Chattanooga is located in
Hamilton County and it is the county seat. It lies southeast of
Nashville on the banks of the Tennessee River. The population estimate for July 1, 1998 was 147,790, a decrease of 4,603 since 1990. The city is the fourth largest in the state.
Chattanooga is named after the Creek Indian name for present-day Lookout Mountain. The first inhabitants of the area were the Chickamauga, a branch of the Cherokees. The first white settlement was known as Ross's Landing, with the present name being adopted when the city was incorporated in 1839.
The population of Chattanooga was 5,545 at the outbreak of the Civil War and around 1,500 at its conclusion. It grew rapidly after the war, and again in the 1930s after the establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
An extensive greenbelt, which includes five miles of constructed riverwalk, begins downtown and winds through several parks and the city's historic art district.
Chattanooga is part of the Chattanooga, Tennessee-Georgia metro area.
