Location & Geography Of Sparta - White County Tennessee

Sparta, County Seat of White, is located in the heart of the Upper Cumberland area in Middle Tennessee at a junction of Hwy 70 a Tennessee Heritage Trail called the historic “Broadway of America” and the Appalachian North-South Highway 111 just 15 miles south of I-40. Exact location is Latitude (north) 35 degrees/56 minutes/04 seconds, Longitude (west) 85 degrees/28minutes/23 seconds, Elevation 925 feet above sea level with 6.25 square miles of land area.

White County is located on the eastern border of Middle Tennessee. About 4/5 of White County’s landscape is part of the Eastern Highland Rim Physiographic Province and is underlain by limestone and shales of the Mississippian Period. The remaining 1/5 is found on the Cumberland Plateau, which is underlain by Pennsylvanian Age sandstones, shales and conglomerates.

The Highland Rim region, occupying all of the western and central area of the county, is a rolling landscape of widely scattered hills, shallow stream valleys, and large expanses of relatively level areas. Although several large and massive hills rise above the landscape west and north of Sparta, the average elevation of this region ranges from 900-1100 feet, Golden and Gum Springs Mountains, situated north and west of Sparta, respectively, have high elevations that are over 1500 to 1600 feet. Both of these massive hills were once part of the Cumberland Plateau to the east; but over a long period of time, stream erosion has lowered and separated them from this physiographic region.

Relief on the Highland Rim varies from less than 50 feet to over 200 feet. Both Golden and Gum Springs Mountains have a relief of over 600 feet above the surrounding Highland Rim tableland. Relief is generally shallow and not steep, even near major drainage ways. The only appreciable stream gorge found in this region is on the Caney Fork River as it flows northward along the county's southwest border. This part of the river is approximately 260 feet below the Highland Rim surface.

In areas where soluble limestones underlie the terrain, conspicuous and widespread karst features have developed. Sinkholes, springs, disappearing streams, and sizeable cave systems are all found throughout the region and are especially prominent in the Calfkiller Valley and in the area north of the Caney Fork River. Sinkholes near the communities of Quebeck and Doyle are so widespread and numerous that the landscape presents a lumpy appearance.

The Cumberland Plateau region is a highly dissected upland area that is found along the county’s eastern side. The elevation of this tableland varies from 1850 to 2000 feet while relief is usually less than 100 feet. Hills and ridges rising above the plateau surface are usually low-lying and, in many places, almost non-existent.

The Cumberland Plateau escarpment separates the Highland Rim region from the plateau itself and represents the most rugged terrain in the county. Large and deeply cut stream valleys and massive outliers projecting outward from the main body of the plateau are characteristic of the region of the county. The largest stream valleys that have cut back into the plateau include the upper part of the Caney Fork and the Calfkiller River. Both of these valleys have floors that are approximately 1000 feet in elevation which puts them 800 to 100 feet below the plateau’s rim.

Burnett Mountain, situated on the Putnam-White County line, and Pine Mountain, located south of the Lost Creek area, are the largest outliers in the region. Both of these mountains, although slightly detached from the plateau by stream erosion, are over 1800 feet in elevation. Slopes found on the escarpment range from moderately steep to very steep and form massive sandstone cliffs that are as much as 100 feet high just below the rim of the plateau.

White County is drained entirely by the Caney Fork River and its tributaries of which the Calfkiller River is the most important. The Caney Fork River flows in a westward direction across the southern border of the county before turning northward at the southwest corner. The Calkiller River drains a large part of the county’s central area as it flows southward to connect with the Caney Fork southeast of Doyle. Other major tributaries of the Caney Fork include Falling Water River at the Putnam-White County line, Taylors Creek, Hickory Creek and Lost Creek. Drainage in White County generally flows east to west.

The highest elevation, 2009 feet, is found in the east-central area of the county on top of a small knob located immediately to the west of Clifty Creek. This point is situated 1.9 miles east-northeast of the rural community of DeRossett. (DeRossett 332 NE)

The lowest elevation, 648 feet, is found on the Caney Fork River along the southwest border of the county. This is the normal pool level of Center Hill Lake(Sligo Bridge 327 NW)

White County has a total of 379.39 square miles, 376.58 square miles of land and 2.80 square miles in water.

All of this has created a beautiful setting for some of the most fabulous waterfalls in the southeast. Promoted as the Land of Falling Water we are proud of the Bridgestone/Firestone Centennial Wilderness Polly’s Branch Falls, Virgin Falls State Natural Area, Lost Creek Falls, Burgess Falls State Park, Rock Island State Park’s Twin Falls and many more within a few miles.