How to Use Tennessee Landforms
Dana Koogler
Monday August 27, 2018
Conception and History
I ran across Tennessee landforms when it was still an embryo. It was an index file out there
in cyberspace. I checked it out and was very excited at the realization of what this was going to be.
I remember making a remark about the discovery to a person who at that time was a friend. She
did not have anything good to say about it. She was very ugly about it in fact and said everything out there did not need to be GPSed. She was the kind of person who wanted everyone to have to come to her for knowledge of where things were. It was a type of social currency. I couldn't help laughing when one day I noticed she had submitted a waterfall to the database and gotten credit.
Seems she has come around at last.
I knew what a fantastic resource it had potential to be. I kept up with it from the start.
It became one of the first user sourced databases for land features ever. User sourced means
that the users of the database can also contribute to the information on it. You can make additions
or corrections to the information via Tom. I use it at least weekly.
I am a regular contributor to it whenever I find something good. The creator of Tennessee Landforms database is one Tom Dunigan from Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He is a very nice man
and a list keeper type guy. He worked in systems security for Oak Ridge National Laboratory
until he retired. He was also an adjunct professor of systems security at UT Knoxville.
He had the database hosted on UT's servers until he quit teaching altogether. He is a good
friend who I had the fortune of getting to hike with numerous times over the years. We traded
favors taking each other to off the beaten path features.
Over the years of using the database I have gotten comfortable with it, but it took time.
It hit me that while I mention it frequently in my blog entries and trip reports it may not be
easy to use for others. I decided to write up a blog entry as a tutorial on how to utilize it.
It can be used by everyone for a variety of reasons even if you don't use a global positioning
system. It is more helpful if you do use them and take advantage of the way points for things.
How to Use It
The database catalogs land forms as the name suggests. They are listed as links
on the site's home page.
arches waterfalls rocks peaks balds sinkholes lakes regions county
Other things it catalogs that are not included on this original list of links are:
lookout towers, camp sites in the Great Smoky Mountains, pocket wilderness areas, AT shelters.
He has also subdivided the land features into groupings by region such as Great Smoky Mountains and Big South Fork. Those are very helpful groupings too since they are large and very popular.
I began using it for waterfalls since that is my main most love, but branched out to lookout towers,
arches, and nearly all the rest. Sinkholes is my most recent fascination. For the purpose of learning
to use the database let's stick with waterfalls to start. I will create a scenario that incorporates use of the database to plan a trip.
Let's say I am going camping to Standing Stone State Park in Hilham.
I want to know what there is in the area besides what is listed on the state's website.
I get on Tennessee landforms and click on County. The county for that is Overton.
When I click on the County link it brings up an alphabetized list of counties also as links.
I see Overton and click on it. It brings up a list of land forms non alphabetized.
Each one is a link. When you click on the named form it will take you to the page that displays
the pertinent details for it.
Well, that is what is in the area, but how am I supposed to make sense of all this?
Other things it catalogs that are not included on this original list of links are:
lookout towers, camp sites in the Great Smoky Mountains, pocket wilderness areas, AT shelters.
He has also subdivided the land features into groupings by region such as Great Smoky Mountains and Big South Fork. Those are very helpful groupings too since they are large and very popular.
I began using it for waterfalls since that is my main most love, but branched out to lookout towers,
arches, and nearly all the rest. Sinkholes is my most recent fascination. For the purpose of learning
to use the database let's stick with waterfalls to start. I will create a scenario that incorporates use of the database to plan a trip.
Let's say I am going camping to Standing Stone State Park in Hilham.
I want to know what there is in the area besides what is listed on the state's website.
I get on Tennessee landforms and click on County. The county for that is Overton.
When I click on the County link it brings up an alphabetized list of counties also as links.
I see Overton and click on it. It brings up a list of land forms non alphabetized.
Each one is a link. When you click on the named form it will take you to the page that displays
the pertinent details for it.
Well, that is what is in the area, but how am I supposed to make sense of all this?
I personally do not use this view because it does not give me any idea where these things are
in relation to where I am going. I may not want to spend all weekend running the roads to see stuff, but want to go visit the things closer to the state park.
What I prefer to do is click the waterfalls link. When it opens it brings up an alphabetical list of waterfalls in the state. It also brings up an outline map of the state of Tennessee at the top left of the page. Once I get this view I click on the map on the county I am visiting. It gives me a popup window list of nearby landforms. Then I move on to the next step.
Below is a view of how Google map will appear if you use this view
in relation to where I am going. I may not want to spend all weekend running the roads to see stuff, but want to go visit the things closer to the state park.
What I prefer to do is click the waterfalls link. When it opens it brings up an alphabetical list of waterfalls in the state. It also brings up an outline map of the state of Tennessee at the top left of the page. Once I get this view I click on the map on the county I am visiting. It gives me a popup window list of nearby landforms. Then I move on to the next step.
Hell Hole Falls, OVF004, 3.14 SW Garrets Mill Falls 35', OVF018, 4.98 N Staggs 141', OVS005, 5.12 SW Falling Springs Falls 10', OVF002, 5.69 E Shiloh Falls 9', OVF014, 6.7 SE Rainbow Falls 110', OVF005, 7.26 SE Dry Hollow Arch 15x10, OVA003, 7.37 S Hunter 160', OVS004, 7.39 NW Blue Hole Br Falls 17', OVF009, 7.45 SE Orange Falls 15', OVF012, 7.55 SE Green Falls(2) 30', OVF021, 7.55 SE Gore 111', OVS002, 7.59 N Roaring River Falls 13', OVF011, 8.07 W Hoss 133', OVS003, 8.56 NW Flat Creek Falls 20', OVF003, 8.65 W Wilson Mtn 119', OVS006, 8.7 NW Honey Springs NB 5x2, OVA006, 8.94 SE Triple Falls 110', OVF006, 9.07 NE Morgan Creek Cascade, OVF017, 9.1 NW Grave Flower Cascade 80', OVF023, 9.31 NW Cravenstown Arch 37x12, OVA001, 9.53 E Eagle Creek Falls 40', OVF015, 9.62 N Spring Falls 10', OVF008, 9.72 SE Lick Hollow Arch 60x10, OVA005, 9.76 SE Crawford Arch 9x6, OVA002, 9.79 SE Cane Hollow 107', OVS001, 9.92 S Honey Branch Falls 52', OVF024, 10.18 W Obe Lee Falls, OVF016, 10.21 S Bryans Falls 32', OVF022, 10.22 NW Norrod Lane Falls 20', OVF020, 10.46 SE Big Sunk Cane Falls 70', OVF001, 10.51 SE Swimming Hole Falls 15', OVF019, 10.59 SE Standing Stone Lake, OVL001, 10.71 NW Upper Waterloo Falls 5', OVF013, 10.83 W Hanging Limb Arch 35x9, OVA004, 10.87 SE Waterloo Falls 35', OVF007, 10.97 W Mill Creek Falls 50', PUF007, 11.41 W Burchett Natural Bridge 18x6, CYA001, 11.66 NW West Bow Falls, OVF010, 11.73 W Green Pond Arch, OVA008, 11.74 SE Stinging Nettle Falls 10', FEF017, 11.79 E Big Indian Cr Falls 20', FEF020, 11.88 E Walkers Hollow 100', PUS004, 12.15 S Drum Falls 15', FEF021, 12.77 E Dave Falls 40', JAF011, 12.78 W Alien Falls ?, JAF010, 13.21 W Hardscrabble Falls, JAF009, 13.25 W Hardscrabble Pinnacle, JAR001, 13.25 W Skinner Mountain Triple 10x15, FEA056, 13.6 E Spring Falls, JAF006, 13.6 W google or Tiger (slow) map of nearby landforms. 0.011472225189209 seconds Once I get the pop up window list I start going down the list link by link. I open the google map for each feature to see where it is relative to where I'm staying. I also look to see if there are photos of the feature. Photos help me decide if I want to see it or not. I then look at the top left under the landforms name and waypoints.. to see if it says private? If it does not say private then it is probably ok to visit. I tend to skip over the private stuff to start with. First thing in the list is Hell Hole. It says its a waterfall. No photo of it. Plus it is down below Livingston. I won't try to see that this trip. The second thing in the list is Garretts Mill Falls. It is only 7 miles from Standing Stone State Park. That is close enough. It is not listed as private property. It has photos of it. Wow! Three waterfalls at this one spot. I want to include this in my trip. I take down the waypoint which is listed at the top left under the name of the falls.
Waypoints
36.426174,-85.299450 is the decimal way point for the falls.
Let me take a minute to address way points. GPS coordinates like this are in decimal form.
On the top right of each entry on the landforms database you can see a box with all the various ways
you can list the same way point. Different operating systems use different types.
Decimal is the easiest in my opinion. Coordinates in this form can even be plugged into Google maps
to find something on street view. Most GPS units will use this format and others too. You have to go
into the menu of your unit and change the type you are using. It took us years to figure out
how to do it or that our unit would even do this. I am not going to address GPS use much here.
Maybe in a future tutorial I will hit on this and how to convert GPS way points from one type to another.
Maps
Under the top left portion of the Garrett Mill Falls entry are links to Overton County and
Nearby Landforms. Clicking on Overton County takes you back to the list you got way back at
the start of this tutorial. It is not as helpful seeing as how it is less specific. Nearby landforms .. clicking on this takes you to the second type of list which is a bit more specific, but you are already
using that in the pop up window of waterfalls. You can always come back to this later, and I often do. Moving on down is a list of maps. Each link is to a map that shows where Garrett Mill Falls
is located. The first link is the one I like the best and I'll show you why.
Nearby Landforms. Clicking on Overton County takes you back to the list you got way back at
the start of this tutorial. It is not as helpful seeing as how it is less specific. Nearby landforms .. clicking on this takes you to the second type of list which is a bit more specific, but you are already
using that in the pop up window of waterfalls. You can always come back to this later, and I often do. Moving on down is a list of maps. Each link is to a map that shows where Garrett Mill Falls
is located. The first link is the one I like the best and I'll show you why.
- Google map road/image/topo/terrain with distance/elevation tools
When you click on the Google Map link you will get a google map that indicates where Garrett's Mill Falls is located. Then you can zoom in or out to see where it is relative to where you are staying to figure how to get there and so forth.
If you start out using this view it is very easy to move on to other things you may want to check.
Once you are in this view take a look at the top left of google map. It will have a tab that says MAP with a tiny arrow pointing down. This is the drop down menu box. Clicking on it will give you a drop down selection of lots of various map views you can change to from right here.
Second to Google maps is Satellite view. This is useful when checking to see what the area around
the falls looks like. Are there houses close by? Where might I park if I had to find a place in a pinch?
I will write up another tutorial and I will discuss in more depth the use of satellite view to find the approach to a falls. My second favorite that is way on down the list here is Caltopo. You may have
seen me write about using it in blog entries and trip planning. I love it because it is the most detailed. It is useful in seeing what the topography is like. What is the lay of the land? It also includes many roads or trails not included on Google maps. It sometimes shows VERY old trails that do not exist in reality anymore. That is for another, advanced waterfall hunting tutorial. Tom has given a broad
selection to choose from. Play around changing the view of the map and you'll find what you like best. ArcGis is another really good one. Detailed, but not cluttered and easy on the eyes.
Cal Topo is also good about including cemeteries in its view. You may see a dashed in box and by it Cem. You will also notice tiny black tick marks on the map. Those are man made structures. Always. It is useful to switch back to satellite view to check the reality of those. Some of those black tick marks indicate there USED to be a house there. It may be that all is left is a foundation or a chimney. That is useful to history nuts and chimney hunters and lovers of pioneer junk. Again.. more advanced entry for another time.
Another took included in this view and at the bottom of each map view is Driving Directions.
You can enter your starting location and it will pull you up a printable set of driving instructions!
You can do the same with google maps, but this is just handier since you are here and you don't have to open another tab.
Measuring Distances
Using the various views will give you an idea about how close you can drive to a feature especially using satellite view. But how are you going to measure the distance and know?Tom has thought of everything. If you take a look at the satellite view of Garrett's Mill Falls entry
you may notice that you can see the road is open and for sure there up to a point, but then it is 'ghosted in". It is hard to tell if the road continues in reality? So it is safer to assume that you are only going to be able to bring a vehicle that far. How far are you going to have to walk potentially?
Measuring from the point where the road is ghosted in will give you an idea. Go to that spot with your mouse and left click. It will put a red mark there. You can continue to click and follow the road
out. You can then switch to cal topo view or google maps view and your mark still stays. If you have to park and walk from where the road is ghosted in.. you'll have to walk 0.16 miles. Very doable.
Super easy. As you use the topo maps and different views you will get better at seeing what your walk is going to be like. This will be a fairly easy walk in the open, but you'll have to drop down hill.
Your path will cross topo lines which always means gain or lose elevation.
Elevation Profiles
Another handy dandy tool on Tennessee landforms is the ability to check what your walk will be like. Leave the red line you drew to measure how far you'd walk. Go down under the map view.
Toward the bottom left of the page and you'll see two spots where you can click Track Elevation Profile. I use the lower one because my machine has quit recognizing and opening the upper one.
Click here and you'll get an image of what you'll have to walk. The terrain will go up or down or both. See below.. you'll be climbing around some, but it is short and not too extreme. Only changes by twenty feet or so. Play around with this. It will come to be a more useful tool especially on longer, more difficult treks. Off trail stuff .. man this is essential. 
Clearing a Track
You have marked up your map of the area with a red track to measure distances. How do you get rid of that? Go to the bottom left of the map and see the spot where it says Clear Track. in a little green box. Click here and it removes the red line completely. What if you were drawing your line to measure distance and messed up? Click the green box for Delete Last Point and it will remove your last click. You can do this over and over until you erase all you need to. There is another green box that says Save Track. You can draw your tracks and save them by downloading them to your GPS unit. I have not learned how to do this myself yet.
Our GPS unit is still not talking to our computer so my ability to teach about TN landforms is limited to what I know. One thing about that .. when I learn it I should be a good teacher. When I have to strive to learn something It makes me retain it better and be able to convey it better to others.
Planning the Rest of your trip
I have given you the basics for using this resource. Let's say you want to peruse the rest of the links to stuff in the area around Standing Stone State Park. Just keep working your way through your waterfalls list in the vicinity and repeat the process. Keep the way points and info
on the ones you want. I usually try to pick a few more than I think we'll actually be able to visit. That way if we find out one place is inaccessible or just plain sucks you have back up plans. I have gotten to where I print this info off and save it from one trip to the next.
Below is a photo I took of Garrett's Mill Falls from the time we actually did go see it.
We will have to go back since 1. John did not get to see it yet and 2. Gabriel will want to see it and 3. I loved it and want to re visit.
We are blessed to have a state with lots of interesting geology. Ten thousand caves.
Hundreds of arches. Hundreds of waterfalls. Ancient sink holes some having pit caves in them. Others with arches. Some with waterfalls. Some with ponds of blue water. Tennessee is a beautiful
and interesting place to live. Tom Dunigan has really blessed the world with this fine tool.
I consider it quite a legacy.
I need to learn to download the waypoints to my GPS unit and do all these more advance things.
I feel sure I'll figure it out one day.
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Thanks for reading and commenting. I enjoy hearing from those who read & make use of my blog. I have made some wonderful friendships through emails from readers. I respond to all comments and emails. I appreciate folks reaching out to let me know when my blog entries are not functioning correctly or if the situation somewhere has changed. Many Blessings to you!
Dana 🐝