Regions of Kentucky

In Kentucky, there are six landform regions: the Jackson Purchase, the Pennyroyal, the Western Coal Fields, the Knobs, the Western Coal Field, and last but not least-certainly not population wise-the Bluegrass.

This map came from Kentucky: The Bluegrass State by Peggy Roney Walther.

Bluegrass

The Bluegrass region in Kentucky is the region in which most people live, because it has the biggest cities- Lexington and Louisville. In fact, it has about half of Kentucky’s population. Population is how many people live in a place.

Kentucky is called the “Bluegrass State” because we have a certain type of grass. In the spring season, it has a blue bud. When the wind blows through the grass, the grass looks blue. The Bluegrass region has a large amount of this grass. Thus, the name, "Bluegrass".

The Bluegrass region was the first to be settled. Settled means that the white newcomers built cabins and forts like Harrodsburg and Boonesborough.

Eastern Mountains and Coal Fields (Appalachian Plateau)

Because of the Cumberland Gap, the Eastern Mountains and Coal Fields is the first region settlers entered when traveling through Kentucky from the east. This region produces a large amount of coal.

Jackson Purchase

The Jackson Purchase is the westernmost region in Kentucky. It is small, and only consists of eight counties. It looks smaller than the Knobs, but it is not. The Jackson Purchase was named for President Andrew Jackson, who purchased the Jackson Purchase for Kentucky.

Knobs

The Knobs region is called Knobs because it has knob-like hills. The Knobs is the smallest of Kentucky's six regions. The Knobs is located between the Bluegrass, the Eastern Mountains and Coal Fields (also known as the Appalachian Plateau) and the Pennyroyal.

Pennyroyal

The Pennyroyal region was named after a plant in the mint family called pennyroyal, or, as settlers called it, "pennyrile". The Pennyroyal region, being the largest of Kentucky's six landform regions, has a large string of caves, which includes Mammoth Cave. Mammoth Cave is one of the largest found cave systems in the world.

Western Coal Fields

The Western Coal Fields is the provider of 43% of Kentucky's coal, and that is a huge amount of coal, considering the amount of coal Kentucky produces. Besides coal, the Western Coal Field is an agricultural region. Agriculture means something related to farming. Do you see "agriculture" in "agricultural"?

Bibliography

I got my information from Kentucky: The Bluegrass State by Peggy Roney Walther and www.50states.com_ky_regions