Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. Tennessee is bordered by Kentucky and Virginia to the north, North Carolina to the east, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the south, and Arkansas and Missouri to the west. Nashville is the state capital; other major cities are Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Murfreesboro, Jackson, Johnson City, Franklin, and Hendersonville. It entered the Union on June 1, 1796 and is the 16th state of the U.S.