Balds, Overlooks, & Towers

Balds

As of 4/10/2024, balds have been merged with overlooks in the Tennessee Landforms primary dataset. They are still distinguishable by their names (which all include the word "Bald" somewhere). As they are a subset of the new feature type, overlooks, this made the most sense in terms of simplifying the dataset. They have been reassigned IDs which are consistent with overlooks. For example Big Chestnut Bald, once SVB001, is now SVO001.

Overlooks


Fish Gap Hill Overlook, Obion County; Chuck Sutherland
An update I've been working on for the last week involved adding a lot more overlooks (approximately 100) to the already plentiful data that I had been amassing for years. The current dataset has 165 overlooks (with the inclusion of balds) of various qualities across the state.

For you West Tennessee folks, you'll be excited to see that you actually have some. While on assignment for Roadside Geology of Tennessee many years ago, I had photographed Fish Gap Hill Overlook (OBO001). I've identified two more: Reelfoot Lake Scenic View (OBO002) and Mississippi River Overlook (LUO001) through the use of Google Earth and Google Street View.

Towers

While this dataset is still considered a secondary table to Tennessee Landforms, I am considering its inclusion into future versions of overlooks where towers are still standing. For now, it will remain as is.

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