Geography of Meigs County
The main geographic feature of Meigs County, is its border with the Tennessee River, and TVA Reservoirs. The county lies in the middle of the Tennessee Valley, and is bound completely to the west by the Tennessee River and its reservoirs. The northern third of the county is bound on the West by Watts Bar Lake. While the rest of the county is bound on the west by Chickamauga Lake. The Lower third of the county is divided by the Hiwassee River.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 561 km² (217 mi²). 505 km² (195 mi²) of it is land and 57 km² (22 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 10.11% water. The elevation of the county seat, Decatur is 778 ft (237 m)
Ridge and Valley Appalachians
Meigs County lies within what is known as the Ridge and Valley Appalachians. These mountains are characterized by long, even ridges, with long, continuous valleys in between. From a great enough altitude, they look almost like corduroy, except that the widths of the valleys are somewhat variable and ridges sometimes meet in a vee. The two great mountain ranges constituting the middle portion of the Ridge and Valley Province are the Alleghenies and the Cumberlands. The eastern edge of the Ridge and Valley region is marked by the Great Appalachian Valley, which lies just west of the Blue Ridge. The western side of the Ridge and Valley region is marked by steep escarpments such as the Allegheny Front, the Cumberland Mountains, and Walden Ridge.
New County Boundaries
Chapter 34, Section 1 of the Acts of the 1835-36 State Legislature state: "That a new county be, and the same is hereby established, between the county of McMinn and the Tennessee River, to be known by the name of Meigs County, in honor of Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs, deceased, a patriot and soldier of the Revolution of 1776; to be composed of that part of Rhea County lying south of Tennessee River, and bounded as follows: beginning at a point below William Blythe's on the Tennessee River, where the line divides the counties of Rhea and Hamilton; thence running a southeast course, with said line, dividing the counties of Rhea and Hamilton to Wilson Novius, where the Rhea County line intersects the McMinn County line; thence a northeast course with said McMinn line, to a large ridge above the mouth of Price's Creek; thence with said dividing line between the counties of Rhea and McMinn, to the eight mile tree or stake, near Bottom's Mills, on Sugar Creek; thence a northwest course with the line dividing the counties of Rhea and Roane, at or near the mouth of White's Creek, on the Tennessee River, thence down the main channel of said river to the beginning."
