The instant allure of Gorham’s Bluff is obvious: the view is spectacular. Hundreds of feet below, the mighty Tennessee River cuts a wide green valley through the landscape. Birds of prey circle over Coon Gulf, a smooth body of water brought about when the Tennessee Valley Authority dammed the river in the 1930s. It is almost impossible to stand at the edge, take everything in—the sheer scope and mass and immensity of it all—and not be dazzled. And it is easy to ascribe that feeling to sheer, raw natural beauty. But that is just a fraction of what makes Gorham’s Bluff so compelling.

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