Editing Grainger County, Tennessee (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Highway-11-Grainger-tn1.jpg|thumb|[[U.S. Route 11W|US-11W]] near [[Blaine, Tennessee|Blaine]], with the [[Clinch Mountain]] range rising in the distance]]
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|302|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|281|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|22|sqmi}} (7.2%) 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 5, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}</ref> Grainger County is bounded on the northwest by the [[Clinch River]] (impounded by [[Norris Dam]] to form Norris Lake) and on the southeast by the [[Holston River]] and [[Cherokee Lake]].

[[File:TN-32Grainger.png|thumb|[[U.S. Route 25E]] descending the south slope of [[Clinch Mountain]] towards [[Bean Station, Tennessee|Bean Station]]]]

[[Clinch Mountain]] is a major geographic feature that effectively separates the county into a southern section (including Bean Station, Blaine, Joppa, and Rutledge) and a northern section (including the communities of Washburn, Powder Springs, and Thorn Hill).

===Indian Cave===
Indian Cave is a historic site located on the [[Holston River]] near present-day [[Blaine, Tennessee|Blaine]]. The cave was used for centuries before Europeans entered the area, as [[indigenous peoples]] settled in the area about 1000 CE.<ref name="History">[http://www.knoxville-tn.com/smoky.html "History of Great Smoky Mountain Park"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004071655/http://www.knoxville-tn.com/smoky.html |date=October 4, 2012 }}, Knoxville, Tennessee Information Gateway, accessed May 26, 2012</ref> Remains of cane torches and other artifacts located in the cave indicate use by prehistoric indigenous peoples.<ref>Larry E. Matthews, Chapter 4: "Indian Cave", ''Caves of Knoxville and the Great Smoky Mountains'', National Speleological Society, 2008, {{ISBN|978-1-879961-30-2}}, pp. 83-104</ref>  The [[Iroquoian]]-speaking [[Cherokee]] migrated into the area from the northeast, making the eastern Ohio River valley and [[Appalachians]] down into South Carolina their historic territory.<ref name="History"/>

In the 1700s, a Cherokee village was located just west of the main cave entrance, before the people were pushed out by encroaching Anglo-American settlers.<ref name="Matthews 2008 pp. 83-104">Matthews (2008), "Caves of Knoxville", pp. 83-104</ref> The [[John Donelson|Donelson Party]] passed the Indian Cave entrance on their way down the Holston River in 1779 to settle present-day [[Nashville, Tennessee]].<ref name="Matthews 2008 pp. 83-104"/> In the years after the [[American Revolutionary War]], the number of settlers continued to increase. Under the [[Indian Removal Act]] of 1830, Congress authorized the president to remove the Indians from the Southeast to territory west of the Mississippi River.<ref name="History"/>

[[Robert Hoke]], a former Confederate general from North Carolina, purchased the cave on July 21, 1869, as one of his business enterprises after the [[American Civil War]]. He had it mined for [[bat]] [[guano]], a valuable natural fertilizer.<ref name="Matthews 2008 pp. 83-104"/>

Area businessmen formed the Indian Cave Park Association on January 4, 1916, to develop the cave as a commercial attraction, as was being done for other caves throughout the Great Smoky Mountains. The Association did not open the cave officially to the public until May 30, 1924.

On November 18, 2000, over 800 people from all over the United States attended an all-night dance party known as the "Rave in a Cave" in Indian Cave. The party lured many of its attendees via [[Internet advertisements]]. 22 arrests on drug charges were made and one party-goer died of a drug overdose. On the day of the party, nearby residents attempted to block access into the cave, leading to physical action by the attendees with baseball bats. Officials from the Grainger County sheriff's department had set up a road block to prevent further confrontations between county residents and the party attendees. Over 150 traffic citations were also filed as well.<ref name="ravecave">{{cite news |title=22 drug arrests made in rave in cave party that lured 800 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/112559986/ |access-date=November 7, 2020 |work=[[The Tennessean]] |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |date=November 22, 2000}}</ref>

The cave is not open to visitors and is closed to the public as of 2005.<ref name="Matthews 2008 pp. 83-104"/>

===Joppa Mountain===
[[File:Joppa Mtn TN.jpg|left|thumb|Summit of Joppa Mountain]]
Joppa Mountain is located along the Clinch Mountain ridge in central Grainger County in the unincorporated community of [[Joppa, Tennessee|Joppa]]. Buzzard Rock is the summit of the mountain at an elevation of {{convert|2530|ft|m}} above sea level, making it one of the highest points in Grainger County. At this summit, the neighboring U.S. states of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Kentucky]], [[North Carolina]], and [[Virginia]] can be seen, along with the [[Cumberland Gap]] and the [[Great Smoky Mountains]] range, on a clear day.

[[Hang gliding]] from Joppa Mountain was a pastime of many hang gliding enthusiasts around the United States and the world. Hang gliding on Joppa Mountain gained momentum in the mid-1970s and enjoyed considerable popularity until the late 1980s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eteda.org/regional-profile/regional-profile/grainger-county/|title=Grainger County|last=East Tennessee Economic Development Agency|website=ETEDA.org|access-date=April 7, 2020}}</ref>

As of the present day, Buzzard Rock is inaccessible to hang gliders and hikers alike due to the property being closed to the public since the 1990s.

=== Waterways ===
[[File:GCbridgeandmarina.jpg|right|thumb|Marina adjacent to German Creek Bridge on [[Cherokee Lake]]]]
The main source of water in Grainger County is man-made [[Cherokee Lake]].<ref name="soil-nrcs">{{cite web |title=Soil Survey of Grainger County, Tennessee |url=https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/tennessee/TN057/0/tn_grainger.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/tennessee/TN057/0/tn_grainger.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live |website=[[Natural Resources Conservation Service]] |access-date=July 25, 2020 }}</ref> Cherokee Lake was created during the 1940s as part of the [[Tennessee Valley Authority]]’s hydroelectric revitalization project. The lake is fed by multiple sources, including a series of natural creeks and runoff waters. The lake begins with its first source at Poor Valley Creek in Hawkins County, extends through Grainger County and neighboring Hamblen and Jefferson counties. Cherokee Lake ends at [[Cherokee Dam]] where the water is drained into the [[Holston River]] along the Grainger/Jefferson border. In total, Cherokee Lake has 28,780 acres of surface area and extends for 400 miles of shoreline.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cherokee-lake.org/|title=Cherokee Lake|website=CherokeeLake.org|access-date=March 15, 2020}}</ref>

The Holston River below Cherokee Dam continues southwestward along the Grainger/Jefferson border passing the communities of [[New Corinth, Tennessee|New Corinth]], [[Richland, Tennessee|Richland]], and [[Blaine, Tennessee|Blaine]], then crossing into Knox County, with the confluence with the [[French Broad River]] in Knoxville, forming the [[Tennessee River]].<ref name="holstonmap">{{cite web |title=Holston River Map |url=https://jv6.b2e.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/map-Holston-River.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://jv6.b2e.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/map-Holston-River.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live |website=Outside Knoxville |publisher=[[Tennessee Valley Authority]] |access-date=December 14, 2020}}</ref>

In the northern part of the county, the [[Clinch River]] passes through [[Thorn Hill, Tennessee|Thorn Hill]] near the tri-border of Claiborne, Hancock and Grainger counties. The river then traverses northwestward along the Grainger/Claiborne border, flowing into the basin of [[Norris Lake (Tennessee)|Norris Lake]] north of [[Washburn, Tennessee|Washburn]] and [[Liberty Hill, Grainger County, Tennessee|Liberty Hill]].<ref name="TWRAgis">{{cite web |title=TWRA Boating & Fishing Access Sites Map |url=https://twra.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=99260b5ae08f4eb386946f08e1f18d3f |website=[[Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency]] |access-date=December 14, 2020}}</ref> In total, Norris Lake has 33,840 acres of surface area and extends for 809 miles of shoreline that Grainger shares with Union, Claiborne, [[Campbell County, Tennessee|Campbell]], and [[Anderson County, Tennessee|Anderson]] counties.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Norris Lake |url=http://www.norrislake.com/home/about-norris-lake/ |website=norrislake.com |access-date=June 10, 2020}}</ref>

=== Adjacent counties ===
* [[Claiborne County, Tennessee|Claiborne County]] (north)
* [[Hancock County, Tennessee|Hancock County]] (northeast)
* [[Hawkins County, Tennessee|Hawkins County]] (northeast)
* [[Hamblen County, Tennessee|Hamblen County]] (east)
* [[Jefferson County, Tennessee|Jefferson County]] (south)
* [[Knox County, Tennessee|Knox County]] (southwest)
* [[Union County, Tennessee|Union County]] (west)

===State protected areas===
* Buffalo Springs Wildlife Management Area
* Johnson Ridge Small Wildlife Area
* [[Tennessee Valley Authority|TVA]] Noeton Resource Management Area