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West Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions
Grand Divisions (Tennessee)

The Grand Divisions are geographic, cultural, and legally recognized regions, each constituting roughly one-third of the United States of Tennessee....
 in the U.S. state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 of Tennessee
Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
. Of the three, it is the most sharply defined geographically. Its boundaries are the Mississippi River
Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
 on the west and the Tennessee River
Tennessee River

The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the Southern United States in the Tennessee Valley....
 on the east. The region's boundaries expand slightly to include the entirety of Hardin County
Hardin County, Tennessee

Hardin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The county was named for Col. Joseph Hardin, a former territorial legislator and North Carolina state legislator....
, which is bisected by the Tennessee River.

Unlike the geographic designations of regions of most U.S. states, the term West Tennessee has legal as well as socioeconomic meaning.






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West Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions
Grand Divisions (Tennessee)

The Grand Divisions are geographic, cultural, and legally recognized regions, each constituting roughly one-third of the United States of Tennessee....
 in the U.S. state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
 of Tennessee
Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
. Of the three, it is the most sharply defined geographically. Its boundaries are the Mississippi River
Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
 on the west and the Tennessee River
Tennessee River

The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the Southern United States in the Tennessee Valley....
 on the east. The region's boundaries expand slightly to include the entirety of Hardin County
Hardin County, Tennessee

Hardin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The county was named for Col. Joseph Hardin, a former territorial legislator and North Carolina state legislator....
, which is bisected by the Tennessee River.

Unlike the geographic designations of regions of most U.S. states, the term West Tennessee has legal as well as socioeconomic meaning. West Tennessee, along with East Tennessee
East Tennessee

East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions defined in state law....
 and Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee

Middle Tennessee is a distinct portion of the state of Tennessee, delineated according to state law as the 41 counties in the Middle Grand Divisions ....
, comprises one of the state's three Grand Divisions
Grand Divisions (Tennessee)

The Grand Divisions are geographic, cultural, and legally recognized regions, each constituting roughly one-third of the United States of Tennessee....
. According to the state constitution
Constitution

A constitution is a system for government — often codified as a written document — that establishes the rules and principles of an autonomous political entity....
, no more than two of the state supreme court
Tennessee Supreme Court

The Tennessee Supreme Court is the highest appellate court of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Unlike those of other states, the Tennessee Supreme Court is responsible for the appointment of the state attorney general....
's five justices can come from any one Grand Division, and the Supreme Court meets in each of the three (the State Supreme Court building for West Tennessee is in Jackson). A similar rule applies to certain other commissions and boards as well, to prevent them from showing a geographic bias.

The region can also be defined by telephone area codes. Until 2001, West Tennessee, including all of Hardin County, was in area code 901
Area code 901

Area code 901 is an area code in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Originally it was the area code for the entire state, but now is limited to the southwest corner of the state....
. After a code split, Memphis and its suburbs retained 901, while the rest of West Tennessee received area code 731
Area code 731

Area code 731 is an area code in the U.S. state of Tennessee.The 731 area code covers West Tennessee, excluding the greater Memphis, Tennessee area, which is assigned to area code 901....
.

West Tennessee is the least populous and smallest in land area of the three Grand Divisions. At the 2000 census it had 1,499,802 inhabitants living in its 21 counties, which have a combined land area of 27,581.92 kmē (10,649.44 sq mi). Its population was 26.36 percent of the state's total, and its land area is 25.84 percent of the state's land area. Its population density
Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans....
 was 54.376/kmē (140.83/sq mi) at the census.

History

While the region west of the Tennessee River was technically part of Tennessee at its statehood in 1796, it did not come under definitive U.S. control until it was obtained in a series of cession
Cession

Most broadly, cession is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land borders transferred by treaty....
s by the Chickasaw
Chickasaw

The Chickasaw are Native Americans in the United States people originally from the Southeastern United States . They are of the Muskogean linguistic group....
 Indians in 1818, an acquisition known as the Jackson Purchase
Jackson Purchase (U.S. historical region)

The Jackson Purchase is a region of western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky, bounded by the Tennessee River on the east and the Mississippi River on the west, that was ceded to the United States by the Chickasaw in 1818....
 after Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States . He was List of governors of Florida of Florida , commander of the American forces at the Battle of New Orleans , and eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy....
, one of the officials involved. The purchase also included the westernmost tip of Kentucky
Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a U.S. state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is normally included in the group of Southern United States , but it is uncommonly included, geographically and culturally, in the Midwestern United States....
 as well as part of northern Mississippi
Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson, Mississippi is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Anishinaabe language word misi-ziibi ....
. Although the vast majority of the purchases lie in Tennessee, the term "Jackson Purchase
Jackson Purchase

The Jackson Purchase is a region in the U.S. state of Kentucky bounded by the Mississippi River to the west, the Ohio River to the north, and Tennessee River River to the east....
" is used today to refer solely to the Kentucky portion of the acquisition. The term is also slightly misleading. Jackson, a military officer at the time, was one of several federal treaty commissioners. He did not personally negotiate the whole land cession, nor was it done in a single treaty.

Cities and landmarks

The largest city in West Tennessee, by far, and the most populous in the state, is Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County, Tennessee. Memphis rises above the Mississippi River on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff just south of the mouth of the Wolf River ....
. Outside the greater Memphis area, the region is mostly agricultural. Much of the region geologically lies within the Mississippi embayment
Mississippi embayment

The Mississippi embayment is a physiographic feature in the south-central United States, part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. It is essentially a northward continuation of the River delta of the Mississippi River Delta to its confluence with the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois....
.

Among the region's smaller cities (not including Memphis suburbs), some of the more important are Jackson
Jackson, Tennessee

Jackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States. The population was 59,643 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Jackson, Tennessee Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area....
, Dyersburg
Dyersburg, Tennessee

Dyersburg is a city in and the county seat of Dyer County, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States, 77 miles north-northeast of Memphis, Tennessee on the Forked Deer River....
, Union City
Union City, Tennessee

Union City is a city in Obion County, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States. The population was 10,876 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Obion County, Tennessee....
, Brownsville
Brownsville, Tennessee

Brownsville is a city in Haywood County, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States. It is the county seat of Haywood County, Tennessee. The city is named after Jacob Jennings Brown, an officer who served during The War of 1812....
, Ripley
Ripley, Tennessee

Ripley is a city in Lauderdale County, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States. The population was 7,844 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Tennessee....
, Martin
Martin, Tennessee

Martin is a city in Weakley County, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States. Martin is the home of the University of Tennessee at Martin. The population was 10,515 at the United States Census, 2000....
, Paris
Paris, Tennessee

Paris is a city in Henry County, Tennessee, Tennessee, 86 miles west of Nashville, Tennessee, on a fork of the West Sandy River. In 1900, 2,018 people lived in Paris, Tennessee; in 1910, 3,881; and in 1940, 6,395....
, and Humboldt
Humboldt, Tennessee

Humboldt is a city in Gibson County, Tennessee and Madison County, Tennessee counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 9,467 at the 2000 census....
. Of these, only Jackson and Dyersburg have populations in excess of 15,000; and only Jackson has a daily newspaper or an officially-recognized metropolitan region.

The principal public universities in West Tennessee are the University of Memphis
University of Memphis

The University of Memphis is an American public university research university located in the Normal Station, Memphis neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States, and is the flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system....
 and the University of Tennessee at Martin
University of Tennessee at Martin

The University of Tennessee at Martin is a campus in the University of Tennessee system. Other campuses include the flagship campus in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Chattanooga, Tennessee campus, the Center for the Health Sciences in Memphis, Tennessee, and the Space Institute in Tullahoma, Tennessee....
; the main Knoxville
University of Tennessee

The University of Tennessee , sometimes called the University of Tennessee, Knoxville is the flagship institution of the statewide land-grant university University of Tennessee system public school system in Tennessee....
 campus of the University of Tennessee System
University of Tennessee system

The University of Tennessee system is one of two public university systems in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It consists of three primary campuses in Knoxville, Tennessee, Chattanooga, Tennessee and Martin, Tennessee, a medical campus in Memphis, Tennessee and a research institute in Tullahoma, Tennessee....
 also maintains a medical branch campus in Memphis
University of Tennessee Health Science Center

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Tennessee includes the Colleges of Allied Health Sciences, University of Tennessee College of Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy....
.

Demographics

West Tennessee is distinct from Middle and East Tennessee in that African-Americans make up a large percent of the population .

Geology

The entire region, especially the area closest to the Mississippi River, lies in a zone of high earthquake
Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph....
 risk; this area is at the edge of the New Madrid Seismic Zone
New Madrid Seismic Zone

The New Madrid Seismic Zone, also known as the Reelfoot Rift or the New Madrid Fault Line, is a major seismic zone in the Southern United States and Midwestern United States stretching to the southwest from New Madrid, Missouri, Missouri....
. In 1811 and 1812, three of the largest quakes in U.S. history
New Madrid earthquake

The 1811 or 1812 New Madrid Earthquake is one of the largest successions of earthquakes, including the most intensive ever indirectly inferred in the continental United States, beginning with an initial pair of very large earthquakes on December 16, 1811, plus aftershocks and other large related quakes separated by a succession of smaller...
 hit the region when it had little European settlement. By some reports, the quakes briefly reversed the flow of the Mississippi; a lasting legacy of the quakes is Reelfoot Lake
Reelfoot Lake

Reelfoot Lake is a shallow natural lake located in the northwest portion of Tennessee and extending into Fulton County, Kentucky, United States of America....
, a shallow lake
Lake

A lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all....
 created due to topographic changes
Subsidence

In geology, engineering, and surveying, subsidence is the motion of a surface as it shifts downward relative to a datum such as sea-level. The opposite of subsidence is Tectonic uplift, which results in an increase in elevation....
 caused by that event.

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