Nashville Basin facts for kids
The Nashville Basin, also called the Central Basin, is a special bowl-shaped area in Tennessee. It's where cities like Nashville and Murfreesboro are located. This unique basin was formed by a geological event called an uplift. Imagine a giant bubble pushing up the ground from below! This created a big bump, or dome, known as the Nashville Dome.
Even though it's called a "dome," the area looks like a basin (a low, bowl-shaped landform). This happened because the uplift pushed the rock layers up, causing them to crack. Over millions of years, wind and water slowly wore away (eroded) the higher, cracked rocks faster than the surrounding flatter areas. This erosion created the lower, basin-like shape we see today. So, a "dome" actually led to a "basin"! Geologists sometimes call this area the "Central Dome" of Tennessee.
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Where is the Nashville Basin?
Nashville sits in the northwest part of the Central Basin. The basin stretches about 45 to 60 miles east of Nashville. It also extends about 80 miles south, reaching close to the Alabama state line.
If you travel north or east from Nashville, you'll soon start climbing. This climb takes you up a steep slope called an escarpment. This slope marks the edge of the basin and leads to a higher area called the Highland Rim. Further east, you'll find the Cumberland Plateau. The southern edge of the Highland Rim is farther away and not as steep. The only way to go downhill when leaving the basin is by following the Cumberland River. It flows northwest towards Ashland City and Clarksville, Tennessee.
Rocks and Unique Features
The ground beneath the Central Basin is mostly made of limestone. This limestone formed during a very old time period called the Ordovician Period. The Nashville Basin and a similar, smaller area in Lexington, Kentucky, called the "Kentucky Bluegrass" area, are two of the most important places in the world with this kind of geology.
Inner Basin and Horse Farms
The flattest part of the Nashville Basin is called the Inner Basin. It's mostly south and east of Nashville. This area includes counties like Marshall, Rutherford, Wilson, and Bedford. Here, you'll see many horse farms, much like those in Kentucky's Bluegrass region. People believe the limestone rock breaks down into a special soil. This soil is perfect for growing the types of grasses that horses love to eat.
Limestone Glades
To the east of Nashville, mainly in Wilson and Rutherford Counties, you can find unique areas called limestone glades or cedar glades. These are open spaces where the flat limestone rock is exposed. There's very little soil covering the rock. This creates a special environment for plants that you won't find anywhere else in the world!
See also
In Spanish: Cuenca de Nashville para niños
