Editing Knoxville, Tennessee (section)

===Topography===
[[File:Knoxville-from-sharps-ridge-tn2.jpg|thumb|right|Downtown Knoxville, with the [[Great Smoky Mountains]] rising in the distance, viewed from [[Sharp's Ridge]]]]

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|269.8|km2|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|255.2|km2|order=flip}} is land and {{convert|14.6|km2|order=flip}}, or 5.42%, is water.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=https://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2013/files/SUB-EST2013_47.csv| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Knoxville city, Tennessee| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| access-date=March 25, 2013| url-status=dead| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529173330/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2013/files/SUB-EST2013_47.csv| archivedate=May 29, 2014| df=mdy-all}}</ref> Elevations range from just over {{convert|800|ft}} along the riverfront to just over {{convert|1000|ft}} on various hilltops in West Knoxville,<ref>{{Cite GNIS|1284297|First Creek}}</ref><ref>{{Cite GNIS|1279994|Cedar Bluff|links=off}}</ref> with the downtown area setting at just over {{convert|900|ft}}.<ref>{{Cite GNIS|1648562|Knoxville|links=off}}</ref> High points include [[Sharp's Ridge]] in North Knoxville at {{convert|1391|ft}} and Brown Mountain in South Knoxville at {{convert|1260|ft}}.<ref>{{Cite GNIS|1269382|Brown Mountain|links=off}}</ref><ref>City of Knoxville, [http://www.ci.knoxville.tn.us/parks/history/sharpsRidgeHistory.asp Sharp's Ridge Memorial Park History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501174148/http://www.ci.knoxville.tn.us/parks/history/sharpsRidgeHistory.asp |date=May 1, 2011 }}. Retrieved: December 29, 2011.</ref>

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 {{convert|30|mi}} downstream in [[Lenoir City, Tennessee|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.