check out the latest movies at the Carmike Cinema, go for a jog at the town of Oneida's newly refurnished park and community area, attend church at any of the many Baptist, Church of Christ, Presbyterian, Jehovah's Witness, or Catholic churches in the area, and then head off to the pride of Scott County, the Big South Fork park, for a day of outdoors fun. Scott County features the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River, home of the Big South Fork National River and recreational Area. The BSF park attracts whitewater enthusiasts, hikers, horse-back riders, campers, sightseers, photographers, fishermen, and hunters and offers a mountain outdoors vacation without all the hustle and noise of the nearby Smokey Mountains. by Ben Garrett, Oneida TN bengarrett@usa.net

Shelby County, the state's most populated county, is located in the corner of Southwestern Tennessee. Its county seat is at Memphis.

Smith County is in the Upper Cumberland region in Middle Tennessee. It includes the incorporated communities of Carthage (the county seat), South Carthage, and Gordonsville, as well as several unincorporated communities.

Sumner County, in Middle Tennessee, is part of the Nashville metropolitan area. Sumner County localities include Gallatin, Goodlettsville, Hendersonville, White House (in part), Portland, and Millersville.

Van Buren County is neither large nor greatly populated, moreover, a big chunk is taken up by the very large Fall Creek Falls state park. This results in the county being near the bottom in population lists. But it mustn't be dismissed. This is a good place for those who are visiting to see Tennessee. Those who have visited some of the towns near the Smokies will know what I'm talking about. Do start, however, with Fall Creek Falls. It is beautiful and surprisingly accessible.

Known as the "Nursery Capital of the World," the Warren County area is recognized for nursery stock grown in fields and valleys that spread across the countryside. Located on the Highland Rim of the Cumberland Mountains, midway between Nashville and Chattanooga, hardwood forests and carpets of green pastures give the area a natural beauty highlighted by fields of flowering shrubs and trees.

A metropolitan Nashville county.

Wilson County is in Middle Tennessee, near Nashville. Lebanon is the principal city.