Tipton County /

Tipton County is a county located on the western end of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 51,271. Its county seat is Covington. Tipton County is part of the Memphis, TN–MS–AR Metropolitan Statistical Area, centered on Shelby County, which borders Tipton on the south. The major north-south route, U.S. Highway 51, bisects Tipton County into a western half and eastern half, and passes through Covington. The western boundary of Tipton County is the Mississippi River, where Tennessee meets Arkansas; however, in several places where the river's course was altered by the 1812 New Madrid earthquake, the boundary still follows the old alignment of the river, with the result that a few of Tipton County's communities — including Reverie and Corona — are exclaved on the Arkansas side, rather than the Tennessee side, of the river. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 475 square miles (1,230 km²), of which 459 square miles (1,190 km²) is land and 15 square miles (40 km²) (3.23%) is water. Tipton County is situated on the southeastern edge of the New Madrid Seismic Zone, an area with a high earthquake risk. From about 10,000 BCE,