At 652 miles, the Tennessee River is the longest tributary of the Ohio River. The beginning of this river is the confluence of the French Broad and Holston rivers near Knoxville, located in the eastern part of the state. This river flows through Chattanooga and the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area before meeting the Ohio River at Paducah, Kentucky. The first European expedition on this river was led by Hernando DeSoto in 1540. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, the United States used Ross Landing, a fort on the Tennessee River, as a base to fight against the Creek Indians. Ross Landing eventually became incorporated as the city of Chattanooga.
Nashville is Tennessee's capital city and the second-largest city in the state at over 626,000 residents, as of 2010. This city is also known as Music City because of the strong presence of country western music, record labels and performance venues. Located in downtown Nashville, the Ryman Auditorium was built in the 1890s and is called the Mother Church of Country Music. Famous performers and lecturers who appeared at the Ryman include actress Katherine Hepburn, President Theodore Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Charlie Chaplin, Harry Houdini, Will Rogers and Hank Williams. Nashville is also home to the largest non-casino hotel in the world, the Gaylord Opryland Hotel.
The central region of Tennessee is home to the largest human-made lake in the eastern United States, Kentucky Lake. This lake has a surface area of 160,300 acres and spans across northcentral Tennessee and southwest Kentucky. Kentucky Lake is used by the Tennessee Valley Authority as a spigot to control flooding from the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. Construction of the lake lasted from 1938 to 1944 and cost $118 million. For recreation, Kentucky Lake provides more than 2,400 miles of shoreline. The shoreline has boating marinas in the Tennessee cities of Buchanan and New Johnsonville.
Many Civil War battles occurred in Tennessee. According to a June 2010 article in The Chattanoogan, the Volunteer State had the second-most Civil War battles after Virginia. As of May 2010, Tennessee has 47 Civil War sites, which includes monuments and battlefields. One of the most important Civil War battles happened at modern-day Shiloh National Military Park. The battle resulted in a federal victory, giving the Union forces control of the Mississippi River. Other important Civil War battles in central Tennessee include the Battle of Fort Donelson and the Battle of Nashville.
