Dates and statistics that define life in Chattanooga

Just as no single patch of fabric can make a quilt, there is no one number that can satisfactorily sum up a community.

Like all cities, Chattanooga isn't a lone integer but a complex equation. The statistics below, then, are by no means a comprehensive summation of Chattanooga, but together, they represent at least a slim cross section of life in the Scenic City.

And some of them are pretty strange.

WEATHER

107: Historic high temperature (June 30 and July 1, 2012).

Minus 10: Historic low temperature (Jan. 21, 1985, Jan. 31, 1966 and Feb. 13, 1899).

48: Average number of days with a high temperature at or above 90 degrees.

58: Average number of days with low temperatures at or below freezing.

9.49: Most rain, in inches, during a single day (Sept. 5, 2011).

52: Average annual rainfall in inches.

73.7: Rainfall, in inches, during 1994, the city's rainiest year.

55: Average days with thunderstorms.

27: Average days with dense fog.

5.1: Highest snowfall, in inches, to fall on Christmas Day (on Dec. 25, 1969).

18.5: Highest amount of snow, in inches, that fell on the city's snowiest day (March 13, 1993).

GEOGRAPHY

635: Altitude, in feet, of the Tennessee River downtown.

2,389: Highest point, in feet, on Lookout Mountain.

81: Distance, in miles, from the center of downtown to the geographic center of Tennessee.

137.15: Land area of Chattanooga in square miles.

6: Number of Chattanooga's "sister cities" (Hamm and Wolfsburg, Germany; Givatayim, Israel; Nizhnii Tagil, Russia; Wuxi, China; and Gangneung, Republic of Korea).

100: Number of windows, per floor, in the 21-story Republic Centre, Chattanooga's tallest building.

26: Length, in miles, of the Tennessee River Gorge, which begins five miles downstream from Chattanooga.

277: Length, in miles, of the Grand Canyon.

PEOPLE

12,000: Time span, in years, of human habitation at Moccasin Bend, according to archaeological evidence.

2,500: Estimated population of Chattanooga in 1863.

171,279: Population of Chattanooga in 2012.

36.24: Median age of Chattanooga residents in 2012.

79,607: Housing units in Chattanooga in 2012.

$134,700: Median value of the city's owner-occupied residences in 2012.

$47,667: Median household income in Hamilton County (2012).

$40,116: Median household income in Chattanooga (2012).

15: Percentage of population living below poverty level in Hamilton County (2012).

21.2: Percentage of population living below poverty level in Chattanooga (2012).

18.3: Mean travel time, in minutes, to work for Chattanoogans (2007-2011).

1,222.5: Population density per square mile in Chattanooga in 2010.

16,000: Approximate population density in Tokyo, Japan, in 2011.

HISTORY

1816: Date Cherokee chief John Ross and his brother Lewis Ross established Ross's Landing.

1838: Date that Ross's Landing officially became known as Chattanooga.

15,000: Estimated number of Cherokee who passed through Chattanooga during the Trail of Tears forced relocation in the 1830s.

12,400: Combined casualties during the Battle of Missionary Ridge that ended the Confederate siege of Chattanooga on Nov. 25, 1863.

760: Number of days Chattanooga was occupied by Union forces during the Civil War (Sept. 9, 1863-Oct. 7, 1865)

12,800: Approximate number of Civil War soldiers buried in Chattanooga's National Cemetery, America's first national cemetery when it was established in 1867.

TOURISM

72.7: Degrees of angle on the Incline Railway at its steepest point.

3,200: Approximate vertical distance traveled, in feet, per round trip on the Incline Railway.

4,400: Total altitude change, in miles, covered each year by all Incline Railway cars.

260: Depth, in feet, of Leo Lambert when he discovered the crevice leading to Ruby Falls.

425,000: Estimated combined number of annual visitors to Rock City and Ruby Falls.

59: Average year-round temperature in the Ruby Falls cavern.

1927: Year Lookout Mountain's Garnet Carter patented "Tom Thumb Golf," one of the earliest forms of miniature golf.

$2,000: Prize for winning first place at the first National Tom Thumb Open Miniature Golf Tournament held on Lookout Mountain in 1930.

$27,975: Equivalent value in 2013 dollars.

$1,000: Cash prize for the U.S. Open golf championship in 1931.

900: Number of barns in 19 states that once were painted by Clark Byers with the slogan "See Rock City."

$15: Price paid in 1937 for a pair of rhesus monkeys for the then-newly established Chattanooga Zoo.

166: Number of species at the zoo now.

12: Number of species at the zoo that are endangered in the wild.

1: Number of species at the zoo now extinct in the wild (kihansi spray toads).

795: Number of species on display at the Tennessee Aquarium.

2.2 million: Number of mysid shrimp fed each year to the aquarium's 100 seahorses.

200: Pounds of macadamia nuts eaten annually by the aquarium's macaws.

618,000: Gallons of saltwater in the Secret Reef Exhibit, the largest tank at the aquarium.

ARTS

80 feet: Approximate height of the rock bluff that the Hunter Museum of American Art sits on overlooking the Tennessee River.

5,000: Approximate number of pieces in the Hunter's permanent collection.

7: Number of months it took for Glen Miller Orchestra's "Chattanooga Choo Choo" to reach the No. 1 spot on the pop charts (Dec. 7, 1941).

20: Approximate age of Bessie "Empress of the Blues" Smith when she left Chattanooga in 1912 as part of a traveling minstrel troupe.

43: Bessie Smith's age when she died in 1937.

5,639: Attendees at this year's Bessie Smith Strut.

$9.5 billion: Total ticket sales for films starring Chattanooga-born Samuel L. Jackson, the Guinness World Records holder for actor with highest career box office sales.

$9.3 billion: Combined gross domestic products of Fiji, Liberia and the Cayman Islands.

8: Grammy Awards won by Chattanooga-born Usher Raymond IV.

53: Percentage of the 55 musicians in the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera who play stringed instruments.

$2.2 million: Approximate annual operating budget of the CSO.

87: Number of musicians that performed with the CSO in 2012 during Mahler 5, the ensemble's largest concert.

93: Number of bands that played at Riverbend this year.

50,000: Approximate number of admission pins sold for Riverbend in 2011.

107,200: Number of tickets sold to concerts at Track 29 since it opened September 2011.

22: Number of sell-out shows at Track 29 since 2011.

TRANSPORTATION

101: Number of "wildlife strike incidents" occurring at Lovell Field Airport in the last five years.

46: Number of those incidents involving mourning doves.

1890: Construction date for the Walnut Street Bridge.

2,376: The span, in feet, of the Walnut Street Bridge.

15: Number of years the bridge was closed to traffic before reopening in 1993 as pedestrian-only.

3 million: Approximate number of passengers carried annually by the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority.

31: Number of stations in the Chattanooga Bicycle Transit System network.

1908: Year the Chattanooga Choo Choo terminal was built.

85: Height, in feet, of the dome in the terminal lobby.

50: Number of trains served every day at the Chattanooga terminal at its height before passenger service ended on Aug. 11, 1970.

880: Length, in miles, of surfaces maintained by the Hamilton County Highway Department.

38: Number of deaths in 2012 due to vehicle collisions in Hamilton County.

209: Vehicle/deer collisions in Hamilton County in 2012.

17: Position of Tennessee on the League of American Bicyclists list of bike-friendly states.

32: Number of vehicle collisions with bicyclists in Hamilton County in 2012.

TECHNOLOGY

3,859: Twitter followers of Mayor Andy Berke (@AndyBerke).

63,885: Twitter followers of Little Debbie (@LittleDebbie).

55,000: EPB customers who have subscribed to the utility's fiber optic Internet, TV and phone service as of 2013.

$10 million: Estimated cost to provide a tablet device to every student in Hamilton County by 2014.

13.1: Power, in gigawatt hours, generated by the 33-acre, 33,600-module solar park at Volkswagen's Chattanooga assembly plant.

152,400: Number of Volkswagen Passats produced by the factory in 2012.

EDUCATION

82.7: Percentage of Chattanoogans who have attained at least a high school diploma.

25.6: Percent of Chattanoogans who have a college degree.

1893: Date The Baylor School was founded.

1905: Date McCallie School was founded.

1906: Date Girls Preparatory School was founded.

78: Number of schools in the Hamilton County system.

2,952: Number of teachers employed in Hamilton County in 2012.

41,214: Number of students enrolled in the Hamilton County system in 2012.

18.9: Average ACT score in Hamilton County in 2012.

19.2: Statewide average ACT score in 2012.

81.2: Percentage of Hamilton County seniors who graduated in 2012.

12,500: Estimated current enrollment at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

143,268: Number of books in the Chattanooga Public Library branch downtown.

4,131: Number of e-books in the Chattanooga Public Library system.

HEALTH

3: Position of Chattanooga on the Asthma and Allergy Foundation's 2013 list of the 10 worst places for spring allergy sufferers.

16.8: Percentage of the white population in Hamilton County who were age 65 or older in 2010.

4,047: Live births in Hamilton County in 2011.

9.7: Infant mortality rate in Hamilton County per 1,000 births (2010).

59: Percentage of Hamilton County teens who spend three hours or more a day watching TV, playing video games or using computers.

20: Percent of Hamilton County teens who reported being bullied in school.

266,648: Outpatient visits to the Erlanger hospital system (fiscal year 2011-2012).

55,000: Number of TennCare enrollees in Hamilton County (2013).

5.4: Number of hospital beds, per 1,000 residents, that are available in Hamilton County (2012).

97.8: Number of primary care physicians available in the county, per 1,000 residents (2012).

30: Percentage of Hamilton County residents who are obese (2013).

RELIGION

125: Height, in feet, of the tallest of three crosses erected at The Crossing Church in East Brainerd in August.

122,300: Membership numbers in Hamilton County of the Southern Baptist Convention, the city's most populous religious group (2010).

8,958: Sunday services held at First Presbyterian Church since its founding on June 21, 1840.

6,710: Members of Abba's House, Chattanooga's largest church congregation (as of 2010).

60.3: Percentage of Hamilton County residents who are members of a particular religious body (2012).

FOOD

1932: Date the first Krystal restaurant opened on Cherry and Seventh streets.

103: World record number of Krystal hamburgers eaten in eight minutes by Joey "Jaws" Chestnut" during the 2007 Krystal Square Off competition in Chattanooga.

4: Awards won at the World Beer Cup (in 1998, 2002 and 2004) by Big River Grille and Brewing Works beers.

41: Number of brewers who had suds on tap at this year's Southern Brewers Festival.

1,000: Annual brewing capacity, in 31-gallon barrels, of the Chattanooga Brewing Co.

1 million: Approximate number of MoonPies made at the Chattanooga Bakery every day.

14: Pounds of marshmallow used in "the world's largest MoonPie," a 55-pound, 40-inch wide, 45,000-calorie behemoth the Chattanooga Bakery prepares for special events and festivals.

1,500: Estimated number of farms within 100 miles of Chattanooga.

28: Number of downtown restaurants, farmers markets and food artisans that use regionally grown ingredients.

Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205. Follow him on Twitter at @PhillipsCTFP.

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