Sewanee Natural Bridge in

Franklin County, Tennessee Franklin County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located on the eastern boundary of Middle Tennessee in the southern part of the state. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,052. Its county seat is Winchester. Franklin ...

, is a 25 feet (8 m) high natural sandstone arch with a span of 50 feet (15 m). It is essentially a giant

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

partially eroded to form a large stone bridge. A wet weather spring located behind the bridge in a rock cave probably contributed to the erosion forming the arch. It is called the Sewanee Natural Bridge as it was once owned by the

University of the South The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by 28 southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, and its School of Theology is an official seminary of ...

Sewanee, Tennessee Sewanee () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,535 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Tullahoma, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area. Sewanee is best known as the home of ...

. It is a 3-acre (12,000 m²) designated state natural area. The natural area is accessed via Highway Alt. 41. In Sewanee turn south onto Highway 56 and proceed 2.5 miles (4 km) to Natural Bridge Road. Turn left onto Natural Bridge Road and proceed ½ mile (800 m) to the parking area.

In popular culture

The Silver Jews Silver Jews were an American indie rock band from New York City, formed in 1989 by David Berman alongside Pavement members Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich. Berman was the only constant band member. During the last few albums, Cassie Berman ...

named their album

The Natural Bridge ''The Natural Bridge'' is the second studio album by indie rock group the Silver Jews. Released in 1996 as an LP and CD on Drag City (DC101) in America and Domino (WIG28) in Europe, ''The Natural Bridge'' was engineered and mixed by Michael De ...

after it.

External links

Picture presentation of area around bridgeSewanee Natural BridgeTopo Map of Natural Bridge
(pdf) * Tennesse
arches and natural bridges
{{coord, 35.153705, -85.921497, display=title Protected areas of Franklin County, Tennessee Landmarks in Tennessee Natural arches of Tennessee Nature reserves in Tennessee Landforms of Franklin County, Tennessee