Knoxville

Sister cities

• Yesan County
• Neuquén
• Chengdu
• Muroran
• Chełm
• Kaohsiung
• Larissa

History

The first people to form substantial settlements in what is now Knoxville were indigenous people who arrived during the Woodland period ( 1000 B.C. to 1000 A.D.). One of the oldest artificial structures in Knoxville is a burial mound constructed during the early Mississippian culture period ( 1000–1400 A.D.). The earthwork mound was preserved, but the University of Tennessee campus developed around it. Other prehistoric sites include an Early Woodland habitation area at the confluence of the Tennessee River and Knob Creek (near the Knox–Blount county line) and at Bussell Island (at the mouth of the Little Tennessee River near Lenoir City). By the 18th century, the Cherokee, an Iroquoian language people, had become the dominant tribe in the East Tennessee region. They are believed to have migrated from the Great Lakes region centuries earlier. They were frequently at war with the Creek and Shawnee. The Cherokee people called the Knoxville area kuwanda'talun'yi, which means "mulberry place". Most Cherokee habitation in the area concentrated in what American colonists called the Overhill settlements along the Little Tennessee River, southwest of Knoxville. The first white traders and explorers arrived in the Tennessee Valley in the late 17th century. There is significant evidence that Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto visited Bussell Island in 1540. However, the first major recorded Euro-American presence in the Knoxville area was the Timberlake Expedition, which passed through the area in December 1761 at the confluence of the Holston River and French Broad River into the Tennessee River. A British soldier and Anglo-American emissary from the Thirteen Colonies to the Overhill settlements, Henry Timberlake appreciated the Tennessee's deep waters after his party had…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 5.42%, is water. Elevations range from just over along the riverfront to just over on various hilltops in West Knoxville, with the downtown area setting at just over . High points include Sharp's Ridge in North Knoxville at and Brown Mountain in South Knoxville at . Knoxville is situated in the Great Appalachian Valley (known locally as the Tennessee Valley), about halfway between the Great Smoky Mountains to the east and the Cumberland Plateau to the west. The Great Valley is part of a sub-range of the Appalachian Mountains known as the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, which is characterized by long narrow ridges flanked by broad valleys. Prominent Ridge-and-Valley structures in the Knoxville area include Sharp's Ridge and Beaver Ridge in the northern part of the city, Brown Mountain in South Knoxville, parts of Bays Mountain just south of the city, and parts of McAnnally Ridge in the northeastern part of the city. The Tennessee River, which passes through the downtown area, is formed in southeastern Knoxville at the confluence of the Holston River, which flows southwest from Virginia, and the French Broad River, which flows west from North Carolina. The section of the Tennessee River that passes through Knoxville is part of Fort Loudoun Lake, an artificial reservoir created by TVA's Fort Loudoun Dam about downstream in Lenoir City. Notable tributaries of the Tennessee in Knoxville include First Creek and Second Creek, which flow through the downtown area, Third Creek, which flows west of U.T., and Sinking Creek, Ten Mile Creek, and Turkey Creek, which drain West Knoxville. Knoxville falls in the humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa) zone. Summers are hot and…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  29,532
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  24,682
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  24,371
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  23,695
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  22,207
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  21,462
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21,262
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21,075

Largest nearby schools

• Tennessee Virtual Academy
  Elementary · Knoxville · 2,168 students · 16.4:1 ratio
• Bearden High School
  High · Knoxville · 1,997 students · 16.2:1 ratio
• West High School
  High · Knoxville · 1,478 students · 17:1 ratio
• Powell High School
  High · Powell · 1,347 students · 17.5:1 ratio
• Central High School
  High · Knoxville · 1,294 students · 13.6:1 ratio
• Halls High School
  High · Knoxville · 1,265 students · 16.2:1 ratio
• Cedar Bluff Elementary
  Elementary · Knoxville · 1,226 students · 15:1 ratio
• Karns Elementary
  Elementary · Knoxville · 1,210 students · 14.9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.65 — 2026-03-24
  10 km SSW of Dillsboro, North Carolina
• M 2.6 — 2026-01-04
  11 km SW of Middlesboro, Kentucky
• M 2.5 — 2025-08-19
  6 km SE of Seymour, Tennessee
• M 2.57 — 2025-07-10
  2 km E of Greenback, Tennessee
• M 4.1 — 2025-05-10
  21 km SE of Greenback, Tennessee
• M 2.51 — 2024-08-05
  4 km SSE of Sevierville, Tennessee