Natural
Regions
Kentucky is located in
the central eastern half of the United States and covers an area of
40,411 square miles or 104,664 square kilometers, which makes it the
37th largest state in terms of land
area.
Our climate produces
warm to hot summers and cool to cold winters. Temperatures are generally
slightly cooler in the northern and eastern parts of the state, but
otherwise do not vary a great deal from region to
region.
Our state contains
portions of three major natural regions of the United States: The
Appalachian Plateau; The Interior Low Plateau; and the Gulf Coastal
Plain. These three regions are further divided into physiographic
regions within the boundaries of Kentucky - the Cumberland Plateau; the
Bluegrass Region; the Knobs; the Pennyroyal Region; and the Jackson
Purchase.
The
Cumberland
Plateau
The
Cumberland Plateau is a section of the Appalachian Mountains that covers
much of western West Virginia and eastern Kentucky, stretching in a band
through Tennessee into northern Alabama. Also referred to as the
Cumberland Mountains, or just "The Cumberlands", the tallest peak in
this range of mountains is Black Mountain in Harlan County, Kentucky.
(Black Mountain is also the tallest mountain within the state of
Kentucky.
Another prominent
mountain ridge of the Appalachians in this area is Pine Mountain, which
extends 93 miles, or 150 km, and forms part of the Kentucky-Virgina
boundary line.
The Eastern
Coal Fields region is part of the Cumberland Plateau, but is sometimes
separated in geographical sources as an additional physiographic region
of Kentucky. True to its name, coal deposits are abundant in the area
and coal mining is the major industry.
The Cumberland Plateau
encompasses all or part of 35 Kentucky counties.
Major rivers in
the area are the Big Sandy, Cumberland, Licking, and the Kentucky.
Some places where you can
observe the natural features of this region closeup are in the state
and national
parks in the area: Breaks Interstate Park; Buckhorn Lake State
Resort Park; Carter Caves State Resort Park; Cumberland Gap National
Historic Park; Greenbo Lake State Resort Park; Jenny Wiley State Resort
Park; and Pine Mountain State Resort Park; among
others.
The
Bluegrass
Region
The
Bluegrass Region of Kentucky is made up of the Inner and Outer Bluegrass
and covers approximately one-fifth of the state. The region is known for
its rich deposits of limestone. The limestones contain phospate
materials which are natural fertilizers and are believed to be part of
the reason the world's finest horses
are raised in this area.
This section of the state was the most quickly settled when Europeans
first came to Kentucky and now is home to half of the state's total
population. The capital city of Frankfort,
the city of Lexington,
the urban area of northern
Kentucky, and most of the city of Louisville
are located in the
region.
Much of the region
is drained by the Kentucky, Licking and Salt rivers
and their
tributaries.
Kentucky's
oldest exposed surface layers of earth can be seen in this region at the
Kentucky
River
Palisades.
The
Knobs
The
Knobs are the smallest of Kentucky's physiographic regions and are made
up of a horseshoe shaped line of hills that form a natural boundary
between the Bluegrass Region and the
Pennyroyal.
This natural
region actually begins in Indiana and winds south through the Kentucky
counties
of Larue, Marion, Taylor, Casey, and Lincoln, before turning north
again. No Kentucky county lies entirely within The Knobs. However, Bernheim
Forest, south of Louisville,
is a feature in this region, as is part of the area around
Berea.
The
Pennyroyal
Plateau
The
Pennyroyal Plateau is part of a Mississippian Plateau, and is sometimes
called "The Pennyrile Region" by Kentuckians. The Pennyroyal, or
Pennyrile, is located in south-central and western Kentucky and is the
largest physiographic region of our
state.
Geologists refer to
the region as a "karst
landscape" because it is characterized by thousands of springs,
sinkholes, and underground caverns and streams. This area is home to Mammoth
Cave National Park, in Edmonson County, where visitors from all over
the world come each year to explore the longest known cave system in the
world.
Much of the region
is drained by the Green River and its tributaries; and some of
Kentucky's most beautiful and fertile farm land can be seen in the
Pennyroyal. However, prior to modern agriculture, much of the western
section of this region was known as "The Barrens", because of the
prairies and natural grasslands found there. (See: County Names -
Barren.)
Western
Coal
Fields
The
Western Coal Fields Region, (or Shawnee Hills), is located in
northwestern Kentucky and separated from the Pennyroyal Region by the
low sandstone ridges of the Dripping
Springs
Escarpment.
This region
is drained by the Tradewater and Green rivers
and their tributaries and encompasses 21 Kentucky counties.
Containing
fertile farm land, the area is largely an agricultural
region, although mines in the region produce almost half of the state's
coal. The coal deposits in the Western Coal Fields continue into the
adjoining states of Indiana and
Illinois.
The
Jackson
Purchase
The
Jackson Purchase contains the westernmost part of Kentucky and is
sometimes referred to as the Coastal Plain, or the Mississippian
Embayment.
Shallow streams
cut through the region flowing into the Mississippi
River, which bounds it on the west. Bordered by Kentucky
Lake on the east and the Ohio
River on the north, the region contains Kentucky's only natural
swamps - the best known being Murphy's
Pond.
Other natural
features of this region include: the lowest elevation point in Kentucky;
Reelfoot
Lake; and Kentucky Bend.
