Grand Divisions (Tennessee)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Grand Divisions are geographic, cultural, and legally recognized regions, each compromising roughly one-third of the State of Tennessee. The Grand Divisions are represented prominently by the three stars on the flag of Tennessee.
[edit] Geographic and cultural
East, Middle, and West Tennessee are geographical and cultural regions.
East Tennessee is dominated by the Appalachian mountain chain, including the Great Smoky Mountains on the eastern border of the state, the ridge-and-valley region where East Tennessee's principal cities are located, and the rugged Cumberland Mountains. East Tennessee is one of the few areas in the South which has consistently voted Republican since Reconstruction.
East and Middle Tennessee are separated along the Cumberland Plateau. The boundary between the two grand divisions is close to the line between the Eastern and Central Time Zones. Middle Tennessee, which includes the state's capital city of Nashville, is dominated by rolling hills and fertile stream valleys.
A portion of the Tennessee River demarcates the boundary between Middle and West Tennessee. West Tennessee's other border is the Mississippi River, and most of the region lies within the Mississippi embayment. Outside the greater Memphis area, the region is mostly agricultural.
[edit] Legal meaning
The Tennessee State Constitution mandates that no more than two of the five Justices on the state's Supreme Court can be from any one Division to help keep the court free from geographic bias. The court must also meet regularly in each Division. Similar rules apply to some other state institutions.
