Tanasi Monument
Tanasi Monument is a historic site in Tennessee, at a modelled elevation of 249 m. Rockstack stands 1,335 m to the south-southeast, 12 miles off. The nearest named place is Chota Monument, a historic site 0.5 miles away. Cherohala Skyway passes 11 miles off.
The story
Tanasi (Cherokee: ᏔᎾᏏ, romanized: Tanasi; also rendered Tanase, Tenasi, Tenassee, Tunissee, Tennessee, and other such variations) was a historic Overhill settlements site in present-day Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The village became the namesake for the state of Tennessee. It was abandoned by the Cherokee in the 19th century for a rising town whose chief was more powerful. Tanasi served as the de facto capital of the Overhill Cherokee from as early as 1721 until 1730, when the capital shifted to Great Tellico. The Cherokee town of Chota developed immediately north of and later than Tanasi. The two sites were divided by an unnamed stream. By the 1740s, Chota had become the more prominent of the two towns, holding the townhouse where the community met, and chiefs would meet with colonial emissaries. Although Chota and Tanasi had distinct political, social, and demographic traits, research excavators in the late 1960s determined that the two towns are archaeologically indistinguishable. They were among the numerous Overhill Towns, as called by English colonists, who traveled over the Appalachian Mountains from the east to reach them. The two towns are grouped as a single listing on the National Register of Historic Places, although Tanasi was given its own site designation (40MR62) in 1972. Both sites were submerged by the creation of Tellico Reservoir, after completion of a dam on the Little Tennessee River in 1979. Archeological surveys were conducted of these sites in the 1970s prior to their flooding, and thousands of artifacts were recovered. In the 1980s, the Tennessee Valley Authority placed a monument on the shoreline above the submerged site of Tanasi that commemorates its history and its legacy as the origin of the name Tennessee. This monument is approximately 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Vonore, just off Highway 455 (Citico Road). The site is managed by the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q265234, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What to expect
- Access
- Yes
How to reach it
- 11.3 mi off the Cherohala Skyway, National
- 12.5 mi off the Indian Lakes Scenic Byway
- 28.1 mi off the Nantahala Byway
Overlooks nearby
- Stratton Ridge · 16 mi
- Whig Cove · 17 mi
- Haw Knob · 17 mi
- Santeetlah Overlook · 18 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Harrison Branch Recreation Area: 2.0 mi
- Citico Recreation Area: 2.5 mi
- Tallassee Recreation Area: 3.4 mi
- Toqua Recreation Area: 3.9 mi
- Ballplay Recreation Area: 4.3 mi
- Buzzard Roost: 2.4 mi
- Citico Mountain: 3.5 mi
- Flagpole Hill: 3.6 mi
- Short Mountain: 3.7 mi
- Butler Mountain: 4.0 mi
- Lower Falls: 10.9 mi
- Wildcat Falls: 11.1 mi
- Aiken Branch Falls: 13.0 mi
- Bear Creek Falls: 13.4 mi
- Bear Creek Falls (Cheoah): 13.4 mi
- Turkeypen Bluff: 4.4 mi
- Bolden Knight Bluff: 5.6 mi
- Crowder Bluff: 7.3 mi
- Morton Bluff: 7.4 mi
- Morton Bluff: 7.4 mi
- Chota Monument: 0.5 mi
- Fort Loudoun: 5.4 mi
- McGhee: 6.3 mi
- Morganton: 8.6 mi
- Tellico Plains Veterans Memorial: 16.0 mi
- Greenback Castle: 5.4 mi
- Tree of Shame: 13.0 mi
- Maryville Greenbelt Amphitheater: 16.7 mi
- The Lost Sea: 17.1 mi
- Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest: 17.3 mi
- Sequoyah Birthplace Museum: 5.4 mi
- Greenback Heritage Museum: 8.1 mi
- Charles Hall Museum: 15.8 mi
- Cades Cove Preservation Association & Cades Cove Museum: 17.1 mi
- Carmichael Inn Museum: 17.7 mi
- Look Rock Picnic Area: 12.0 mi
- Cades Cove Covered Picnic Shelter: 20.3 mi
- Cades Cove Picnic Area: 20.4 mi
- Saratoga Pavillion: 21.2 mi
- Poplar Spring: 16.0 mi
- Ebb and Flow Spring: 19.0 mi
- Hardin Spring: 19.0 mi
- Herron Spring: 23.6 mi
- Calderwood: 8.6 mi
- Proctor: 23.1 mi
- Cheeyo Park: 11.9 mi
- Sam Houston Statue: 16.3 mi
- Cherohala Skyway restroom/trail head: 18.4 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 12.9 miles of Tanasi Monument. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rockstack | SSE 149° | 1,335 m | 12.3 mi |
| Big Fodderstack | SSE 149° | 1,321 m | 11.0 mi |
| Chestnut Knob | SSE 149° | 1,319 m | 12.9 mi |
| Brush Mountain | SSE 159° | 1,218 m | 12.9 mi |
| Ikes Peak | SSE 160° | 1,155 m | 12.1 mi |
| Ikes Peak | SSE 160° | 1,155 m | 12.1 mi |
| Little Fodderstack | SE 138° | 1,137 m | 9.3 mi |
| Cold Spring Knob | SE 135° | 1,056 m | 12.4 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:41 | 19:15 | 19:49 |
| June solstice | 06:22 | 20:18 | 20:56 |
| September equinox | 07:25 | 19:01 | 19:35 |
| December solstice | 07:43 | 16:48 | 17:28 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 38 | 42 | 49 | 57 | 64 | 71 | 74 | 73 | 68 | 58 | 48 | 41 |
| Precip in | 5.4 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 5.5 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Tapoco, 13 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
National Register of Historic Places, reference 73001813OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/11406564055
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