Shady Valley, Tennessee

Shady Valley
Unincorporated community

A church sits among the mountains of Shady Valley.
Shady Valley

Location within the state of Tennessee

Coordinates: 36°31′09″N 81°55′40″W / 36.51917°N 81.92778°W / 36.51917; -81.92778Coordinates: 36°31′09″N 81°55′40″W / 36.51917°N 81.92778°W / 36.51917; -81.92778
Country  United States
State  Tennessee
County Johnson County
Elevation 849 m (2,785 ft)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 37688
Area code(s) 423
FIPS code 47-67460
GNIS feature ID 1301197[1]

Shady Valley is an unincorporated community in Johnson County in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is just outside Cherokee National Forest. Shady Valley is also the name of the valley in which the town is located, between Holston Mountain on the northwest, and the Iron Mountains to the southeast.

Natural history

After the Pleistocene ice ages, species and ecosystems that had shifted southward often survived in local refugia. As a result, cold-adapted ecosystems, such as cranberry bogs, remain in Shady Valley, far south of their usual range.[2] Shady Valley once contained an estimated 10,000 acres (40 km²) of boreal cranberry bogs.[3]

Recreation

The roads that run in and around the town are popular among motorcyclists since nearby mountains provide nearly 500 curves to navigate.[4] The most popular road for motorcyclists is US-421,[5] which offers many challenging curves.

Economy

Shady Valley has one small general store, in addition to two other small businesses, a U.S. Post Office[6] and the Shady Valley Elementary School.[7]

The town holds its annual Cranberry Festival the second weekend in October with food, a parade and auctions.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Shady Valley, Tennessee". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
  2. ↑ "Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
  3. ↑ Davis, Donald Edward. Where There Are Mountains: An Environmental History of the Southern Appalachians. University of Georgia Press, 2002, p. 13.
  4. ↑ Motorcycle Playground website, archived October 30, 2007
  5. ↑ Johnson County, Tennessee General Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Tennessee Department of Transportation. 2003. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  6. ↑ "Shady Valley Post Office". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
  7. ↑ "Shady Valley Elementary School". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
  8. ↑ Cranberry Festival, Johnson County Chamber of Commerce website, accessed August 22, 2009
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.