Claude Suttle's Photos of Lookout Mountain

Lookout Mountain is one of two 1500-foot escarpments that overlook the city of Chattanooga, some 120 miles to the northwest of Atlanta.(The second is Walden Ridge, which is often mistakenly called Signal Mountain, after the town of that name.)


The two ridges mark the southern boundary of the Cumberland Mountains. Both have plateaus at their tops and both run for many miles in a NE-to-SW direction.

Lookout Mountain is the more famous, of course, as it features the tourist attractions Rock City and Ruby Falls, Point Park, which commemorates Civil War "Battle Above the Clouds," the historic Cravens House, and an inclined railway. There's also a delightful little village at the summit.

You Gotta Love the Drive to the Summit of Lookout Mountain!

The northermost edge of Lookout Mountain offers superb views of the city below. The picture at the top of this post shows the historic Moccasin Bend of the Tennessee River.

Here's another of Mr. Suttle's photos of Moccasin Bend...

... and here's a recent image:

Thiis is a view of Chattanooga from the summit. Notice the train yard at center right:

Here's another view from the summit:

And finally, a photo that at first mystified me. The flat-topped mountain at center right suggests it was taken in the Cumberlands. After a look at Google Earth I realized the photo shows the Tennessee River as it splits around Williams Island, which sits three miles downstream from Moccasin Bend.

In the Google Earth image below, note the shape of the island and the fringe of trees around the edges of the island. Yeah, It's Williams Island, all right.

More on Lookout Mountain in my next post.