Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers.

Memphis had a population of 672,277 in 2011 making it the largest city in the state of Tennessee, the largest city on the Mississippi River, the third largest in the Southeastern United States, and the 20th largest in the United States. The greater Memphis metropolitan area, including adjacent counties in Mississippi and Arkansas, had a 2010 population of 1,316,100.This makes Memphis the second largest metropolitan area in Tennessee, surpassed only by metropolitan Nashville, which has overtaken Memphis in recent years. Memphis is the youngest of Tennessee’s major cities. A resident of Memphis is referred to as a Memphian, and the Memphis region is known, particularly to media outlets, as “Memphis & The Mid-South”.

Geography

Memphis is located in southwestern Tennessee at 35°7′3″N 89°58′16″W.According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 324.0 square miles (839.2 km2), of which 315.1 square miles (816.0 km2) is land and 9.0 square miles (23.2 km2), or 2.76%, is water.

Cityscape

Downtown Memphis rises from a bluff along the Mississippi River, and the city sprawls outward over southwest Tennessee and into northern Mississippiand eastern Arkansas. Several large parks are scattered through the city, notably Overton Park in Midtown and the 4,500 acres (18 km2) Shelby Farms. The city is a national transportation hub and Mississippi River crossing for Interstate 40, (east-west), Interstate 55 (north-south), barge traffic, Memphis International Airport (FedEx’s “SuperHub” facility) and numerous freight railroads that serve the city.

 

Surrounding Areas Include:

Bartlette, Cordova, Collierville, Arlington, Southhaven, Germantown, East Memphis, Hickory Hill, and Midtown.