At this stage the immediate topography of Chattanooga and its vicinity became important in determining the military movements. Looking at the relief map it will be seen that the city lies at the western side of the great valley close to where the river breaks into the plateau. It winds through Sand Mountain in a deep gorge which narrows in places, making the current so swift that an ordinary steamboat could not ascend without aid from teams or men on the shore. When the river reaches a long, narrow trough, called the Sequatchie valley, it takes this easier path and flows sixty miles before again crossing the plateau in its indirect course to the Ohio. Near the city the river flows to Lookout Mountain and then doubles on itself, flowing northwesterly,
almost parallel to its course, for several miles. This is the famous Moccasin bend, so called, of course, from its rough resemblance to an Indian's moccasin. At the apex of the bend towers Lookout Mountain, the most conspicuous feature of the vicinity. Geologically it is a part of the plateau from which it is separated by a narrow erosion valley. It is capped by a sandstone stratum which slopes to the south, where it finally merges into the general level in Alabama. Its bold profile against the sky at once attracts the eye, and the name is decidedly appropriate, since on a clear day several states can be seen from the summit. The ridge, for so it must be called instead of 'mountain,'
