Kentucky - Our Land

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 .