Chattanooga

City in southeastern Tennessee, USA, on the Tennessee River near the Georgia border; seat of Hamilton County; population (2000 est) 155,600. Chattanooga is the centre of the Tennessee Valley Authority area. European settlement began here in 1835, and the city developed as a river port and a centre for salt-trading; it now produces chemicals, textiles, and metal products. Chattanooga was laid out in 1851 and incorporated as a city in 1893.

History Originally an American Indian settlement, the name Chattanooga derives from a Cherokee phrase meaning ‘pointed rock’ (which might refer to nearby Lookout Mountain). In 1838 the Cherokee inhabitants were forcibly removed from Chattanooga; during their subsequent trek to Oklahoma, known as the ‘Trail of Tears’, over 4,000 people died from hunger and disease. In 1863, during the Civil War, Chattanooga was the scene of fierce conflict between Union and Confederate forces; Union forces captured the town from the Confederacy in that year. Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park commemorates this series of battles and is among Chattanooga's 87 entries on the national register of historic places.

Chattanooga is the seat of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (1886) and Tennessee Temple University (1946); the Hunter Museum of Art is also located here.