| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 06/11/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 80 |
| Copyright: Other |
The south at a glance
* ARKANSAS
Description: bordered by the Mississippi River and Delta country to the east, it has huge lakes and state parks.
Top activities: fishing, canoeing and hiking on manywilderness trails.
Top attractions: Ozark Mountains, Blanchard Springs Caverns, Buffalo National River Park, Hot Springs.
History: settled in 1686, Arkansas was also part of the Louisiana Purchase territories.
* WEST VIRGINIA
Description: the most northern of the Southern states, it lies within the Appalachian Mountains with more than 75% covered in forest.
Top activities: golf, white-water rafting, kayaking and winter sports.
Top attractions: historic inns and sites, White Sulphur Springs, Williamstown, Harper’s Ferry National Historic Park.
History: the only US state born of the Civil War.
* ALABAMA
Description: Gulf of Mexico beaches, sub-tropical bayous, lakes of the Appalachian foothills.
Top activities: golf, fishing, boating.
Top attractions: pre-Civil War mansions, Civil Rights museums, US Space and Rocket Centre, Huntsville.
History: occupied by French, Spanish and English colonists from 1702.
* VIRGINIA
Description: the state spans the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains to the Atlantic coast and Chesapeake Bay.
Top activities: golf, hiking, fishing, canoeing, recreational resorts.
Top attractions: colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown, American Civil War trails, Virginia Beach, the Shenandoah Valley and Blue Ridge Parkway.
History: the first permanent English settlement in North America was established at Jamestown in 1607. Most major Civil War battles were fought in the state. The conflict ended here in 1865, following the cessation of the American Revolutionary War in the state in 1781.
* TENNESSEE
Description: plains along the Mississippi, rivers in the west, rolling hills and the Great Smoky Mountains in the east.
Top activities: outdoor pursuits.
Top attractions: Elvis Presley’s Graceland home, Sun Studios, the music clubs on Beale Street and the National Civil Rights Museum, all in Memphis. Also the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville; Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Lynchburg and the ChattanoogaChoo-Choo.
History: Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville rose from their origins in the 1770s as riverside log forts built by pioneering communities which eventually moved west.
* KENTUCKY
Description: most famous for the Bluegrass Region in north-central Kentucky, known for its thoroughbredracehorse breeding.
Top activities: horse racing, including the Kentucky Derby and Breeders Cup, and golf.
Top attractions: Bourbon Trail between Lexington and Louisville, Abraham Lincoln birthplace and boyhood home, Mammoth Cave National Park.
History: settled in 1774 and remained a neutral stateduring the Civil War.
* MISSISSIPPI
Description: comprising the Gulf coast and Mississippi Delta.
Top activities: golf, sailing, casinos, hiking and biking.
Top attractions: the Natchez Trace Parkway, Vicksburg National Military Park, Delta Blues Museum at Clarksdale, Elvis Presley’s birthplace at Tupelo.
History: colonised in 1699, Mississippi joined the US in 1817.
Tennessee: famed for the Chattanooga Choo-Choo
Virginia Beach: a top family resort