Editing Polk County, Tennessee (section)

==Geography==
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|442|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|435|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|7.7|sqmi}} (1.7%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_47.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 9, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}</ref> As the most southeastern county in Tennessee, it is the state's only county to share borders with both [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] and [[North Carolina]].

Most of the terrain of Polk County is mountainous, constituting part of the southern [[Blue Ridge Mountains]], among the southern [[Appalachian Mountains]]. The western edge of the county is part of the [[Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians]], which comprise about one-sixth of the county's land area. The [[Copper Basin (Tennessee)|Copper Basin]] is located in the extreme southeastern part of Polk County. [[Big Frog Mountain]], at an elevation of {{cvt|4,224|ft|m}}, is the county's highest point; west of Big Frog Mountain there is no higher point until the [[Black Hills]] of [[South Dakota]] or the [[Guadalupe Mountains]] of [[Texas]]. About 80% of the land area of Polk County is now part of the [[Cherokee National Forest]], covering most of the Blue Ridge portion of the county except for the Copper Basin and other small tracts. Most of the Ridge-and-Valley portion of the county is privately owned.

The [[Toccoa/Ocoee River|Ocoee River]], site of [[Whitewater Slalom|whitewater slalom]] events in the [[Atlanta]] [[1996 Summer Olympic Games]], runs through Polk County and is vital to one of the county's major industries, [[whitewater rafting]]. The calmer [[Hiwassee River]], a tributary of the [[Tennessee River]] which flows through northern Polk County, is also used for [[rafting]] and [[tubing (recreation)|tubing]]. The [[Conasauga River]], the only river in Tennessee that is not part of the [[Mississippi River#Watershed|Mississippi River Basin]], is located in southwestern Polk County.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Carey|first=Bill|date=October 2017|title=Conasauga River nearly became important in Tennessee history|url=https://www.tnmagazine.org/conasauga-river-nearly-became-important-tennessee-history/|journal=Tennessee Magazine|access-date=June 23, 2020}}</ref> Most of the population of Polk County lives in the Ridge-and-Valley western portion of the county and the Copper Basin.

===Adjacent counties===
[[File:Ocoee Scenic Byway.jpg|right|220px|thumb|View from the Ocoee Scenic Byway]]
*[[Monroe County, Tennessee|Monroe County]] (northeast)
*[[Cherokee County, North Carolina]] (east)
*[[Fannin County, Georgia]] (southeast)
*[[Murray County, Georgia]] (southwest)
*[[Bradley County, Tennessee|Bradley County]] (west)
*[[McMinn County, Tennessee|McMinn County]] (northwest)

===National protected areas===
*[[Big Frog Wilderness]] (part)
*[[Cherokee National Forest]] (part)

===State protected areas===
*William L. Davenport Refuge
*[[Ducktown Basin Museum]] and [[Burra Burra Mine (Tennessee)|Burra Burra Mine]] (state historic site)
*[[Fourth Fractional Township]] Wildlife Management Area
*[[Hiwassee/Ocoee Scenic River State Park]]